GuideStone Financial Resources is the retirement plan and investment arm of the Southern Baptist Convention. It is the oldest faith-based investment organization in the US that still operates at scale, founded all the way back in 1918 as the Relief and Annuity Board for Southern Baptist ministers. In 2026, GuideStone manages billions of dollars across its mutual funds, annuity products, and retirement accounts, serving tens of thousands of Southern Baptist pastors, missionaries, and institutional employees.

Here is what makes GuideStone different, what their funds actually own, and why non-Southern-Baptist investors might consider them too.

The origin story

In 1918, the Southern Baptist Convention realized that retired pastors were living in poverty. Most small church ministers had no pension, no savings, and no safety net. The Relief and Annuity Board was created to fix that, and for decades it operated as a pension fund for SBC ministers. Over time it expanded to offer retirement products, investment management, and insurance.

The name changed to GuideStone Financial Resources in 2002, partly to signal a broader mission and partly because the Relief and Annuity Board name was unwieldy. GuideStone also opened its doors to non-SBC investors who want to use the funds, so you do not have to be a Southern Baptist to buy GuideStone products.

The Christian Values investment philosophy

GuideStone's screens are explicitly faith-based but they sit on the moderate end of the BRI spectrum. The company exclusion list covers:

Alcohol. Companies whose primary business is alcoholic beverage production.

Tobacco. Companies whose primary business is tobacco production.

Gambling. Companies directly involved in gambling operations.

Pornography. Companies involved in the production or distribution of adult content.

Abortion. Companies involved in abortion services or manufacturing of abortion-related drugs.

Human rights concerns. This is where GuideStone adds a layer that some other BRI funds do not. They screen for companies operating in countries with severe human rights violations or companies with documented patterns of worker abuse.

What GuideStone does not include in its hard screens, at least at the strictness level of Timothy Plan or Inspire, is LGBTQ corporate advocacy. GuideStone's position is that the core business test is what matters, and corporate cultural advocacy is generally not weighted as heavily in their exclusion decisions. This is one reason GuideStone is considered more moderate than some of its peers.

The result is that GuideStone funds tend to own more mega-cap names than Timothy Plan or BIBL. GuideStone might hold Apple, Microsoft, and Alphabet in ways that stricter BRI funds would not. For some investors, this is a feature (more diversification, closer tracking to broad market returns). For others, it is a bug (the screens feel too lenient given corporate behavior concerns).

The fund lineup

GuideStone runs a broad family of funds that covers most of what a retirement investor needs:

Equity funds:
- Equity Index Fund (GEQZX)
- Value Equity Fund (GVEYX)
- Growth Equity Fund (GGEYX)
- International Equity Index Fund (GIEZX)
- International Equity Fund (GIEYX)
- Emerging Markets Equity Fund (GEMZX)
- Small Cap Equity Fund (GSCYX)

Target date funds:
- GuideStone Funds MyDestination 2025 through 2055 series
- These auto-rebalance based on target retirement year

Bond and income:
- Global Bond Fund (GGBFX)
- Medium-Duration Bond Fund (GMUZX)
- Extended-Duration Bond Fund (GEFZX)
- Money Market Fund (GMZYX)

Balanced funds:
- Conservative Allocation, Balanced Allocation, Growth Allocation, Aggressive Allocation

There are different share classes with different expense ratios depending on whether you are an SBC participant or a retail investor. The institutional classes are cheapest. Retail classes are higher but still competitive with many specialty funds.

The target date funds are interesting

If you are a Southern Baptist pastor and you just want to save for retirement without thinking about it, the MyDestination target date funds do most of the work for you. Pick the fund closest to your expected retirement year (MyDestination 2045 if you plan to retire around 2045), and the fund will automatically adjust its equity and bond mix over time to become more conservative as you approach retirement. All of the underlying holdings are screened according to GuideStone's methodology.

For retirement plan design, this is a genuinely useful structure. Most 401k providers offer target date funds, but they are usually not faith-screened. GuideStone's target date funds fill a niche for people who want the simplicity of a set-it-and-forget-it retirement solution with biblical screens applied.

The 403(b)(9) church plan advantage

This is a tax code thing that matters for ministers and church employees. Section 403(b)(9) of the tax code creates a special retirement plan structure for churches and church-related organizations. GuideStone is one of the largest administrators of 403(b)(9) plans in the country, and there are specific tax benefits for ordained ministers (like the ability to designate a housing allowance from distributions) that make GuideStone specifically attractive for pastor retirement accounts.

