Trusting in God’s Provision: How Mission:Dignity Brought Peace to the Hemphills

Carlton Hemphill and his wife, Shelbie, served faithfully in small churches for decades. “We pretty much struggled financially all those years,” Carlton says. “We pastored small churches and never had as much money as we would’ve liked. But God gave us what we needed, and we learned to accept and live with that.”

Like many pastors, Carlton invested what little he could into retirement. “The only thing we put away was a small amount with the annuity board and it wasn’t from the church. I never had a church that gave me anything for retirement.” When he transitioned into chaplaincy, their modest savings went toward a down payment on a house. “So there went whatever retirement we had,” he remembers.

There were many moments of uncertainty. “There were times when unexpected expenses came up and we wondered, ‘God, how are you going to do this now?’ And each case made us,” Carlton says. “We’ve just always depended so much on God. It became part of our lifestyle.”

Their introduction to Mission:Dignity® came through their son’s ministry in Birmingham. “He had someone from GuideStone® come talk to him about insurance,” Shelbie recalls. “Randy shared about us being retired, and that’s when GuideStone told him about Mission:Dignity.”

Now that Carlton and Shelbie are enjoying retirement, Mission:Dignity provides the peace that was once missing. “Mission:Dignity, as far as my future, has given me some peace that I wasn’t having before,” Carlton says.