By Justin Horey
W. Todd Beale succeeded Reggie Hundley as CEO/administrator of the Christian Churches Pension Plan (CCPP) on July 1, and he is continuing the effort to increase visibility of the plan among those who can benefit from it.
Founded in 1969, CCPP is a voluntary retirement program available to ministers and other employees of Christian Churches, Churches of Christ, and related nonprofit organizations under age 64. The plan was developed to benefit people whose lives are devoted to vocational service for Christ.
Beale was selected as the plan’s new CEO/administrator on Nov. 1, 2022. Prior to his appointment, Beale served on CCPP’s board of directors for a decade. He has been a participant in the plan for more than 30 years.
As administrator, Beale said he wants to help people follow the Lord’s leading into other forms of kingdom service when they retire from full-time ministry. By encouraging ministers and other church or nonprofit employees to participate in the plan, he said, “the Christian Churches Pension Plan can help people contribute to the kingdom for their whole lives.”
His goal is to help committed kingdom servants achieve the financial stability they need to retire from full-time employment in their later years, giving them the freedom to serve in other areas.
“You shouldn’t have to stay in full-time ministry to pay the bills,” Beale said.
While the popularity of defined benefit plans like pensions has risen and fallen at various times over the past 50 years, the Christian Churches Pension Plan has grown significantly in the 21st century. CCPP is financially stable, with more than $45 million in assets, thanks to the diligent work of people like Reggie Hundley and other administrators who served before Beale.
During his tenure as administrator, Hundley led CCPP through a period of significant growth and change. When he was hired in 2016, Hundley was already 64 years old—nearly old enough to begin receiving benefits from the plan. He committed to serve as CEO/administrator for six years, hoping to modernize the plan, its systems, and its marketing strategy in that time.
Hundley’s primary goal was to do everything possible to increase the visibility of the plan. As a result, the organization changed its logo, built a new website, and helped sponsor the annual International Conference on Missions (ICOM) and many other events. Beale intends to continue Hundley’s efforts to promote the plan more widely. As a longtime participant, he understands how valuable the Christian Churches Pension Plan can be—especially for individuals who start in the plan early. He also knows that a life of kingdom service can be unpredictable because no one ever knows how, when, or where God will call them.
Beale recalls, with a laugh, how he was “dragged into the ministry kicking and screaming” in the early 1990s. Though he never intended to pursue full-time ministry, he answered the Lord’s call on his life, serving multiple churches and eventually settling into a 22-year tenure at Community Christian Church in New Palestine, Ind.
After three decades of vocational ministry, Beale can relate to the other participants in the pension plan. He is committed to keeping the plan simple and affordable, so it isn’t intimidating to ministers and other church or nonprofit employees with limited financial expertise and limited budgets.
Because CCPP is a voluntary program, Beale wants to help educate young Christian leaders about the importance of retirement planning. He hopes to expand the plan’s involvement with Christian colleges, so more students will graduate with knowledge of its availability.
Having just completed his transition to the role of CEO/administrator, Beale is still formulating his plans and priorities. Throughout his long ministry at Community Christian, Beale said he learned to rely more on God and depend less on his own strength. For that reason, he expects to follow where God leads him as he leads the Christian Churches Pension Plan. Ultimately, he said, “I just want to see this plan contribute to kingdom work.”
The Christian Churches Pension Plan is qualified under Internal Revenue Code Section 401(a), which gives employers (congregations, missions, ministries, and faith-based nonprofit organizations) flexibility for specific employee categories—not just full-time ministers. Many congregations, colleges, and ministries offer the Christian Churches Pension Plan as a retirement benefit to all their employees and ministry personnel. To learn more, visit https://ccpension.org/.
Justin Horey is a writer, musician, and the founder of Livingstone Marketing. He lives in Southern California.
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