JEFFERSON CITY – Stephen E. Mathis, executive vice president of Missouri Baptist Foundation (MBF) will retire Sept. 30. Plans were announced to the MBF trustees and staff following the Aug. 18 meeting of the board of trustees. He is currently also serving as Interim President.
Mathis joined the MBF in November 1986 as associate executive director which was later expanded to the corporate officer position of executive vice president. In this role as chief development officer for more than 30 years, he has assisted hundreds of Missouri Baptists with estate and gift plans that included benefits for their church and other missions and ministries. Mathis also served on the MBF’s Investment Review Committee and Property Management Committee.
Since June 2015 and on two earlier occasions during his tenure with MBF, Mathis has served as interim president. Each time he has worked with the board of trustees to provide for smooth transitions to new leadership, according to a MBF press release announcing his retirement. At the request of the trustees, Mathis will be available to the board and staff in a consulting relationship to assist with MBF operations and client relationships as leadership of a new president is established.
“Stephen Mathis has served Missouri Baptists well for over thirty years. Stephen has educated churches and individuals in the area of Christian Stewardship and Estate Planning. He has paved the road for a solid future for Missouri Baptist Foundation. The Board of Trustees and Staff are grateful he is available to assure a successful transition to a new President,” said Larry Shoaf, MBF board chairman.
Mathis said he and wife, Nancy, look forward to, “time with family and some deferred travel plans that we hope to incorporate into our schedule. I intend to continue encouraging estate stewardship among friends and acquaintances that are interested in providing legacies to support Christian ministries and other charitable purposes.”
The MBF board of trustees presidential search committee is believed to be nearing a recommendation on a new president. The search is in the final stages and an announcement could come as soon as September. The committee, which was formed Dec. 9, includes Shoaf, a Cape Girardeau-area businessman and member of First Baptist Church, Jackson; Jay Hughes, a staff member at Second Baptist Church, Springfield and Rob Hawkins, a certified public accountant from West Plains and a member of First Baptist Church, West Plains.