Hawkins points to upticks in 2009, enhanced participant services in annual report
June 16, 2010
ORLANDO, Fla. — GuideStone remains strong, despite a turbulent period in world financial markets, said GuideStone President O.S. Hawkins.
Presenting the ministry’s 92nd annual report to messengers meeting June 16 at the Orange County Convention Center in central Florida, Hawkins noted the challenges of the last several years.
Additional challenges face the ministry, however, as the full ramifications of healthcare reform signed into law by President Barack H. Obama in March have yet to be felt.
Speaking on GuideStone’s theme for 2010: The Year of Initiative, Hawkins spoke to messengers about the parable of the good Samaritan.
“We’re challenging our people at GuideStone to feel the need,” Hawkins said, explaining it’s not just enough to see the need. Hawkins has encouraged employees to be like the Samaritan to touch the need and meet the need.
Among the ways GuideStone has strived to meet the need of participants was the launch of GPS: Guided Planning Services*, a new financial advice tool available free to GuideStone participants.
“We are the only financial firm that I know that doesn’t have a minimum account balance to receive free financial advice,” Hawkins said.
GuideStone has made several enhancements to its web-based resources, including providing quarterly account statements with more robust planning information on the participant web portal, MyGuideStone™. GuideStone also offered a Spanish-language microsite to accommodate the needs of participants and prospects who are more comfortable using Spanish.
Hawkins also pointed to other product enhancements, including the launch of the Inflation Protected Bond Fund. This fund seeks to provide inflation protection and income by investing in inflation-indexed debt securities such as Treasury Inflation Protected Securities, commonly referred to as TIPS.
The fund is designed for participants who have a long-term investment horizon, want protection from inflation, can accept short-term fluctuations in account value and want to diversify their portfolio with a fixed-income investment option.
Correlating with the market’s rise, as of the end of 2009, most GuideStone 403(b) retirement plan participants who continued to make consistent contributions saw their average account balances recover more than 40% from the low point of the market.
“Those who panicked at the trough… locked in their losses,” Hawkins said. “Those who stayed the course have seen their account values recover. Saving for retirement is like a marathon, not a sprint."
“The race is won by setting the pace and then running the race.”
Hawkins also emphasized that while GuideStone cannot control financial markets and the global economy, it can control how its Funds perform in relation to other funds. According to industry research firm Fi360, GuideStone Funds ranked 39th out of 297 total funds in America as of March 31, 2010.
Healthcare challenges
GuideStone’s healthcare plans already meet some of the new requirements of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Part of the act eliminates annual and lifetime maximums, which GuideStone eliminated in 2005. The act also requires insurance companies to cover dependent children up to age 26, which GuideStone began this year.
Hawkins assured messengers that GuideStone is monitoring the situation and has several workgroups determining how to comply with the new law’s requirements.
Property and Casualty
GuideStone launched its property and casualty program in 2009. The program provides churches and ministries with a new alternative for securing insurance protection. At last year’s annual meeting in Louisville, Hawkins said the ministry would proceed in a crawl, walk, run formula.
“After a year, I can tell you we’ve been crawling, but we’re starting to walk,” Hawkins said. Currently, 200 churches and institutions have signed up for the coverage and another 1,200 organizations are in the process of considering the program.
GuideStone Wellness Booth
Hawkins noted that this year’s Wellness Booth at the Convention was the greatest year GuideStone has seen in terms of cholesterol numbers; however, there is concern as 73% of messengers visiting the booth were either overweight or obese based on their weight and height.
“Obese folks spend $179,000 in a lifetime more in healthcare costs than those who aren’t,” Hawkins said. Part of controlling healthcare costs, both for GuideStone and for individuals, is for individuals to determine to make better lifestyle choices.
Mission:Dignity
Hawkins highlighted Mission:Dignity, GuideStone’s relief entity that provides financial assistance to retired ministers and their widows. More than 2,100 men and women receive financial assistance from the ministry. Hawkins noted that more than 1,200 new donors were enlisted in 2009. Hawkins explained that more than half of Mission:Dignity’s recipients are widows. He expressed his assurance to older pastors who may worry about the plight of their wives should they die first.
“I want to promise you, we’re going to take care of that lady who has stood by your side,” Hawkins said to applause in the convention hall.
Mission:Dignity is funded solely through the gifts of individuals, churches and Sunday school classes. The ministry receives no direct Cooperative Program funding. Over the last decade, more than $60 million has been given to the ministry, which does not use any gifts for overhead expenses. Among the top-giving churches to Mission:Dignity is the Atlanta-area Johnson Ferry Baptist Church in Marietta, Ga., whose pastor, Bryant Wright, was elected to serve as Southern Baptist Convention president at this year’s annual meeting.
* Financial advice provided by GuideStone Advisors, a controlled-affiliate of GuideStone Financial Resources.
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Word Version: Hawkins points to upticks in 2009, enhanced participant services in annual report