Indianapolis, Indiana – On Monday, January 11, 2021, Erick D. ‘Rick’ Reisinger, President of Disciples Church Extension Fund (DCEF), shared his plans with the DCEF Board and staff to retire at year’s end –December 31, 2021.
“This decision has been a long time in coming and is the result of a very personal discernment process,” Rick notes. “My wife and children have been after me for quite a while to spend more time with them and my grandchildren. I am thankful for the grace they’ve shown me as I’ve worked this out. I think the time to take this step is right, both for me and this ministry.”
Reisinger joined the Board of Church Extension, as it was then called, as an intern in the summer of 1975. Even as a teenager he knew he wanted to serve the church he had grown up in but not as a pastor as his father and both grandfathers had. Instead, following graduation from Culver-Stockton College with a major in business administration and economics, Rick joined the staff a year later in the areas of treasury, accounting and investments. In the 45 years since, he has worked in every aspect of the ministry in a variety of roles including, but not limited to, Assistant Treasurer (1977), Secretary and Assistant Treasurer (1988), Executive Vice President and Secretary (1995), Executive Vice President and Treasurer (2001) and President (2012).
“It has been my honor to serve congregations, regions, and other ministries and organizations by managing financial responsibilities to support their work and inspire and empower them to create Holy Places where people connect with God, each other and the community,” Rick explains. “I thank current and former staff, board members and church-wide leaders who made this possible, especially during the stressful times of economic crises we’ve experienced over the last 40 years.”
Throughout his career, Rick has helped DCEF successfully navigate such challenges, including record high interest rates in the late 70s and early 80s; the Dotcom collapse of the late 90s; the 2007-08 recession when the real estate bubble burst and the stock market crashed; and, the current pandemic of 2020-21. Through DCEF, he lives out his faith and love for the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) by finding innovative ways to meet the financial needs of new and existing congregations and other ministries so they may thrive. Under Rick’s leadership DCEF remains focused, not on the past, but on the future of its ministry partners.
“Church Extension Fund was started in 1883 to help new congregations finance the construction of their Houses of Worship,” Rick notes. “It has been my privilege to serve this mission for nearly a third of the last 138 years. I will continue to do so, fully present, as I lead DCEF through this time of transition to the end of the year,” he pledges. “Disciples Church Extension Fund is a part of me. I will be forever grateful for this experience and supportive of this ministry.”