Timothy Plan's Screening Methodology Made Public

Timothy Plan is one of the oldest Christian mutual fund families in the US. They've been doing Biblically Responsible Investing since 1994, which makes them practically ancient in this space. They take their theological stance seriously and have published their screening methodology in more detail than most competitors.

If you're trying to understand Christian BRI screening from someone with 30 years of operating history, Timothy Plan is an important reference point. Here's what their methodology actually looks like and how you can apply it.

What Timothy Plan is

Timothy Plan is a mutual fund family operated by Timothy Partners, Ltd., founded by Art Ally in 1994. They run a lineup of actively managed funds with explicit Christian values screening, and they've been consistent about that mission since inception. They're not a robo-advisor, not a venture-funded app, and not a content site. They're a traditional fund company with a specific values orientation.

Their fund lineup includes:

• Timothy Israel Common Values (TLVCX) - Israel-focused values fund
• Timothy Small Cap Value (TPLSX)
• Timothy Aggressive Growth (TAAGX)
• Timothy Large/Mid Cap Growth (TLGAX)
• Timothy Large/Mid Cap Value (TMVAX)
• Several others

They also produce the BRI index and provide research to other BRI-aligned investors.

The six screens

Timothy Plan's screening methodology uses what they call "Six Core Screens" to identify companies whose activities conflict with biblical values. These are:

1. Abortion

Companies involved in manufacturing abortifacient products, funding abortion providers, or lobbying for expanded abortion access. This is the most consistent Christian BRI concern across traditions.

2. Pornography

Companies producing, distributing, or substantially profiting from pornography. Includes not just producers but retailers that sell adult content.

3. Anti-family entertainment

Media companies producing content that Timothy Plan considers contrary to biblical family values. This is broad and subjective, and different Christian traditions interpret it differently.

4. Non-married lifestyles

Companies actively promoting or funding lifestyles outside traditional biblical marriage. This includes corporate activism on LGBTQ issues. Timothy Plan's position here is explicitly conservative evangelical and differs from mainline Protestant interpretations.

5. Alcohol, tobacco, and gambling

Standard exclusion list shared with Islamic finance and most other religious screening approaches. Companies materially involved in producing or distributing these products are excluded.

6. Human rights violations

Companies engaged in practices that violate human dignity: forced labor, unsafe working conditions, exploitation of vulnerable populations, complicity with oppressive regimes.

The "no tolerance" approach

Timothy Plan's methodology is notable for applying something close to a zero tolerance policy. If a company has any meaningful involvement in any of the six screen categories, it's excluded from the investable universe. They're not using a percentage threshold like "under 5 percent impermissible revenue."

This is stricter than most competing Christian BRI methodologies. Inspire, Eventide, and similar tools often apply percentage thresholds that allow minor involvement (say, a grocery store that sells some alcohol as part of a broader product mix). Timothy Plan is more likely to exclude such a company entirely.

Whether that's a feature or a limitation depends on your values. Some Christian investors prefer the purity of strict exclusion. Others prefer the pragmatism of threshold-based screening.

Coverage of their methodology

Timothy Plan's methodology is applied to their fund holdings, not to a general screening database. You can see what they own by checking their quarterly filings or fund reports. You can't type a random ticker into a Timothy Plan website and get a screening verdict, because they don't operate a public screener for individual investors.

This is a gap in the market. Timothy Plan has decades of methodological experience but doesn't expose it as a tool.

FaithScreener partially fills this gap by implementing a Christian BRI framework similar in spirit to Timothy Plan's approach. It's not exactly their methodology (each fund family has proprietary details), but it captures the same general exclusion list and can be applied to the full 124,000+ stock database across 42 markets. You can get a sense of how Timothy Plan-style screening would treat a stock you're considering.

Where Timothy Plan's approach is strongest

Consistency: 30 years of the same methodology applied to an active fund family. You know what you're getting.

Theological clarity: They're explicit about their framework and don't try to be theologically neutral. You can read their mission statement and know exactly where they stand.

Strict implementation: Zero tolerance approach appeals to investors who find percentage thresholds philosophically unsatisfying.

Long operating history: Longer track record than most competitors in the BRI space.

Where it falls short

No public screener: You can't look up stocks individually. You have to examine their fund holdings or infer methodology from their published criteria.

Conservative evangelical framing: Their social positions reflect one specific Christian tradition. Catholic, mainline Protestant, or Orthodox investors may find some criteria don't match their traditions.

Active management fees: Fund expense ratios are typical for active management (around 1% or higher for retail shares), which is a drag compared to passive alternatives.

