Tim Head

SAN FRANCISCO (BP) -- O.S. Hawkins, president of GuideStone Financial Resources, reported on the continued growth in the number of the entity's expanded ministry participants at a meeting of the trustees in San Francisco.

DALLAS (BP) -- GuideStone Funds has won one of the most prestigious awards in the financial world for mutual fund families with up to $40 billion in assets -- the 2012 Lipper Award for Best Overall Small Fund Group in the U.S. As the first Christian-based socially screened fund family to win the premier Lipper honor, GuideStone was ranked No. 1 among 182 eligible companies for its consistently strong risk-adjusted investment performance across broad asset classes. GuideStone President O.S. Hawkins, chief operating officer John Jones and chief investment officer Roddy Cummins, along with Frank Page, president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Executive Committee, were in New York City Thursday night, March 8, to receive the Lipper trophy at a dinner sponsored by The Wall Street Journal, Thomson Reuters and Investment News. Hawkins said the Lipper Award for Best Overall Small Fund Group "recognizes a standard of excellence that we pursue every day as we seek to honor the Lord and enable our faithful participants to invest according to their biblical principles." Page said it was "an incredible night, not just for GuideStone, but for the entire Southern Baptist Convention and other evangelicals who are seeking biblical integrity not only with their lives and families but also with their finances." "On Thursday night, the financial world publicly acknowledged that people can successfully invest their money in a God-honoring way," Page said. At a celebration event in Dallas Monday morning, March 12, Cummins first thanked the Lord for His favor and then recognized the daily collaborative efforts of GuideStone's 450 employees as well as the team of outside sub-advisers to the fund group.