For 92-year-old Joyce Bottoms, Mission: Dignity has been a blessing that has improved her quality of life and provided help when she needed it most.
Bottoms is the widow of Bob Bottoms, a longtime Southern Baptist pastor who served several churches and at one time worked in the business office of the Kentucky Baptist Convention. He passed away in 2006.
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Most of the churches he pastored were small congregations that could contribute little toward retirement benefits. To support his family, he worked a second job throughout much of his ministry.
“His willingness to work in small churches in a lot of places where he had to have a second job,” Joyce said. “I worked all the time. We were always very happy, had no problems with that.”
Bob Bottoms earned a business degree from Georgetown College and worked not only for the KBC but also for the Sunday School Board in Nashville, according to his widow. He was also heavily involved in Disaster Relief ministry.
More than a decade after her husband’s death, Joyce learned about Mission: Dignity through her pastor, who had attended the Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting and returned with information about the program.
He encouraged her to apply.
Joyce completed the application but discovered her income was slightly above the eligibility threshold.
“I was $100 over the limit,” she recalled. “But they approved it anyway. I was so thankful.”
Covering unexpected expenses
Since then, the monthly assistance has helped cover unexpected expenses and provided peace of mind. One winter, it allowed her to replace a failed furnace without taking on debt.
“My furnace went out at the end of the year, and they were able to help me completely restore it,” she said. “I was going to have to get a loan, and it was going to take me awhile (to pay it off).”
The support has also enabled her to continue giving to missions, something that has always been important to her.
“My husband worked in Disaster Relief. I’ve seen him come and go and he’d be well when he left and sick when he came home from working in the cold,” she said. “Not just him, he’d take other men with him.”
Today, Joyce attends Bayes Fork Baptist Church, where special mission offerings are collected on the third Sunday of each month. One of those offerings benefits Mission: Dignity.
“I couldn’t afford to help on projects like that after he died because I didn’t have the income to do it. That (monthly income) made a big difference in how I could help out with giving to Disaster Relief, or Oneida (Baptist Institute) or Annie (Armstrong), or whatever else the mission cause is that month,” she said. “Our church includes Mission: Dignity one month and I love giving to that.”
‘Godsend’
She describes Mission: Dignity as a godsend, providing assistance during life’s unexpected challenges. Recently, she needed a plumber and planned to use part of her monthly assistance to cover the expenses.
Mission: Dignity currently provides financial assistance to more than 2,800 retired ministers, workers and their widows across the Southern Baptist Convention. In Kentucky, 66 recipients benefit from the ministry, and the KBC is partnering with GuideStone to identify others who may qualify.
The last Sunday in June is recognized as Mission: Dignity Sunday throughout the SBC.
Learn more
Joyce encourages eligible ministers, widows and church workers to learn more about the ministry.
“If they qualify, what you get from Mission: Dignity will add to a better life for you,” she said. “I appreciate everything they’ve done for me.”
For more information about Mission: Dignity click on this link: Mission:Dignity – Kentucky Baptist Convention. The website includes videos, promotional materials and a link to connect directly to Chad Vandiver, manager of recipient relations for Mission: Dignity.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Mark Maynard and originally published by Kentucky Today.
