The truth of the gospel needs to be embodied by the community that the gospel creates. As the embodiment of Jesus (Ephesians 1:23), the church must care deeply about the more vulnerable. The most vulnerable members are the ones who receive the most glory (1 Corinthians 12:22-23).
This paradigm is remarkably upside down. In the kingdom of the world, the ones with the most power and influence get the most glory, but in Jesus’ kingdom, resources flow downward to the meek, vulnerable, and needy. Therefore, widows get attention and priority in the church’s care.
This was one of the earliest problems the early church had to address. Before it dealt with doctrinal problems (Acts 15), it needed to resolve a practical issue: the care of widows (Acts 6). It was the practice of the early church to give a daily distribution to widows. As the church was caring for the widows, the culturally Greek widows were being neglected in favor of the Hebrews. Seven men were chosen to administer the church’s resources in the care of widows. The funds for this daily distribution came from generosity fueled by God’s power in the gospel, which was creating and shaping the church.
Widows of PCA pastors worship and serve in many of our churches. Many of our widows are wives who served alongside their husbands as they pastored in the local church. Local churches sometimes cannot provide an adequate retirement, so now, in the later stages of life, the denomination has the privilege of financially supporting these faithful women. Our goal is to help them maintain a level of dignity so they don’t fall into poverty.
The church provides significant support through The Relief Fund, which was established at our denomination’s founding to support pastors who had left their retirement behind to remain faithful to Jesus and his Word. For our founding pastors and their churches, fidelity to Jesus meant significant loss. Many churches lost their properties, and many pastors lost their retirement savings. But as is always the case, God provided through the church. Through the years, the needs have extended beyond the founders of the denomination to their widows and the widows of the subsequent generations of pastors.
Our staff have the privilege of hearing many widows’ stories, longings, and pain. These are sacred moments when the vulnerability of loss paves the way for the real heartache to emerge. These are times when the Lord stretches us so thin that we run out of our own resources. The thin places are where the Lord loves to work because he loves to show strength in our weakness. And where our resources are thin, his resources are full and abundant in Christ. He loves to give good gifts to his people.
These stories are often hidden because we don’t like to be needy, but they are very real:
- A husband and wife whose retirement savings have run out and who are suffering from a debilitating disease do not have the financial or emotional margin to repair their leaking roof.
- A pastor who has abandoned Jesus and, as a result, has also abandoned his family.
- A wife who is reeling from the tragic death of her young husband and is trying to get back on her feet to provide for her young children, while also navigating debilitating grief.
In stories like these, hope usually comes through the church. One of the benefits of being in a denomination is that we are connected in significant ways. We can pool our resources, create effective care strategies, and extend our reach to different parts of our churches nationwide. Last year, the PCA distributed almost $900,000 to support the care of pastors, their widows, and their families in need.
God has blessed the PCA with significant resources. As a result, we should expect the Lord to entrust many of his neediest servants to our care. Our wealth is, in part, given to us to care for others.
We care for widows because Jesus cares for his bride. When the church cares for the physical needs of the vulnerable, we display the truths of the gospel to the watching world. Learn how you can support ministry families in need.
Paul Joiner, director of ministerial wellbeing at Geneva Benefits Group, oversees the Relief Fund, which provides financial assistance to PCA ministry families, including widows of PCA pastors.