Before Eventide, before Inspire, before the whole BRI industry got its act together, there was Timothy Plan. Founded in 1994 by Art Ally, Timothy Plan was the first Protestant mutual fund company in the US built entirely around biblical screens. They are still running in 2026, and their story is the story of how BRI went from a weird niche idea to a real asset class.

Let me give you the full picture of Timothy Plan, what they offer, and whether they make sense for a modern BRI portfolio.

The origin

Art Ally started Timothy Plan in 1994 after a conversation that changed his career. He was working in traditional mutual funds and realized that the funds he was selling owned companies his clients would object to if they knew. A Catholic client could own Planned Parenthood donors. An evangelical client could own Disney. A conservative client could own tobacco.

Ally named the company after 1 Timothy 6:10, "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs." His idea was that the fund family would help investors avoid "wandering away from the faith" through their portfolio choices.

In the early years, Timothy Plan was tiny. Christian media mostly did not know what to do with a mutual fund based on biblical values. Financial advisors had no framework for recommending it. Assets grew slowly through the late 1990s.

Things picked up after the 1997 Southern Baptist Convention boycott of Disney. Christians started asking the question, "what else am I unknowingly supporting?" Timothy Plan was the only Protestant fund that had an answer ready.

The fund lineup in 2026

Timothy Plan has grown into a full family of mutual funds and a few ETFs. Here is the current lineup:

Mutual funds:
- Timothy Plan Aggressive Growth (TAAGX / TIAGX)
- Timothy Plan Large Cap Growth (TLGAX / TLGVX)
- Timothy Plan Large Cap Value (TPLCX / TLVIX)
- Timothy Plan Small Cap Value (TPSCX / TPSVX)
- Timothy Plan High Yield Bond (TPHAX / TPHIX)
- Timothy Plan Strategic Growth (TSGAX)
- Timothy Plan Conservative Growth (TCGAX)
- Timothy Plan Emerging Markets (TPEMX)
- Timothy Plan International (TPIAX)
- Timothy Plan Defensive Strategies (TPDAX)
- Timothy Plan Fixed Income (TPFIX)

ETFs launched in the last several years:
- TPLC - Timothy Plan US Large Cap Core ETF
- TPLE - Timothy Plan US Large Cap Core Enhanced ETF
- TPIF - Timothy Plan International ETF
- TPSC - Timothy Plan US Small Cap Core ETF
- TPHD - Timothy Plan High Dividend Stock ETF
- TPHE - Timothy Plan High Dividend Stock Enhanced ETF
- TPMN - Timothy Plan Market Neutral ETF

The ETFs generally have lower expense ratios than the mutual funds (in the 0.5 to 0.6 percent range versus 1 percent plus for the mutual fund share classes). For new money in 2026, the ETFs are almost always the better option unless you have a specific reason to prefer the mutual fund structure.

The screen

Timothy Plan's screen is one of the strictest in BRI. The core exclusions are:

Abortion. Any company involved in the production, distribution, or promotion of abortion services. This catches the pharmacy chains that dispense mifepristone and companies that fund abortion-related organizations.

Pornography. Broader than most screens, catching not just direct producers but also distributors and platforms that knowingly allow adult content.

Anti-family entertainment. This is Timothy Plan's specific category that captures content producers with material hostile to biblical family values. It is more subjective than the other screens and captures companies like Disney, Comcast, and Netflix that other BRI funds also exclude but for overlapping reasons.

Alcohol. Standard alcohol producer screen.

Tobacco. Standard tobacco producer screen.

Gambling. Standard gambling company screen.

LGBTQ advocacy. Timothy Plan is on the strict end of this screen. They exclude companies that provide benefits for same-sex relationships (which was the original 1997 Disney boycott criterion), companies that celebrate Pride in ways they flag as anti-biblical, and companies that fund advocacy groups Timothy Plan treats as hostile to biblical teaching.

Pro-life ratings. Timothy Plan publishes pro-life ratings that evaluate corporate giving to pro-life versus pro-abortion organizations. They use these ratings as part of their screen.

The result is a fund family that excludes a long list of mega-cap names and holds a lot of industrial, healthcare, consumer staples, and selective financial names.

Who Timothy Plan excludes

If you buy TPLC, you are not going to own Disney, Apple (at times), Amazon (at times), Microsoft (at times), Meta, Alphabet, Netflix, Comcast, Disney, Home Depot (depending on the quarter and corporate giving), Bank of America, Wells Fargo, JPMorgan, Johnson and Johnson (depending on the period, due to product liability and abortion-related concerns), or Target.

