A Guide for United Methodist Church Ambassadors

My life. My legacy. My global impact. | 1

Dear UMC global impact ambassador,

Thank you for making a global impact by empowering others to leave a legacy of life-change through giving to
The United Methodist Church – both today and in the future. The critical task before you is to encourage fellow
United Methodists to make a global impact for generations to come by making a gift to The Permanent Fund for
The United Methodist Church. By helping those whom you love, lead, and serve plan for the future, you help them
leave a legacy of lasting impact on their families, the Church and the world.

This ambassador guide is designed to give you easy steps to assist us in educating members of The United
Methodist Church about the critical role of The Permanent Fund and how they can be involved. There are many
opportunities to give to The Permanent Fund, such as:
• Gifts of cash
• Stock
• Property
• Family heirlooms
• Charitable remainder trusts
• Annuities
• Donor advised funds
• Gifts through estate plans

The most popular method of giving to The Permanent Fund is through an estate plan. The process of estate
planning is simply deciding how, when, and to whom we will transfer the stewardship of what God has given to us
when we are no longer able to serve as stewards ourselves. It’s important that everyone has a plan in place for the
future. Statistics reveal, however, that as many as 70 percent of adults do not have a will.

By using the suggestions in this guide as well as coming up with your own creative ideas, you can show others how
the time invested in will and estate planning will reap many benefits—both for the person’s family and the Church.
In fact, the largest gifts your church will ever receive will likely come from someone’s estate plan. Additionally
estate plans that name The Permanent Fund will also help fund worldwide ministries that serve the poor and
spread the love of Christ where it is needed most.

Truly, one person can make a global impact for generations to come. As members of The United Methodist Church
consider planning for the future, we hope you can help others consider The Permanent Fund as the best method to
make a lasting impact through the Church.

Thank you for your support!
Sincerely,

Rhodes Logan
Director of Development, General Council on Finance and Administration
615-369-2382
rlogan@gcfa.org

The UMC
global impact
Story
This year marks the 125th anniversary
of The Permanent Fund which was established to
provide a permanent source of funding for the
ministries of The United Methodist Church.
With your help, we can ensure it will continue
to grow into the future. Between 2004 and
2010, The Permanent Fund contributed more
than $3 million to provide a permanent source
of funding for the ministries of The United
Methodist Church and for missions around the
world.

Just as the Apostle Paul’s special collection provided
needed money for the Gentile church in Jerusalem,
The United Methodist Church offers believers a specific
vehicle through which donations can benefit people in
need around the world.

A gift to The
Permanent Fund
truly does make a
global impact.


Your Impact as an Ambassador
How can a UMC global impact ambassador help foster giving to The Permanent Fund? Below
are suggestions for ways you can advocate for The Permanent Fund in your community, church
and personal life. In addition to practical steps to take, we have included information about
reaching key audiences for the fund, Biblical support for donating to the fund and stories of its
impact. Please remember that The United Methodist Church Foundation staff will be walking
with you through this process and is here to support you as you work to grow the mission of
The United Methodist Church.

As we spread the word about The Permanent Fund and its impact, we will build a brighter
tomorrow through the love of Jesus Christ and The United Methodist Church.

In Your Community

1. Host an event at your church or at a local restaurant to talk about the benefits of
The Permanent Fund for The United Methodist Church around the world.
2. Invite a select group of couples to attend a smaller event in your home or the home of a
friend to introduce The Permanent Fund in a non-threatening way.
3. Hold an estate-planning seminar at your church or in conjunction with another
United Methodist Church in your area.

In Your Church

1. Contact your pastor to explain the importance of planned giving and the impact of
The Permanent Fund for The United Methodist Church.
2. If your church has a Planned Giving Committee, ask if they would assist you in
promoting The Permanent Fund at your church.
3. Ask for a series of articles to be published in your church bulletin and the online
newsletter. We will provide all the information directly to your church in a timely
manner.
4. Request that a UMC global impact link to be added to your church’s website.
5. Encourage church members to sign up for the UMC global impact e-newsletter,
Facebook page (www.facebook.com/umcglobalimpact) and Twitter feed
(www.twitter.com/umcglobalimpact).

