The Foundation Board of Directors recently honored Eddie Foster, former Director of Domestic Missions, for his 13 faithful years of service as a trusted advisor to the Foundation. It did so by adding $50,000 to the endowed Home Missions Reserve Fund. This action will expand committed resources to the area of domestic missions.
When considering making strategic grants to local agencies, both the Foundation Grants Committee and Board of Directors look to receive input from the Domestic Missions department of the church. Potential grants may be for existing church ministry partners or new emerging ones. A thorough review is provided by the Domestic Missions staff as to the suitability of the potential grant and the strategic nature of it. Church staff often accompany Foundation staff and volunteers on site visits.
Eddie, who retired in December 2018, was an invited guest to the Foundation’s recent Board meeting where they presented their action. In response, Eddie has conveyed the following. “It is deeply meaningful to me that some additional dollars are going to be invested in ministry in our city that somehow are connected with me.
“We recognize that as a church we have been exceptionally blessed with financial resources. While the investment of our people directly in God’s work in our city is, in my judgment, the greater contribution we make to ministry efforts in Memphis, certainly the dollars we invest have had significant effect in blessing our city. I have been in the unique position to see firsthand how the Foundation’s funding has enhanced our support of strategic initiatives.
“We should all be grateful for the foresight of Herbert Rhea, Monte Weaver, Jim Boren, and others who had a vision of how a foundation could fit into the church’s missional strategy. The others that have had more recent leadership roles with the Foundation have, in my judgment, been faithful to that original vision and even increased the bottom-line effectiveness of how dollars are distributed. The established parameters and controls and the seriousness with which they consider each request have contributed to that effectiveness.
“I am grateful for the opportunity I have had to have contributed in some small way to the work of the Foundation and am appreciative of the Board’s special recognition.”
Brandon Morrison, Foundation Grants Chair stated, “Ministry and serving alongside our local mission partners is as natural and reflexive as breathing to Eddie Foster. He has poured himself into expanding the Lord’s kingdom, with a special focus on Memphis. His heart for all people has encouraged us all.”
The city of Memphis is a better place due to the thoughtful labor of Eddie Foster.