Pastors and wives from churches in Winn and Jackson parishes gathered Sept. 12 at East Winnfield Baptist Church for the quarterly pastors & wives fellowship, North Central Baptist Association, an event that featured guest speaker Jeff Steed of the Louisiana Baptist Foundation.

The dinner and program included an overview by director of missions Craig James of recent and upcoming activities among associational churches.  Then he introduced Dr. Steed from the Baptist building in Alexandria.

Dr. Speed explained that the foundation works to partner with churches to assist in financial matters in a number of different ways.  Included are capital & stewardship campaigns, cash management, church loans, a computer support line, ministry accounting services, online giving, payroll services and a program he called “Giving Beyond Cash” to help churches deal with non-cash gifts like real estate or stocks.

“Churches could think of us as a savings account,” he said.  “We are currently working with 450 churches across the state.”  He said the foundation is reaching to increase their assistance to churches, telling the Tuesday gathering that he or others in the office are often out making presentations like this to groups large and small.

Among the many topics Dr. Steed mentioned during his quick presentation is one called “House in Order” which is a seminar format of Biblical principles for a properly planned estate.  By having their house in order, an individual may wish to have their estate planned in a way that both protects their family yet leaves a tithe to the church or other Christian causes.

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