Stamford Baptist Gives Generously to the BCNE and Invests Wisely Through Its Foundation
Steve Akinsola, a Stamford Baptist elder who until recently was a member of the BFNE Board of Trustees
A single approach is not enough for Stamford Baptist Church. The multiethnic and multicultural congregation supports ministry in New England in two distinct ways.
The church of some sixty people from fourteen countries is located in Connecticut’s Fairfield County, a short train ride from New York City, but they choose to give generously to the Baptist Churches of New England (BCNE) and invest wisely in the Baptist Foundation of New England (BFNE).
“New England has the unique distinction of being both the least-reached region in the United States and one of the fastest-growing areas for new churches and baptisms. God is truly working here in a unique way,” said Steve Akinsola, a Stamford Baptist elder who until recently was a member of the BFNE Board of Trustees.
He and the church are “focused in particular on helping youth and the new generation of Christians, the leaders coming up, [as well as] those who are interested in seeking to be trained by the seminaries, but they don't have the means of obtaining their tuition or books.”
Akinsola was born and raised in Lagos, Nigeria. “Southern Baptists contributed to the institutional and educational development of the country, which further led to the intellectual development of people. I benefited from having been raised in Baptist churches. My parents and grandparents belonged to Baptist churches, so I grew up knowing nothing else but Baptists.”
A wireless communication scientist, he conducted engineering research for Verizon Wireless throughout New England and along the East Coast as far south as Virginia. Now retired for seven years, Akinsola, 73, spent his time then identifying prospective cell sites and figuring out the best way to engineer those cell sites.
He graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Tennessee State University and then received a Master of Science in Information Technology from New York University. Before being employed in 1987 by Verizon, Akinsola worked for Bell Labs, a research and development facility in Holmdel, NJ. He has either lived in or traveled for work to every US state except Iowa. He now lives in Stamford, the sixth-largest city in New England.
After retiring Akinsola asked himself, “What am I going to be doing? I can’t just stay home. I’m still young. I can still do stuff.” In response to his own query, he started ITLabsInMotion LLC to help doctors, lawyers, and small businesses around Fairfield County (CT) and Westchester County (NY) enhance their internet security.
When he joined Stamford Baptist Church, they didn’t have Wi-Fi or internet security connections, but now, he said, “The church’s perimeter is guarded by security cameras, and from top to bottom Wi-Fi signals are ubiquitous. We’re all hooked up to the internet.”
Stamford Baptist's bell tower houses a wireless phone antenna which brings regular income from cell service providers
Rather than constructing a traditional cone-shaped steeple atop the building, as they had done at their previous locations, Stamford Baptist members had a different idea. Opened in 1955, their fourth and current building at 602 High Ridge Road featured two red-brick towers with a large bell in the middle and a tall white cross on top.
The previous church building with its 130-foot steeple downtown at Atlantic and Broad streets was demolished in December 1954. Only the stainglass windows and the church bell were salvaged and added to the new facility. Looking closely at the two towers, just below the cross one will spot wireless phone antennas that relay signals to and from at least 120,000 commuters a day.
As the church’s address suggests, the building is located at a high altitude; it is strategically placed between the Merritt Parkway (Connecticut Route 15), which is listed in the National Register of Historic Places for the beauty of the forest through which it passes, and traffic-clogged Interstate 95, the main north-south interstate highway on the East Coast.
The church’s “Tower Fund” receives income from AT&T and T-Mobile, and all of that money is invested in Baptist Foundation of New England funds. Akinsola did not approach Verizon for a spot on the towers to avoid a conflict of interest with his employer.
Stamford Baptist, which was founded in 1773, provides a service where the cell companies serve their customers from the church towers and they pay the church some money for that service. “We are moving the total of that investment from UBS [a global investment firm] into the Baptist foundation’s investment structure,” Akinsola explained.
“We know that that money will be used [to] help those who are really in need and churches that are really, really in need from the infrastructure perspective, churches that are asking BCNE for building funds or money that will help them to get off the ground.”
“Of course, the churches and BCNE cannot do that [alone],” he stated, “but the foundation, with its heavy focus on investment and investment techniques—which they do very well—would be able to help those churches and pastors to be able to do what needs to be done.”
When Stamford Baptist gives money to the BCNE, they support world missions through the Southern Baptist Convention; church multiplication ministries that include church planting and revitalization, as well as leadership development; next generation ministries on college, high school, and middle school campuses; pastoral networks that equip and encourage pastors across New England; and administrative needs and other essential services to the churches.
When they invests money with BFNE, they underwrite the long-term, visionary goals of New England Baptists. Both donations and investments help New England Baptist leaders advance the kingdom of God.
The first focus for Stamford Baptist—giving generously—provides for the many practical needs that are part of contemporary ministry for a six-state cooperative with 368 churches and twenty-five church plants in various stages of growth. Their second focus—investing wisely—in an array of endowed funds that underwrite ministry plans and dreams—adds value to existing endeavors.
Stamford Baptist Church invests between $8,000 and $10,000 in the BFNE each year and they normally split it evenly between various funds, according to Terry Dorsett who, as executive director-treasurer, oversees both the BCNE and BFNE.
They “are the third most generous church in Connecticut and they are in the top twenty-five churches in all of New England,” he added. “Like all churches, it varies based on their giving, but their gift is typically $10,000 a year or more.” They set an example of cheerful giving that sows seeds of faith across New England.
“Stamford Baptist Church is incredibly generous. But their generosity is not just about money,” Dorsett commented. “They also are generous with their time and facilities. Several people in the church have served on the BCNE and BFNE boards. They have given space for several church plants to use their building and they have hosted regional training events for the BCNE.”
A Massachusetts native and a New England Baptist since 1970, Dan Nicholas is the BCNE managing editor