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This article may contain references to PCA Retirement & Benefits (RBI), which has since been renamed Geneva Benefits Group. Learn more about our name change here.

Paul Chi, RBI’s Newest Financial Planner

“Decision making can sometimes seem like inner civil war.” —Jim Rohn

Daily, we make all types of decisions. Some may seem small but can alter the course of our lives forever. Mark Twain said, “Good decisions come from experience. Experience comes from making bad decisions.” 

For some, decision making comes easy. It seems to be “our personality.” For others, struggling to make one can make us feel like a butterfly, flitting from place to place looking for the perfect flower. They are so hard to make. But for Christians, we have a God who cares and helps us to make our decisions. In fact, He cares so much that He tells us in Isaiah 30:21, “And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it,’ when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left.” These are words of comfort for all of us.

Paul Chi, RBI’s newest financial planner, describes how hard a recent decision was for him to make. “For me, the decision to leave my beloved church, relocate from Madison to Atlanta, and join RBI was one of the hardest decisions I have ever made. It involved uprooting our family, moving from our wonderful community, and leaving our close-knit church body. Yet, through it all, I have peace in my heart that I am living in God’s providential plan. I am thrilled to see what God has in store!”

Despite it being such a hard decision, Paul had a very simple reason for coming to work at RBI: “I want to love and serve those laboring for the kingdom in our denomination. Ministry is filled with ups and downs – joy and sorrow, excitement, and discouragement, hope and depression. I have experienced the spectrum of these in my ministry. Pastors pour themselves out to care for their congregations, but pastors need to be pastored as well. This reality fostered a prayer in my own heart about what this might look like in my ministry. Thus, I came to work at RBI because it provided an opportunity to serve God using my interest in finance and to follow my conviction of ministering to pastors and lay ministry workers.”

Warming to this topic, he continues, “… as a 2nd generation Korean-American, I bring to RBI a unique perspective and personal connection to the Korean membership that comprises 12% of the PCA. My background also helps me to better understand and identify with those in the PCA who are not part of the majority culture. Additionally, my 24 years of firsthand experience in being a PCA pastor and church planter have given me understanding, insight, and empathy with those who are daily laboring in the harvest fields to which they are called.”

When he’s not working, Paul has a variety of leisure time interests. He is an avid Minnesota Vikings fan, which he says has taught him longsuffering and patience. He also loves coffee, but says he is not a coffee snob. (I thought one led to the other). He is also a woodworker wannabe – he describes it as a therapeutic hobby because reshaping wood can be easier than reshaping hearts (said like a true pastor)! One of the biggest ways he fits well into the RBI team is that he is a self-described FOODIE! He says, “Others may eat to live, but I live to eat. Enough said.”

Paul is probably going to have a hard time driving in Atlanta. He tells us that slow drivers who camp out in the left lane on the highway is one of his biggest pet peeves. To the drivers of Atlanta, he offers this nugget, “If you are one of those drivers, know my flashing headlights are a sign of love.”

We are delighted that Paul is a part of the RBI team, and we look forward to seeing God continue to use him to care for PCA pastors and staff.

Geneva Benefits Group serves those who serve others, providing practical support for the financial, physical, and mental wellbeing of people who work in full-time ministry.

Geneva offers preparedness and peace of mind with solutions tailored to the needs of ministry leaders and staff.