If you are a minister or work for a church, this is worth a conversation with a financial advisor who understands the 403(b)(9) rules. GuideStone is not the only option, but they are one of the most mature providers.

The expense ratio picture

GuideStone funds run in the 0.5 percent to 1.0 percent range depending on the fund and share class. That is more expensive than passive index funds but is competitive with active mutual funds and specialty strategies. Target date funds and international funds tend to be on the higher end. The equity index fund is the cheapest at around 0.4 percent.

For a cost-conscious investor, Inspire's BIBL at 0.35 percent or a mainstream index fund at 0.03 percent will be cheaper. GuideStone charges more for active management and for the specific structure that serves church retirement plans. Whether that premium is worth it depends on what you need.

The performance record

GuideStone funds have generally tracked their respective benchmarks reasonably well. The equity index fund tracks its benchmark minus fees, as you would expect. The actively managed equity funds have had mixed results, sometimes outperforming and sometimes trailing.

Because GuideStone is more moderate in its screens than Timothy Plan or BIBL, the performance gap to the S&P 500 tends to be smaller in tech-led markets. GuideStone's funds can hold more mega-cap tech (when it passes the screens) and therefore do not feel the same pain when tech rallies.

This cuts both ways. When the broader market drops because of tech, GuideStone funds drop with it. When tech underperforms and value leads, GuideStone funds sometimes underperform stricter BRI peers.

Who should consider GuideStone

If you are a Southern Baptist pastor, church employee, or work for an SBC-affiliated organization, GuideStone is probably where your retirement money already is or should be. The 403(b)(9) tax advantages for ministers alone make this worth considering.

If you are not SBC but you want moderate biblical screens with traditional active fund management, GuideStone is a reasonable option. You will not get the strictest screens, but you will get close tracking to broad market performance with meaningful exclusions applied.

If you want the most cost-efficient BRI exposure, BIBL is cheaper. If you want the strictest screens, Timothy Plan is stricter. If you want the most sophisticated framework, Eventide's Business 360 is more developed. GuideStone sits in the middle on all of these dimensions.

The biblical framing

GuideStone's materials lean on 1 Timothy 5:8, "But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever." The emphasis is on retirement savings as a form of providing for family, not just as accumulation of wealth.

They also reference Proverbs 6:6-8 about the ant preparing food in summer for the winter, as a stewardship metaphor for disciplined retirement savings over a career. Luke 14:28 on counting the cost before building a tower also shows up in GuideStone's investor education material.

This is a different emphasis than the stricter BRI funds. Inspire talks about "investing as worship." Timothy Plan talks about "not sitting in the seat of scoffers." GuideStone talks about "providing for your household" and being a wise steward with a long time horizon. Less culture war, more family finance.

The moderate case for moderation

A legitimate critique of the strictest BRI funds is that they can end up with portfolios that feel more like a political statement than a retirement strategy. A legitimate critique of the most moderate BRI funds is that they can feel like a regular index fund with a thin veneer of screens.

GuideStone is trying to land in between. They exclude the core sin stock categories. They give you competitive market-tracking returns. They work for retirement plan structures. They do not chase every cultural controversy. For a lot of Christian families, this is actually the right balance. Not every investor wants to be at the front lines of every fight. Some people just want to save for retirement without accidentally funding Planned Parenthood donors.

The bottom line

GuideStone is a legitimate BRI option, especially if you value moderate screens with active management and if you operate in a church-adjacent environment where the 403(b)(9) advantages matter. If you are a pastor, you probably already know about them. If you are a lay Christian investor, they are worth looking at as an alternative to the stricter BRI funds.

Compare the actual holdings to what you want to own. Look at the expense ratios and ask whether the active management is worth the fee compared to passive alternatives. And ask yourself whether the moderate screens match your convictions or whether you need something stricter.

Proverbs 21:20 says "precious treasure and oil are in a wise man's dwelling, but a foolish man devours it." Wisdom in retirement savings looks a lot like consistency, low costs, and a plan you can stick with for decades. GuideStone has been helping Christian families do exactly that for more than a century. That track record is worth something, even if the screens are not the strictest in the industry.

GuideStone Funds: How Southern Baptist Money Is Invested