Report of the
Beneficiary Society
And this commandment have we from Him,
that he who loveth God loves his brother also.
1 John 4:21
The ministry of the Beneficiary Society of the BFC has been to aid our Pastors, their wives and their families in their hour of need, when our Heavenly Father in His sovereignty calls one of our loved ones home. For many years we have been able to financially aid our members. This year God has again watched over our family. And then in the closing days of the year the call came for one of our beloved retired Pastors, Jansen E. Hartman. With love and our prayers, our Beneficiary Society presented a check to the children to aid in the payment of the funeral expenses.
Also, throughout the year we rejoiced in the fact that we were able to assist our beloved widow, Mrs. Elizabeth Bartron, with a monthly check and will continue to do so through 2008.
The officers of the Society received the resignation of John H. Riggall as an officer of the Society. Philip G. Norris was requested by the officers to fulfill the unexpired term of our Brother Riggall and accepted the office and has served acceptably. At the last annual meeting of the Society, Borther Norris was elected to a three year term. We respectfully request that the members of the Society respond to the 49 years of faithful service that our Brother Riggall has served by a standing “thank you” at one of our sessions of Annual Conference.
The following article which is to replace the present article of the Beneficiary Society in the Faith & Order was approved by the members of the Society in their annual meeting in October, 2007.
Beneficiary Society: Philip G. Norris, Chairman (3 years); R. C. Reichenbach, Secretary (2 years); LeRoy S. Heller, Treasurer (1 Year)
701-1 Beneficiary Society
701-1.1 Preamble The Beneficiary Society of the Bible Fellowship Church is a mutual aid society of all the ordained and/or licensed ministers engaged in the ministries of the BFC.
We seek to aid one another in the time of death or when disability may cause one of our brethren to be laid aside. This aid is not only for the minister but extends to his family as well. We suggest that every minister and his wife read the rules and regulations and become aware of their responsibilities and benefits.
701-1.2 Organization
(1) The Beneficiary Society shall meet at least once a year to transact business relative to the Society. This meeting shall be held at the time of Ministerial Convention.
(2) The secretary’s annual report and the financial report shall be submitted at this meeting.
(3) At this annual meeting officers shall be elected by and from the members of the Society. They shall be elected for terms of three years. These terms shall be staggered so normally one officer is elected each year. The elected officers shall be privileged to organize as chairman, secretary and treasurer.
(4) The accounts of the secretary and treasurer shall be audited prior to Annual Conference and reported to the Committee on Auditing of the Annual Conference.
(5) The officers of the Beneficiary Society shall be authorized to invest the funds of the Beneficiary Society and shall report all investments at the Annual Meeting.
(6) The officers shall be authorized to conduct all necessary business of the Society throughout the year.
(7) All three officers’ names shall be on record at the financial institutions chosen by the officers. The secretary is authorized to carry out investments and arrange with financial institutions for financial transactions when benefits for members of the society are necessary. If the secretary is unable to carry out his duties, the two remaining officers together are authorized to engage in financial transactions with the financial institutions. Benefits for members are paid by check, signed by two officers.
701-1.3 Rules and Regulations
Membership. On becoming licensed as a probationer in the ministry of the BFC, one shall become a member of the Beneficiary Society beginning at the succeeding Annual Conference and shall be responsible to pay into the fund. Every probationer/ordained man licensed or ordained by the BFC must be a member of the Beneficiary Society of the BFC, except those designated in the next paragraph.
Only active and retired ministers of the BFC can continue to be part of the Society. Ministers of the BFC who are working with other Christian ministries are not members of the Beneficiary Society and are not eligible for benefits from the fund; the same applies to ministers on leave of absence.
Ministers receiving Ministers’ Retirement Fund benefits, ministers on disability, and ministers under the Ministers’ Annuity Fund who have retired at age 65 or later are members of the Society but are exempt from dues. Those who continue or choose to continue serving as Pastors under agencies of the BFC must pay dues. Ministers who continue on active service are exempt from dues after reaching forty years of licensed ministry in the BFC.
Dues. The dues of all members of the Beneficiary Society shall be set at the annual meeting and shall be paid at Annual Conference. After a Pastor reaches the age of 72 he no longer is expected to pay into the fund of the society. Non-payment by the end of Annual Conference automatically cancels any claims to benefits until payment is received by the secretary.
Benefits. Each member of the Society is entitled to death benefits for himself, his wife and his children. Each child is insured until the reach the age of 19. These benefits, as recommended by the officers of the Society, are determined by the members of the Society at their annual meeting. Information concerning benefits may be secured from the secretary at any time during the year. Benefits are subject to annual review.
Current benefits are as follows:
Ministers holding credentials with BFC – $6,000*
When the assets of the Society fall below $110,000, death benefits for the minister revert to $5,500.
Wives and widows of BFC ministers – $5,000*
Children of BFC ministers:
Birth through 3 years of age – $1,000*
Age 4-9 – $1,500*
Age 10 through 19th birth date – $2,500*
*A member must pay into the Beneficiary Society Fund for at least 10 years to receive full benefits. If a member pays into the fund less than 10 years the benefits are as follows:
1-4 years – 1/4 of the prescribed benefits
5-9 years – ½ of the prescribed benefits
Aid Grants
(1) Widows. Widows of deceased ministers who have complied with the provisions of the Beneficiary Society (membership, dues) shall receive aid grants beginning at the time of the death of the husband and continuing until she is 65 years of age or until the time of her death or remarriage.
Widows of ministers who were retired and receiving annuities under the MRF benefits or under the MAF at the time of marriage shall not receive aid grants under this legislation.
Widow’s aid grants shall be compiled at the rate of $12.50 for each year that she was the wife of a minister who was in active service, giving his whole time to the ministry in the BFC, but such payments shall not exceed $500.00 per year. A widow of a minister not receiving aid from MRF or MAF shall not receive less than $100 per year. These benefits are subject to annual review.
(2) Ministers. A minister who, because of physical illness or disability, finds it necessary to leave the active ministry under the terms of a leave of absence and who has complied with the provisions of the Beneficiary Society (membership, dues) shall receive aid grants beginning at the time of the severance from the active ministry and continuing until he reaches the age of 65 years, or until the time of his death or severance from membership in a Bible Fellowship Church.
Minister’s aid grants shall be compiled at the rate of $25.00 for each year of active service and shall not exceed $1,000.00 per year. Benefits are subject to annual review.
No minister shall be eligible for disability benefits from the Beneficiary Society unless he has fulfilled a full-time ministry in the BFC for ten years or if he has a gainful occupation. Appeals of exception can be made to the officers of the Beneficiary Society.
Miscellaneous Rules. The term of office for officers elected or appointed to this Society shall be for the term designated by our rules for that office or until successors are elected.
Once a member leaves the active ministry of the BFC (except for retirement or disability under the Annual Conference rules and regulations), he forfeits all claims upon the fund. This is a mutual aid society and there are no refunds.
If a man has paid into the Beneficiary Society Fund for 30 or more years and leaves the ministry of the BFC to labor in a full-time ministry with some other Christian organization, he may, if he desires, continue as a member of the Society by making the regular yearly payments to the fund.
Each probationer/ordained man upon re-entering the membership of the Society must pay an equal amount of money equivalent to the number of years he was licensed up to the present year. This amount will be the total amount that was to be paid for the years that he was not a paying members of the Society.