You Can Take It With You!

One of God’s gifts to this Church is the faithfulness of people in the past who have donated to the Church’s endowment funds. Those gifts will support ministry in this community out into the unforeseeable future just as God has worked through faithful Christians in the past, helping us to have the ministry we have today.

An expert in Church endowments once told me that the only reason people often leave money to hospitals, libraries and universities in their will and do not leave money to their Church is because the hospitals, libraries, and universities asked, and the Church did not. So here I am asking. If you are in a position to do it, would you consider including the Church in your will? All you need to do is look at what God is doing with money given in the past to know that we will be good stewards of your money, and that your gift will enable this Church to do ministry long into the future. You can designate your gift to a particular area of ministry about which you are concerned, give to the general endowment, or you can leave the discretion up to our Church session for ministries we might never imagine today.

There are other innovative ways that the Presbyterian Foundation can help you to make gifts to the Church. One of them is to establish a charitable gift annuity. In exchange for your gift to the Presbyterian Foundation, you will receive payments for life. After your lifetime the gift, less the payment you received, is used for the Presbyterian mission you select. This manner of giving ensures an income for the rest of your life, has significant tax benefits, and supports your church when you pass.

You can contact the Presbyterian Foundation at 800-858-6127 or look them up on the internet at www.presbyterianfoundation.org .

The worst thing to do would be to let a gift go unmade because of procrastination. 70% of Americans don’t have a will! 50% of lawyers don’t have a will! When these people die, the State will decide where there money goes, and if they have minor children, where their children go! My suspicion is that the reason many of us don’t have wills is that it isn’t fun to think about death. But remember that death does not have the final word for us as Christians! When we die we will live again in the fullness of life which God intended. Let me encourage you to think of a will as a wonderful opportunity to have a ministry after your death. You’ve heard the expression “You can’t take it with you.” I’m telling you that it’s not true. If you invest it right (i.e. give it away) you can take it with you. Others will benefit from your faithfulness for years to come!