You are likely to own some combination of Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B), Exxon Mobil (XOM), Chevron (CVX), Procter and Gamble (PG), Colgate-Palmolive (CL), Church and Dwight (CHD), Kimberly-Clark (KMB), Costco (COST), Raytheon, Lockheed Martin (LMT), and a variety of healthcare device makers.

This is a recognizably different portfolio from a standard S&P 500 fund. It tilts toward energy, industrials, consumer staples, defense, and healthcare, and it is thin on mega-cap tech.

The performance story

Timothy Plan funds have had mixed results over the years. In value-led markets, they can outperform the S&P 500. In growth-led markets (which describes most of the 2015 to 2025 period), they have trailed the benchmark, sometimes significantly.

TPLC, the main large-cap ETF, has underperformed the S&P 500 by a meaningful margin over the last five years because of the underweight to mega-cap tech. This is the cost of the strict screen. Timothy Plan investors are generally aware of it and accept it as part of the conviction trade-off.

The bond funds and the international funds have had closer to benchmark performance because tech concentration is less of a factor in those spaces.

The expense ratio problem

The mutual fund share classes have historically had expense ratios of 1 percent or more. In 2026, that is a tough sell against low-cost index alternatives. The ETF launches over the last several years have brought expense ratios down to more competitive levels (TPLC is around 0.52 percent, which is reasonable for a strict BRI strategy).

If you are a Timothy Plan loyalist from the 1990s who still owns the mutual funds, you should seriously consider whether moving to the ETFs saves you money without changing the conviction. Usually it does.

The Art Ally factor

Art Ally remained active with Timothy Plan for decades. The company has a distinctive voice, more politically engaged than Eventide, with stronger alignment to conservative advocacy organizations. Timothy Plan publishes lists of companies to boycott, advocacy positions on corporate behavior, and content that is more outspoken than most mutual fund companies.

For some Christian investors, this is a feature. They want a fund company that is actively engaged in the cultural questions and does not hide behind "we just manage money." For others, it can feel too political in a way that mixes investing with activism more tightly than they would prefer.

Eventide, by contrast, is quieter and more academic. Inspire is evangelical but focused on positive framing. Timothy Plan is closer to a traditional values activism voice. Know what you are signing up for.

Who should consider Timothy Plan

If you want the strictest available BRI screens and you do not want to worry about edge cases, Timothy Plan is probably your strongest option. The methodology is clear, the exclusions are documented, and the company has been doing this longer than anyone else.

If you want the lowest expense ratios, BIBL and the Inspire ETF family are usually cheaper. Timothy Plan's ETFs are competitive but not always the cheapest.

If you want active management with a Business 360 framework that weighs positive impact alongside exclusions, Eventide is probably a better fit.

If you want moderate screens with traditional active mutual fund structures, GuideStone is worth looking at.

The biblical framing

1 Timothy 6:10 is the obvious one given the fund name. "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils." Art Ally's original point was that we have to be careful about what our money does, and that includes what it funds when we are not watching.

Timothy Plan also leans on Psalm 1:1, "Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers." The metaphor they draw is that owning certain companies means "sitting in the seat" of those who are doing harm, even if you are not the one pulling the trigger.

Habakkuk 2:9, "Woe to him who gets evil gain for his house," has also appeared in Timothy Plan communications. The theme across all of these is that conviction matters and that the means of gaining wealth are as important as the amount gained.

The bottom line

Timothy Plan earned its place in BRI history. It has been doing this for more than 30 years, it has a strict and consistent methodology, and it offers a full lineup of products across asset classes. The flagship ETFs are a legitimate option for a BRI portfolio in 2026.

The mutual funds are probably not worth paying 1 percent or more for when the ETF alternatives exist at half the cost. But the overall Timothy Plan philosophy and the people running it still represent one of the most earnest attempts at genuine Biblically Responsible Investing in the market.

If you are new to BRI, it is worth at least looking at Timothy Plan's methodology and comparing it to Eventide and Inspire before you decide. You might find that their strict approach matches your convictions better than the moderate alternatives. Or you might find that their screens are too strict and that you prefer a fund that keeps you closer to the broad market. Both answers are legitimate. The important thing is to look before you buy.

Timothy Plan: The Original BRI Fund Family