Limited international coverage: US-focused primarily.

No multi-framework view: You get Timothy Plan's approach, take it or leave it.

How Timothy Plan compares to other Christian BRI approaches

Timothy Plan: Strict zero tolerance, conservative evangelical framing, active mutual funds, no public screener.

Inspire: Composite scoring, broader evangelical framing, ETF family, public Impact Score screener.

Eventide: Qualitative six-pillar framework, broader stakeholder focus, active mutual funds, limited public tools.

Praxis (MMA): Mennonite tradition, integrates peace and justice concerns, active mutual funds.

USCCB-aligned: Catholic framework focused on abortion, contraception, embryonic research, Just War Theory, active funds and some tools.

Each of these frameworks produces different exclusion lists. A stock that fails Timothy Plan's strict filter might pass Inspire's percentage-based filter. A stock acceptable to Eventide's qualitative framework might fail Timothy Plan's strict rules. Multiple frameworks, multiple legitimate answers within Christian BRI.

A worked example

Consider a large department store chain. It sells books, magazines, and media; some of its products or sections include content that fails Timothy Plan's screens. The store's revenue from such products is very small (say, 1 percent).

• Timothy Plan: Likely excluded. Any involvement with the prohibited categories is disqualifying under strict interpretation.
• Inspire: Likely scores moderately. The composite might be positive overall if the company's positive behaviors outweigh the small negative exposure.
• Eventide: Would evaluate qualitatively. Depends on how the research team weighs the small exposure.
• FaithScreener (Christian BRI mode): Would flag the involvement and show the percentage, letting you decide based on your own threshold.

None of these is wrong. They're different answers under different frameworks applied to the same facts. The investor has to choose which framework matches their own values.

Who should consider Timothy Plan

• Conservative evangelical Christian investors who want strict exclusion
• Investors who value long operating history and methodological consistency
• People who prefer active mutual fund management with explicit theological framing
• Those comfortable with the 1% expense ratio tradeoff for professional active management

Who should look elsewhere

• Catholic or mainline Protestant investors with different theological emphases
• Cost-sensitive investors who prefer passive low-fee products
• Global investors who need coverage beyond US stocks
• Active researchers who want to screen individual stocks themselves

The free alternative

If you like Timothy Plan's general approach but don't want to buy their mutual funds, you can:

1. Use FaithScreener's free Christian BRI framework at faithscreener.com to screen individual stocks with similar (though not identical) exclusion logic across 124,000+ stocks and 42 markets.
2. Build a portfolio in your own brokerage account that avoids the categories Timothy Plan excludes.
3. Monitor compliance quarterly using the free screening tool.

You won't get Timothy Plan's exact methodology (which is proprietary), but you'll get close enough for most practical purposes, without the fund expense ratio.

Alternatively, if you want professional implementation and don't mind paying for active management, buying Timothy Plan mutual funds is the straightforward path.

Verdict

Timothy Plan is a respected, long-standing Christian BRI fund family with a strict methodology and consistent application. If their theological framing matches your values and you want professional active management, they're a legitimate choice.

For DIY investors, cost-conscious investors, or those whose theological tradition differs from Timothy Plan's conservative evangelical framing, other options exist. FaithScreener lets you apply BRI-style screening yourself at zero cost, and if your values align more closely with Catholic, Eventide, or other Christian traditions, you can select those frameworks instead.

The main takeaway: there's no single "Christian BRI" methodology. Timothy Plan, Inspire, Eventide, Praxis, and USCCB all apply different weightings to different concerns. Pick the one that matches your actual values, not the one that's most famous.

Common questions

Is Timothy Plan the oldest Christian mutual fund family? Among the oldest in the BRI space. A few other Christian-oriented funds predate them, but Timothy Plan is one of the longest-running specifically BRI-focused families.

Do they have ETFs? They've primarily been mutual fund focused. Check their current lineup for any ETF offerings.

Can I see their full exclusion list? Their criteria are published but the specific list of excluded companies is proprietary to their fund operations.

Is their performance competitive? Active management with strict exclusion will often differ from broad index performance. Some years they outperform, some years they lag. Compare long-term returns if performance matters to your decision.

What if I disagree with one of their screens but agree with the others? Use FaithScreener to implement your own custom Christian BRI approach. You can apply whichever screens match your values and skip the ones that don't.

Timothy Plan is part of the broader Christian BRI ecosystem. Understanding their approach helps you understand the space even if you end up using different tools. For cross-framework comparison and free research across 124,000+ stocks and 9 frameworks (including Christian BRI options), try FaithScreener at faithscreener.com.