An established endowment funds the operating expenses of Mission:Dignity. This covers staff salaries, printing, postage and other expenses. Every dollar of current Mission:Dignity annual gifts is used for monthly distributions to retirement-age SBC ministers, workers and widows in need.
For tax purposes, you cannot designate a recipient. If you know of someone who may need assistance, we’ll be glad to contact them and see if they might qualify for Mission:Dignity. Call us at 1-877-888-9409 with their name and address, and we’ll contact them.
Many of our recipients have given us permission to share their names by way of a prayer card. We will be glad to provide you with the name, address and birthday of a retirement-age pastor or widow so you can pray for and communicate with them. You may even find an opportunity for a service project or meeting a particular need if the person is local to your area.
About 1,900 households receive assistance each year. Approximately 60% of the recipients are widows. One out of four recipients is a pastor’s widow age 85 or older.
Individuals can qualify for $225 each month. Married couples are eligible for $300. For the neediest persons with at least 25 years of ministerial service and much lower (poverty-level) income limits, these amounts may be doubled to $450 and $600, respectively.
Yes, Mission:Dignity is a ministry of GuideStone, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization (federal Tax ID #75-0939949).
We appreciate your partnership and generosity. One of the ways you can increase your participation is to get others in your church or Sunday school class involved. We can provide you with an information packet that contains a DVD and brochures for everyone. Your prayers are also most appreciated.
Prospective recipients must complete an application for assistance and provide basic personal and financial information. Applicants must have at least 10 years of paid Southern Baptist service, be 65 years of age or older, plus meet guidelines for income and assets. The income cap is indexed to the Federal Poverty Guidelines.
Mission:Dignity depends primarily on the direct gifts of individuals, businesses, Sunday school classes, groups and churches throughout the SBC. We also have some permanently endowed funds that produce income specifically for distributions to recipients. We will distribute more than $8.5 million in assistance this year.