Supporting Kingdom Causes with Will Lofland

This faith and finance podcast is underwritten in part by Guidestone. Guidestone envisions a world transformed by Christian investing through screening, corporate engagement and impact investing. Our investment strategies allow investors to be more proactive with their investment dollars to make a meaningful difference in the world while preparing for their financial future. Learn more at Guidestone funds dot com slash faith. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be provided for you. Matthew six thirty three.

Hi, I'm Rob West. This verse calls us to put God's kingdom first in every aspect of our lives, including our investments, trusting that he will provide and use our efforts to advance his purposes. Today, Will Laughlin joins us to share how that's happening right now. And then it's on to your calls at eight hundred five to five. Seven thousand. That's eight hundred five to five.

Seven thousand. This is faith and finance biblical wisdom for your financial decisions. Well, our guest today is my friend Will Laughlin.

He's managing director of investments distribution at Guidestone and underwriter of this program. Will, great to have you back. Well, thanks, Rob. I appreciate the opportunity to join you. And, you know, we're thankful for the work that faith five does. And we're really happy to work on that.

Well, I couldn't agree more. And Guidestone has been a great partner for a long time. And we're continuing to deepen that relationship. We'll talk about that a bit more later in our program today. But you have some really exciting things underway with your kingdom causes program.

Some of our listeners may not be aware of that, but we're really excited to hear from you. You may not be familiar, though, with Guidestone financial resources. So why don't you begin, Will, by just sharing a bit about the services you provide for people in ministry?

Well, thanks, Rob. Absolutely. So Guidestone itself is a ministry organization. We are focused on serving other ministries in all financial aspects of what they seek to do in their ministries. We primarily focus on financial solutions for ministries like retirement and insurance solutions. We offer the nation's largest Christian screened fund family, as well as wealth management services for like minded Christians.

Yeah. And so how does providing those services help advance God's kingdom? So ministries, you know, when you think about their purpose, and they're trying to advance the kingdom in whatever way their ministry is focused on, financial resilience and security is really key to the people that serve those ministries and then being able to fulfill their functions. And so we look to come alongside them and serve them in that capacity to remove some of those potential worries or anxieties that might be there so that they can truly focus on spreading the gospel.

The other area that that I think about, with how Guidestone is trying to advance the kingdom really comes through the Guidestone funds complex. You know, we think about the Lord, really asking us to honor him with all of our possessions. You all talk about that concept of stewardship. And if we really are stewards, and we're thinking about managing those resources, we want to do it in a God honoring way. And so that Christian lens is what we're applying to the how and how we think about investing. And that's through the Christian value screening, but also through corporate engagement and impact investing.

Yeah, and as you mentioned, you all are a leader in this space. In fact, the largest of the fund families offering values aligned investments for Christians. I know you have a number of funds that anyone can invest in will and two of them are what you call impact funds. I want to drill down on those a bit more. What are the impact funds?

Yeah, absolutely. So the impact funds were born out of the concept just before 2020. The idea that we were primarily doing the Christian value screening, and we were doing the corporate engagement piece within the funds, but was there an idea that we could do something more through our investments. And that's where impact grew out of, it was the idea that we could proactively invest in either companies or causes or issues that provided a unique benefit or impact. And so when I think about something like the the impact bond fund, which is one of those two strategies, you know, it's going through and supporting unique things like infrastructure projects, whether that's things like clean water infrastructure, affordable housing projects, we even invest in unique things like Christian focused senior living complexes, all things that have some sort of unique underlying benefit to the people or project that they're funding.

And that was really something that was important for us if we could, to do something different. Well, I'm looking forward to continuing to unpack this because there are limits to the impact that listed securities can have. And that's where your Kingdom Causes program comes in. So we're going to unpack that talk about the ministries that you're supporting through that and the work that's being done in the name of Jesus. Will Laughlin here today, Will's Managing Director of Investments Distribution at Guidestone, an underwriter of this program, much more just around the corner.

Stay with us. We're grateful for support from Guidestone, whose diversified suite of investment solutions align with Christian values to create positive change in the world. More information is available at guidestonefunds.com slash faith.

Investing involves risk, including potential loss of principal. Carefully consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses of Guidestone funds before investing. They're distributed by four side funds distributors.

