Did you hear about the guy who owned last year s top-performing funds Yeah it's too bad he bought them this year though There s a lot of evidence to suggest that buying and holding index funds will pay off in the long run Benji Bailey joins us today to make the case with some impressive numbers Benji Bailey is Vice President of Investments and Senior Fixed Income Manager at Praxis Mutual Funds an underwriter of Faith Finance The Importance of Indexes in InvestingTo understand index funds we can view them like guideposts in a national park Just as signs [... more]

Bonds are considered safe investments but also a bit boring Is that true though In the investing world all the drama for good or ill is in the stock market It s up it s down you get the picture However bonds also have an interesting story and Benjamin Bailey is here to tell us about it Benjamin Bailey is Vice President of Investments and Senior Fixed Income Manager at Praxis Mutual Funds an underwriter of Faith Finance Introduction to Bonds and StocksBonds play a unique role in building a well-rounded investment portfolio compared to stocks Stocks represent ownership in [... more]

Let each of you look not only to his own interests but also to the interests of others - Philippians We tend to think of that verse as a prescription for giving to help the poor and needy and that s good But is there an application that involves investing Stella Tai joins us today to talk about how your investing can have a positive impact in the world Stella Tai is Manager of Stewardship Investing Impact and Analysis for Praxis Mutual Funds an underwriter of Faith Finance Why Should People of Faith Focus on Impact Investing Impact investing is [... more]

From Jeremiah we know God's people should seek the welfare of the places and people around them But is seeking the welfare of our community something Christians can pursue by means of investing choices Today we speak with an investment manager who has been seeking the welfare of cities all over America and the world through his advocacy work with corporations As we will hear today investors can influence decisions made behind closed doors by corporations Chris Meyer joins us today to examine how this advocacy works Chris Meyer is the Manager of Stewardship Investing Research and Advocacy for Praxis [... more]

Historical Context and Modern ImplicationsAfter crossing the Jordan into the promised land the Israelites fought the battle of Jericho Joshua was their leader and the Lord gave them the victory In Joshua the general reminds his people of God's faithfulness to them at Jericho and through their history He ends by making that memorable statement of faith As for me and my household we will serve the Lord As Christians in a non-Christian culture we are also called to take a stand We can either choose to serve the gods of this world or the Lord It's not easy for [... more]

Corinthians So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do do all to the glory of God Chad Horning is the president of Praxis Mutual Funds an underwriter of this program and one of the oldest faith-based mutual funds in the country WHAT DOES FAITH BASED INVESTING MEAN TO PRAXIS At Praxis Faith Based Investing is all about letting your faith guide your investment decisions It's not just about smart money moves it's about aligning those moves with your Christian principles This approach is key for those looking to ensure their investments reflect their values The idea here is [... more]

The earth is the Lord's and all that is in it the world and those who live in it for he has founded it on the seas and established it on the rivers Psalm - Mark Regier is Vice President of Stewardship Investing at Praxis Mutual Funds WHAT IS STEWARDSHIP INVESTING AND HOW DOES IT INCORPORATE CREATION CARE Stewardship investing is an approach rooted in biblical principles emphasizing responsibility and management of all that God has entrusted to us It involves recognizing God's ownership over everything and managing resources wisely and according to His wishes This philosophy extends to caring [... more]

Jerry Bowyer is the president of Bowyer Research and our resident economist You can read his insightful columns for World News Group at WNG org WHAT WERE THE SELF-INFLICTED HARDSHIPS THE PURITANS FACED DUE TO THEIR ECONOMIC POLICIES The Puritans at Plymouth Plantation implemented a communal property system as dictated by their charter This economic policy was essentially a form of communism where no one owned their land men worked the land collectively and women cooked for everyone The system led to a lack of motivation as people didn't want to work for others causing excuses and a decrease in [... more]

Sin springs from the fallen condition of our hearts and separates people from God Tragically our world is broken because of this and the tendency towards evil touches every part of our lives including our finances That's why we need Jesus right Today we'll focus on envy and greed both of which are on the list of Seven Deadly Sins drawn up by believers in the th Century to describe the worst kinds of human desires ENVY Defined as a sense of jealousy and wanting what others have It leads to covetousness which directly goes against the Ten Commandments Envy [... more]

Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil Ephesians Chris Meyer is Manager of Stewardship Investing Advocacy and Research at Praxis Mutual Funds an underwriter of this program What exactly is shareholder advocacy and how does Praxis do it Many people begin by screening or avoiding certain industries or companies based on their values Screening is a valid approach but has limited power to create real change Praxis uses seven different impact strategies for investments Shareholder advocacy is one of these strategies leveraging ownership rights to drive change [... more]

PRINCIPLES OF STEWARDSHIPOWNERSHIP The first principle we must understand about stewardship is ownership God owns everything And Scripture is very clear about this Psalm and reads The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof the world and those who dwell therein for he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers And in Deuteronomy Behold to the Lord your God belong heaven and the heaven of heavens the earth with all that is in it And finally Psalm For every beast of the forest is mine the cattle on a thousand hills Now that we've [... more]