A lot of good conversation can be had when sitting on the tailgate of a pickup truck. Nolan DeWitt was mowing grass when Lewis Smith drove up and parked his car in front of a beautiful new home. Smith’s first attempt to visit with Nolan and his wife Frances took him to an empty house.
Cutting the mower off, Nolan dropped his truck’s tailgate and invited Smith to visit. As they talked about the weather and church life at Iotla Baptist Church, Nolan began to share the dream he and Frances had, a dream to help children for many years to come.
The DeWitts had moved and built a new home only a short distance from Baptist Children’s Homes’ (BCH) Drake Cottage near Franklin. The home the aging couple built was far too large for just them, and in fact, it was a chore to keep the yard and house looking so pristine. Curious, Smith asked why they had built such a large house. Nolan replied, “We built it for BCH.”
The DeWitts built their home with the intention that one day it could be a BCH group home for children. Through their estate planning, it would become BCH’s property upon their passing.
“It amazed me to see how people who are willing can do so much through their estate and planned giving,” Smith says. “It opened my eyes to legacy giving. By planning, you can impact your life’s passions even after you’re gone.”
Lewis Smith was called into church ministry in December 1972 and began serving as a children’s evangelist the following year. In 1976, he took his first pastorate and continued serving churches as pastor for 28 years before becoming BCH’s western area development director.
“When I became a development director, I realized I was not leaving ministry,” Smith confesses. “I’m not pastoring a church but almost every Sunday I stand at a pulpit telling the good news of Jesus and sharing about BCH.”
BCH’s development directors see the work they do as a calling. They assert that God daily puts them in the places He wants them to be.
“As it unfolds, you see God at work,” Smith adds. “He goes with us every day.”
Smith is grateful for his visits with Wilburn and Ruby Lefler of Hendersonville. Wilburn just retired from the pastorate and the Leflers own an apple orchard. Lewis and Wilburn are both Fruitland Baptist Bible College graduates. Every year during Smith’s year-end donor visits, the Leflers treat Lewis to a couple of bushels of apples and give a generous offering to BCH. The couple have also included BCH in their will.
“Couples like the Leflers give to help children and are determined to make a difference even after their passing through estate planning,” Smith asserts.
A.P. and Bunch Anderson were close friends with BCH Trustee and former pastor of First Baptist Church of Lenoir David Smith. Smith was an encouragement to the Andersons who were longtime BCH supporters. Through ongoing gifts, gifts to special projects, and including BCH in their will, the couple invested in the welfare of hurting children while they were alive and after their passing.
“Being a part of caring for donors like the Andersons is a blessing,” Lewis says. “I’m often reminded that my job is to help others help us help children.”
Stella Smith from Kings Mountain lived a simple and joyful life. She and her husband Vernon had no children, but Stella embraced every BCH child as her own.
“Stella always said she was saving up to help the children,” Smith recalls. “When she could no longer drive, she gave her car to BCH. She lived simply and included BCH in her will. She was looking down the road so she could make an eternal difference in the lives of the children. It was her goal to give everything to BCH.”
BCH donors become friends. Development directors like Smith share their joys and sorrows. Each director is a specialist at helping others leave their very best legacy of love.
Would you like to learn about planned giving? Contact Lewis Smith at 828-421-9300 or Jody Yopp, Sr. Director of Development and Planned Giving at 704-314-5291 for more information.
Written by Jim Edminson, Editor of Charity and Children