LLC, which is not an advisory affiliate, a registered investment advisor, nor do they provide investment advice. Text faith to 98656. That's faith to 98656 or visit faithfi.com slash Lebanon. Great to have you with us today on faith and finance with me today, my friend Will Laughlin. He's managing director of investments distribution at Guidestone, an underwriter of this program. Guidestone is a leader in faith-based investing and financial services.

They've really pioneered in many ways the faith-based investing space, and they are the largest of the asset managers fund families offering values aligned investments for Christians. And Will, we were talking before the break about your impact funds and specifically the Kingdom Causes program. Now, I know you donate 20% of the management fee revenue you take in from the impact funds, and that's almost $400,000 now. So share with us a bit about how you choose the ministries you support through this initiative.

Yeah, Rob. Well, the Kingdom Causes program is something that at Guidestone, we're very passionate about. The Kingdom Causes program was born out of our impact funds. And with that, we have the commitment with the impact funds that we donate 20% of our advisory revenue. But we do have other ways that we fund the Kingdom Causes program.

So to date, since 2020, we've donated nearly three quarters of a million dollars through the Kingdom Causes program. And one of the key elements with Kingdom Causes and how we think about who we donate money to was one of the core pillars of our impact funds, which is the sanctity of life and spreading the gospel. So those are the two areas that we're focused on when we think about ministries, and where we're giving. So we look at organizations that are local, we look at ones that are national and ones that are international as well when we think about where we give. Yeah, so one of those examples of a local ministry, because you all are in the Dallas area, would be the funding that you've provided to the Prestonwood Pregnancy Center, which clearly aligns with that priority around the value of human life.

Why is this a priority for Guidestone's giving? Well, the sanctity of life is one of the most core beliefs of Christians and the value of each and every individual life. And when we thought about the opportunity to work with Prestonwood, which is one of the nation's largest churches, it was a church with infrastructure and resources to be able to stand up a really strong pregnancy center and serve women in need that are out there trying to find real, honest care and information to support them through their pregnancy. And Prestonwood's Pregnancy Center was a natural example of that. To go beyond that, though, we actually work on a national level. One of the other organizations we support is the Psalm 139 Project. It's a national organization that provides ultrasound machines, but also planning and really a variety of sources to stand up pregnancy centers across the nation.

And so that's our opportunity to kind of reach beyond the local level and at the national level still try to provide and grow those same types of great pregnancy centers. Yeah. And I know not only is Guidestone contributing 20 percent of the impact funds revenue to these ministries, but I think it's also important to point out that anyone who invests in those funds is also supporting them by way of your participation in these impact funds.

Now, I know you're wanting to meet physical needs in the name of Jesus. And one way you're doing that is through the organization Send Relief. And I'd love for you to share a bit about that with our listeners.

Yeah. So Send Relief is a really cool opportunity. It is a joint venture between the International Mission Board and the North American Mission Board. And those are two of the large legacy Southern Baptist mission sending organizations. They're really well established.

They've got great footprints across North America and the greater world. And what they do is they look for specific projects, specific needs in markets where they've served for a long time. And an example of one of those was a medical mission opportunity in Venezuela. Venezuela has a lot of needs largely occurring from the government that they've had in place for a while.

And so there are resources they're very short on pharmaceutical and medical needs there. And so Send Relief went in and provides medical services and projects and they're ministering to those people as they're going through and providing basic medical needs for people in Venezuela. And then other things like entrepreneurial projects for widows in Africa, helping people support themselves, their children, when they become widowed, but at the same time, evangelizing to these women that they're serving and educating and evangelizing their children as well.

Interesting. Well, I love this work. And I love some of the projects that you're supporting that perhaps some of our listeners may not know about, but there's a real need for one of those that really caught my eye was Meno that's in the Christian entertainment category for kids. Tell our listeners about that. Yeah, well, you know, you think about the way people consume entertainment and information today, and so much of it is electronic, so much of it is streaming. And, you know, as a parent myself, you know, I think about what my kids have access to and good streaming services today. They have gating for content, so a way for parents to quasi-control what their kids are getting. But even with age gating, you still wonder, what are my kids actually consuming? And Meno is out there trying to meet this really good need of providing families Christ-centered content for children.

