At its most recent meeting, the PCA Foundation hosted a dinner to honor Ruling Elder John Albritton for more than four decades of service as a board member. The Foundation invited current and former leaders to attend this special event to celebrate Albritton and his contributions since the Foundation’s earliest years.
The PCA Foundation started in 1975 when the General Assembly appointed a committee to provide guidance to the denomination on stewardship. Aptly named “the committee on stewardship,” the group produced videos, published content, and spoke at churches to promote stewardship as an important component to growing Christ’s church.
But they soon realized they needed a way to facilitate stewardship, not just promote it. In 1976, the General Assembly formed the PCA Foundation “to receive, accumulate, manage, invest, and disburse capital funds entrusted to it with a view to using such funds for the support of the cause of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ …”
The Foundation was still in its infancy in 1980 when the General Assembly nominating committee recommended Albritton, a ruling elder from Trinity Presbyterian Church in Montgomery, Alabama, be appointed to the board. Little did the Assembly realize how God would providentially use that appointment to bless the Foundation and the PCA for decades to come.
Albritton was an experienced trust officer and trained attorney with 20 years of experience in administering trusts. As a result, he possessed a rare mix of legal and financial acumen that would serve the Foundation well as it sought to facilitate generosity for the growing denomination.
Throughout the 1980s Albritton served as board chairman until he reached the limit of his term. In 1990, as he was rolling off the Foundation’s board, the president of the PCA Foundation made the following statement to the Assembly,
RE John Albritton of Southeast Alabama Presbytery is one of the men the Lord used to establish the Foundation when the PCA was first created. Since then he has served several terms and has been chairman for much of that time. He has been a faithful and effective member of our board and has always provided a depth and degree of continuity which has been very helpful over the years.
The Foundation’s current president, Tim Townsend, noted that it is difficult to properly capture the impact of Albritton’s service. When he began serving in 1980, the Foundation had just over $200,000 in charitable assets. Today, the Foundation has over $400 million. Albritton took his fiduciary responsibility seriously and helped the Foundation establish solid financial footing that it could build on for decades to come.
Randy Stair, former Foundation president, was in attendance at the dinner and similarly celebrated Albritton’s service. As Stair plainly put it, “I don’t know if the PCA Foundation would be in existence today were it not for John Albritton.” Both presidents noted how Albritton has always been ready to serve as a listening ear and wise counselor any time they needed it.
Today, Albritton has retired from service as an active board member. Though no longer active in meetings, his legacy of service continues to be felt. As Townsend explained the purpose of the dinner, “God commands us to give ‘respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.’ John Albritton is worthy of our respect and honor. We should pray for the Lord to bless us with more servant-leaders like John in our own day.”