RETIREMENT OR NOT By Ron Black, Former Executive Director
I have been blessed! My first student pastorate, while attending OCU, was at Mt. Olive General Baptist Church in Cato, Indiana. To my surprise, this smaller country church participated in the General Baptist Pension Trust for their pastors. As a student, you can imagine that I wasn’t thinking much about retirement at that time. Seven years later, with both Bachelor’s and Master of Divinity degrees, I was called to serve as pastor of the Ft. Branch General Baptist Church in Ft. Branch, Indiana. As a soon “father to be,” I was beginning to think more about financial responsibilities to my family. The Ft. Branch Church again provided the opportunity to be in the General Baptist Pension Trust! Following some wonderful years of church ministry, I served General Baptists as Stewardship Director and the Executive Director. Again I participated in the General Baptist Pension Trust. I chose to give more of my salary, increasing the retirement benefit. When retiring, the General Baptist Pension Trust provided Sandy and me the blessing of being financially comfortable in retirement. I believe every General Baptist employer is responsible to those who serve them to help provide for retirement! It is really a stewardship matter! I do not believe God is honored when those who work under the larger umbrella of the church retire and have little on which to live. God is glorified when the church takes its responsibility seriously as an employer and enrolls its employees in the General Baptist Pension Trust. Retirement or not? Retirement with dignity or not? General Baptists have provided a way for our people to retire with dignity. Talk to our General Baptist Pension Trust representative about a plan to provide retirement for those serving our ministries. • Dr. Ron Black
General Baptist Messenger Winter 2021 | 23
