Couple’s generous gift launched the Baptist foundation |
Life-changing endeavors grow, like the mustard seed of Jesus’s parable (Mark 4:31–32), from seemingly tiny decisions of faith. Just ask Pat Gallier. |
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When Pat and her late husband Paul (shown above, center) moved in 1977 from Missouri to metro Boston for a temporary job assignment, little did they realize that they were planting the seeds of lives that one day would grow to impact numerous churches and ministries from Maine to Connecticut. In 1993 their generous $70,000 gift helped New England Baptists launch the Baptist Foundation of New England. As one of the most prosperous regions in the United States, there are many others in New England who have the ability to follow the Gallier’s example.
Paul Gallier, who died suddenly while on a bicycle in 2007, was a chemical engineer for Aspen Tech in Cambridge. He and Pat, a retired hospital nurse who now lives in Northborough, settled in Marlborough after five years in Newton. They joined First Baptist Church of Sudbury and, after participating in short-term mission projects around the region, and making a three-month trip to Melbourne, caught a vision for what might be accomplished if churches were undergirded financially by a sustainable source.
“Paul was taken with the potential for doing Kingdom good when he rolled up his sleeves to help a church” as a volunteer, Pat said.
Kenneth Lyle, then-executive director-treasurer of the Baptist Convention of New England, appointed Gallier the first foundation board chairman. With the Gallier’s seed money, they established endowed funds for New England church planting, church growth/health, evangelism, and collegiate outreach.
Paul had invested wisely and found that they were “blessed by greater resources,” Pat commented. Wanting “to put their money where our heart was,” Pat said her husband “explored ways to give back to God’s work”–in the spirit of Phil 4:15–18–in their adopted home region.
Paul researched ministry endowments and was “amazed,” Pat added, by just how much Southern Baptist state conventions elsewhere could accomplish for the Kingdom of God by giving foundation grants to new churches and innovative ministries–which the BFNE does every year.
Later the couple included the BFNE in their will and encouraged others to do the same, thus making a sustainable investment in New England ministry for years to come.
What became of the $70,000 endowed gift from the Galliers? Terry Dorsett, the current executive director-treasurer and a former church planter/associational leader in Vermont, reports that their investment–and the generous gifts from many others over the years–has grown to more than a half-million dollars held in a series of endowed accounts.
As of December 31, 2021, the unaudited endowment fund totals are:
Church Planting, $93,690;
Church Growth, $250,580;
Collegiate Ministry, $102,965;
Scholarships, $39,204;
Ministerial Education, $28,655.
That does not include fourteen smaller funds such as the Rice Lodge Memorial fund and the innovative fund that provides for sponsoring one hour ($125) or one day ($3,000) of New England Baptist ministry.
“Reaching New England with the good news of Jesus Christ,” Dorsett says, “is the key to reaching America because of our region’s world-class educational institutions, economic power, and cultural diversity.” He notes that the myriad of requests to give to not-for-profits over and above the church tithe can seem overwhelming, but the BFNE can “help you match your passion to the causes you care about, so you can maximize the impact of your gift for New England, and then for the rest of the nation.”
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A Word from the
Executive Director
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A Tree Grows in New England
When I bought my first home in Barre, VT, there was a tree in the backyard that the former owner had planted when his children were young. He was emotional as he shared how his family had watched the tree grow from a seedling to a small tree during the twenty years he owned the house. It was our joy to watch over the next twelve years as the small tree grew. A decade ago, when I sold the home, I shared the story with the new owner so that she would know about the tree’s journey and what it meant to the family who planted it. That tree is now mature and looks great in her backyard.
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What a transition from seedling to maturity it has made, under the careful stewardship of three homeowners. Every time I think of that tree I am reminded of how often things that start small become great when stewarded well.
Like that tree, I have often seen an idea, event, system, or significant movement start small and grow over time. Rarely does a great idea come to fruition overnight. It often takes years of dreaming, planning, and hard work for an idea to become a reality. Someone must have the courage to begin to work the dream, no matter how humble the beginning might be. Others then come along and steward the dream and it grows into something bigger. In time, it becomes the great accomplishment the original dreamer conceived of so long ago.
The prophet Zechariah tried to teach this concept when he wrote, “Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin . . .” (Zech 4:10, NLT). God rejoices when we finally act on the dreams and visions he puts in our hearts. God rejoices when we step out in faith and try to do something significant, even if it starts very small.
Our Baptist Foundation of New England is a current example of that concept. It began as a dream in Paul Gallier’s heart in the early 1990s. When Paul “graduated to glory,” others stewarded the dream and bit by bit something mighty began to emerge. It is exciting to see a multi-generational dream being fulfilled.
What dream has God put on your heart for New England? Are you willing to partner with the foundation in making that dream happen? Don’t worry if it starts small, almost all dreams do. But if we never start, then the dream will never be fulfilled. So, let’s find ways to work together to provide the resources needed to fulfill all the dreams God has put into the hearts of his children in New England.
Dr. Terry W. Dorsett
Executive Director
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“I am amply supplied, now that I have received . . . the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God.” –Paul, church planter, writer, fund raiser, and apostle. Phil 4:18, NIV.
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