“God has given us all we need to impact our world for his glory,” said Leah Honnen, after putting a Life Stewardship Plan in place through the Baptist Foundation of Illinois.
Honnen and her husband, John, told messengers at the IBSA Annual Meeting they began working with Doug Morrow, the Foundation’s executive director, when they were pregnant with their now five-month-old son, Owen.
The couple, who are members of Lincoln Avenue Baptist Church in Jacksonville, shared how the plan helps them take care of student loan payments, saving to purchase a home, tithing, and other financial needs.
“As I stand here, we are still in the beginning stages of our stewardship walk,” John said, “but I feel confident in the steps we have taken. I hope to be able to stand here 30 years from now and share how we have been able to glorify God with the money he has gifted us. And the Baptist Foundation is helping us to do just that.”
Jean Powell, a member of First Baptist Church in Harrisburg, contacted the Foundation to have her will drafted, but found that also gave her an opportunity to discuss the importance of having durable powers of attorney (POAs) with her 93-year-old mother.
Not long after, her mother began showing signs of memory loss and was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. “Things got bad rather quickly,” said Powell in the BFI report. Her mother soon needed constant care and then had a stroke.
“Even before my plan comes into place, Mom’s POAs have given us a peace because we’ve been able to do what mom wanted,” shared Powell. “Even when the stroke took Mom’s ability to speak, I took some comfort in knowing I had had those conversations and was doing what Mom wanted.”
In business, messengers approved the 2020 budget of $322,979 and Board of Trustees officers: Chair David Grove, FBC Fairview Heights; Vice Chair Newlin Wollaston, Mt. Carmel Children of God, Chicago; Secretary David Chumley, FBC O’Fallon.