You don't have to worry about what your kids are consuming, and they're consuming good wholesome entertainment. So Meno is really, you know, if you want to think about it in its most simple terms, it's YouTube kids, but with Christian content. So they're looking to provide a really great, excellent digital experience, really good content, but fulfilling content and things that are also really strong and on message for the Lord. Yeah. Now, I know several of the ministries Guidestone supports Will are actively involved in gospel work, spreading the gospel to the ends of the earth.

Talk about a few of those and how you selected them. Yeah. So Prison Fellowship and Prison Seminaries Foundation, those are two that I think are really critical. If we think about what are we called to do, if we care about the Great Commission, reaching people, creating disciples, you know, where are there people in need?

Right. The prison system in the United States is full of people that are broken and lost. And there is the opportunity to minister to those people.

They're not forgotten people. They can be reached for the Lord. And so not only can you make disciples through something like Prison Fellowship, but Prison Seminaries Foundation in particular, is focused on training inmates who have 15 plus year sentences that are going to be in the prison system for a long time. And it's done in partnership with Baylor University and their seminary program. And it's providing a four year seminary education to allow these individuals to become ministers in prisons and reach people for the Lord through their time in the prison system. And there are some really great not only statistics about the conversions there, but ultimately how it can bring down violence level in prisons and just the true benefits of that. Well, what folks may not have realized is they can invest in such a way that not only are they seeking an appropriate risk adjusted return for their portfolio, but they're also supporting some incredible kingdom causes not only here in the States, but abroad. Will, we're just about out of time, but how can our listeners learn more?

Yeah, they want to learn more about us. There are two really great places to do that. The first is guidestone.org. That's going to be the ministry information and then guidestonefunds.com to learn about the specific funds.

Excellent. Will, we so appreciate you and everything that Guidestone is doing for faith based investing. Thanks, Rob.

I appreciate it. That's Will Laughlin with Guidestone Financial Resources and underwriter of this program. The website again guidestone.org.

That's guidestone.org. All right. Right after this break, it will be time for your calls and questions. So call right now. The number 800-525-7000.

That's 800-525-7000. We'll be right back. For a certified kingdom advisor in your area, visit faithfi.com and click Find a CKA. Faith and Finance is grateful for support from Soundmind Investing. If you have money in an investment account, you know sometimes the stock market can seem like a roller coaster.

But it's possible to enjoy both profit and peace of mind as a do-it-yourself investor, no matter what's happening in the market. A short video webinar about that is available at soundmindinvesting.org. Financial wisdom for living well.

Soundmindinvesting.org. Thanks for joining us today on Faith and Finance. I'm Rob West. We're taking your calls and questions today. 800-525-7000. Again, that's 800-525-7000.

Let's head to Park Rapids, Minnesota. Hi, Mark. Go ahead. Hi.

Thanks for taking my call. I'm in the midst of my retirement or death planning, I guess you would say, and wondering what criteria should be used for creating a trust versus just having a wealth. Yeah, it's a great question. And it's one that does come up a lot. You know, a revocable trust can be a useful estate planning tool, especially if you want to be able to avoid probate. And so that's usually the primary reason that folks will use a revocable trust. It allows your assets to pass to beneficiaries without going through the probate process, which is costly and time consuming.

It maintains privacy. So unlike a will, which is a part of the public record, a revocable trust would keep your affairs private. It allows for you to also control the distribution of the assets either before your death, but most certainly beyond it, where with a will, everything has to be distributed pretty much right away following the death as the estate is settled. Whereas with the revocable trust, you would have the ability to allow the assets of the trust to pass according to the trust documents, which might specify that that happens at a certain age or, you know, based on, you know, completing college or, you know, over a period of time.

And if there was a reason to do that, that could be, you know, helpful. It also allows the assets to be managed by the successor trustee without needing a court appointed guardian if you become incapacitated. So it allows for, you know, that person to step in, you know, with a will, obviously, it's a lot simpler to set up less costly, a trust would be probably two, three, four thousand dollars a will might be, you know, 500 or 1000. But you don't have a lot of those features, you will go through probate, it is going to be a part of the public record.

