Roy Hayhurst

DALLAS (BP) -- As many churches enter budget season, they are seeking ways to stretch limited budget dollars to cover a myriad of good and God-honoring goals, including Cooperative Program giving and outreach in their local community. One additional area churches must never forget is their biblical obligation to provide well for their pastors and other church staff.

DALLAS (BP) -- Markets continued their record-setting ways in June, again setting new all-time highs, with stocks generally buoyed by strong economic reports in relation to employment, wages and consumer sentiment. "We know that the markets have historically rewarded those with a long-term focus, but prolonged market upswings can leave a portfolio out of balance," said O.S. Hawkins, president of GuideStone Financial Resources,

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (BP) -- GuideStone Financial Resources is experiencing one of its best years ever across all areas of the ministry, including retirement, insurance, investments, Mission:Dignity and property and casualty, President O.S. Hawkins told Southern Baptist Convention messengers June 11. In the entity's first report of its second century, Hawkins noted that GuideStone continues to focus on serving participants and Southern Baptist churches.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (BP) – GuideStone Financial Resources will once again make available the popular Wellness Center June 10–12 during the Southern Baptist Convention Pastors' Conference and the 2019 SBC Annual Meeting. Personal health assessments will be available during the sessions each day the exhibit hall is open, Monday and Tuesday until 6 p.m. and until 1 p.m. Wednesday. The free assessments -- valued at $150 -- provide a report suitable to take to participants' family doctors. The wellness screening offers blood-based screenings for cholesterol and glucose.

DALLAS (BP) -- The Code book series by GuideStone President O.S. Hawkins has sold more than one million copies since the publication of "The Joshua Code: 52 Scripture Verses Every Believer Should Know" in 2012 -- and is expected to soon pass 1.5 million copies sold. All author royalties and proceeds from the sale of the books benefit the ministry of Mission:Dignity.

NEW YORK (BP) -- GuideStone Funds has received the Lipper Fund Award as the Best Overall Small Fund Family for 2019 by the Refinitiv financial markets data firm, formerly a division of Thomson Reuters. The entire GuideStone Funds family won the Lipper Fund Award for 2019 Best Overall Small Fund Family over three years (out of 29 eligible as of Nov. 30, 2018) based on risk-adjusted total return.

DALLAS (BP) -- After marking GuideStone Financial Resources' centennial anniversary in 2018 and moving to new leased office space, the ministry continues forward, focusing on 2019 and beyond, GuideStone President O.S. Hawkins told trustees during their March 4-5 meeting.

DALLAS (BP) -- Financial markets continued to retreat in the wake of the Federal Reserve's decision to raise the Fed Funds rate by 0.25 percent, to a range of 2.25 and 2.5 percent. The move by the Fed was expected. It was the fourth rate hike of 2018 and the ninth since December 2015. "The Fed has a dual mandate," said David S. Spika, chief strategic investment officer for GuideStone Financial Resources: "price stability as determined by the Core Consumer Price Index and full employment. In light of this dual mandate, the current economic conditions ...

DALLAS (BP) -- Last January, at the start of GuideStone Financial Resources centennial anniversary, O.S. Hawkins declared 2018 the Year of New Beginnings. With a new headquarters for the Southern Baptist entity, the launch of new health care options and the successful completion of the GuideStone 100 long-range plan that has guided the board's work for more than a decade, 2018 indeed became a year of new beginnings for GuideStone. "We believe that our best years remain in front of us," Hawkins, GuideStone's president since ...

DALLAS (BP) -- Stock market volatility has increased in recent weeks, but GuideStone Financial Resources analyst David S. Spika cautions retirement investors to focus on their long-term investment objectives and avoid impulsive decisions, even as the news of the day can appear alarming. The recent sell-off in financial markets is a needed correction but does not signal the onset of a near-term economic recession, Spika, GuideStone's chief strategic investment officer, noted. "Economic growth is still too strong to indicate a recession is on the horizon," Spika said. "As we've been saying for many months, the increased volatility we're experiencing is warranted. What we're seeing is to be expected at the tail end of the longest bull market in history, now more than a decade long."