And there is no control that could, you know, start prior to death if you're incapacitated or beyond your death. So those would be the, you know, the main issues there that someone, you know, would use a trust for a lot of times if they have a good bit of real property of real estate, you know, they might use a trust just to handle the efficient transfer of that property or properties upon their death. But if you have a fairly simple situation, and none of those issues seem to apply that I mentioned, then, you know, a basic will would certainly cover it. And then you would put, you know, a beneficiary designation on any of your financial accounts. And you could even depending on whether your state permits it, put a transfer on death deed in place for the house, which would allow you to avoid probate, you know, without the expense of a trust. But give me your thoughts on all that.

Well, yeah, both sides, I guess I've thought about both. But how much of this would just get transferred with the beneficiary? I only have two children, and it would be split amongst them, aside from my church giving that I would do or nonprofits. I guess I'm not sure then, yeah, how much would transfer without going through probate if there is a beneficiary on it, because, you know, all your investments, they all have who your beneficiary and I have annuities that have beneficiaries. When I die, I have to go see each one of the kids or the wife. And so it's like, I'm not sure. Does that cover that?

It really does. And so I think the bottom line is, given that your estate is fairly simple, and most of the assets have beneficiary designations, which are going to pass outside of probate anyway, the will is really just the catch all for anything else, personal property and furniture and personal effects, things like that. You could even put and I did look it up while you were chatting there, the tod, the transfer on death deed is allowable in the state of Minnesota. So you could even put a transfer on death deed in place for your home. That's essentially the equivalent of a beneficiary designation for the house.

And so now pretty much everything except, you know, a few items of personal property are taken care of where everything's going directly, the will catches anything else. And now you really don't need the expense and complexity of setting up a trust. What about we do have some farm property that we do, we rented out and if this was part of another part of an inheritance, and the agreement was that we would get this property, but we would keep it in the family. So I do want the transfer I want that to stay in the family. Yeah, would then and that might be where a trust could be pretty helpful, because you could put the you'd essentially retitle the the farm property into, you know, the name of the trust and then you could designate that it's to, you know, stay in the family and you'd have to specify what assets are going to be used to maintain it.

And so that is a way you could do that. You could also use the transfer on death deed there as well. So that allows you, you know, to designate the beneficiaries who would inherit that property with the farm property, you know, that would allow for the smooth transition of the land to the heirs. If you have multiple beneficiaries, you just have to recognize there may be disagreements with regard to the management or the sale of the property. And that's where a trust could be helpful. If you have minor beneficiaries, you know, you just need to understand the implications of that. So I think it really does come down to how do we want? What ultimately do you want to have happened to the farm property beyond your life? Are you trying to control that?

Or are you really just passing it on to your heirs and trusting that they're going to make the decisions? But again, if it's more than one person, there is the potential that there's a disagreement. And that, you know, could create some challenges. So it makes sense because there are two, it would make sense probably to put, you know, decide one of them gets a property farm property and one of them gets a house that we live in.

Yeah, potentially you could do that. And you know, in that way, they would each have their own, they don't have to come to that decision together. You know, the challenge is if everything is split, and they have 50% ownership of a home and, and a farm and one wants to keep it and one doesn't now they're going to be forced, you know, to take out a mortgage in order to hang on to it because the other person wants to be able to liquidate it. So yeah, I think these are all the decisions you need to talk through with an estate planning attorney who can really guide you in that and then decide, you know, once you make your final decision on how you want it distributed, what is the simplest way to do that that's legal and cost effective? If a trust is necessary, great. If not, then skip it. And then the last piece is just the communication that you would have with your heirs so that these things know there aren't surprises at death and you can explain the rationale and at the same time. Does that make sense?

Yes, very much so. Thank you very much. You're welcome. If you need a estate planning attorney there in Minnesota, Mark, just connect with a certified kingdom advisor on our website. You can do that at faithfi.com.

Just click find a professional and any one of those CKs could refer you to a godly estate planning attorney. Thanks for your call today. Hey, we couldn't do this without our team each day. So grateful for my producer, Devin Patrick, for our call screener, Sandy Dickinson and helping me with the research today, Mr. Jim Henry, plus the entire team here at Faith. I hope you have a great day. Lord willing, we'll be back to do it all over again tomorrow. We hope you'll join us then. May God bless you. Bye bye. Faith and finance is provided by faith by and listeners like you.