6. Utilize your church’s own social media accounts to spread the word. Rhodes Logan and
his staff can provide weekly messages for your church’s website and Facebook page.
7. Ask your pastor to preach on the benefits of planning for the future of our gifts
from God.
a. Sermon topic suggestions are included in this guide.
b. Testimonials in church are a tremendous way to tell the message and put a personal
face on the mission of our Church. Rhodes Logan and his staff will work with you
to connect to those who have benefited from the fund in your area.
c. Short videos are available to be used in a church service or at events at your church.
They tell the story of the impact and importance of giving to The Permanent Fund
to maintain these ministries in perpetuity.

8. Host a UMC global impact Sunday at your church focused on sharing engaging stories
and information about the impact of The Permanent Fund on the mission of The United
Methodist Church.

In Your Personal Life

The success of The Permanent Fund in the future
depends on making connections with individuals that
have interest in giving through their estate plan.

1. Make a list of the five most avid supporters of the
mission and ministry of The United Methodist
Church in your area and help Rhodes Logan and
his staff make connections with these individ-
uals. This will be done discreetly and your name
will not be used if you wish to remain anonymous
in this process.
2. Support The Permanent Fund yourself by
considering an outright or estate gift.


Getting Started

Visit www.umcglobalimpact.org and download the free Your Legacy: A Christian Guide to
Planning Your Will and Trust (or complete it online). A copy can also be mailed to your home.
Contact Rhodes Logan at rlogan@gcfa.org or (615) 369-2382.

As you are filling out the guide, remember that Rhodes Logan is available to assist in the
process.

Decide how you’d like to include The Permanent Fund for The United Methodist Church in
your estate planning.

This guide will save time and expense when visiting your attorney, since you have
already recorded the decisions about your estate plan. If you would like assistance in
recommending an attorney in your area, we can help with this as well.

If you have an existing estate plan, it is very easy and inexpensive to add The Permanent
Fund. Rhodes Logan can share details on adding an addendum to your current plan.

How can I learn more about estate planning, ﬁnancial
stewardship, and The Permanent Fund for The United
Methodist Church?

Rhodes Logan
Director of Development
General Council on Finance and Administration
Phone: (615) 369-2382
rlogan@gcfa.org


Understanding Your Audience

Baby Boomers and Seniors

The Baby Boomer generation is reaching the age range to make larger gifts to The United
Methodist Church and will be a major focus of our efforts to build The Permanent Fund.
As we educate Baby Boomers and Seniors about UMC global impact, it’s important to
understand their demographics and motivations.

What the Research Says

Boomers value these four pillars of legacy:
• Values and life lessons
• Personal possessions of emotional value
• Wishes and directions to be fulﬁlled
• Financial assets/real estate

Non-financial aspects such as ethics, morality, faith, and religion are 10 times more important
to both Baby Boomers and the Great Depression Generation than the financial aspects of a
legacy transfer.

Who will leave a gift in their will?

The people who are not currently donating but who
are most likely to consider naming a charity in their
will are:
• Baby Boomers
• Educated (with at least a bachelor’s degree)
• Motivated primarily by both “doing good”
and “doing what is expected”

Income level was NOT found to affect the likelihood that a donor would bequest a
charitable gift in their will.


Biblical Support for UMC global impact

Biblical background

The Bible features more than 800 Scriptures on the topic of money. Obviously, the Holy Spirit
knew humanity’s struggle with financial matters.

In 2 Corinthians, Paul outlines a model of Christian stewardship. Just as modern-day ministers
struggle to educate, inform, and motivate generosity, fiscal responsibility, and thoughtful
stewardship among their congregations, Paul, too, faced many of the same challenges among
his people.

Paul spent almost 10 years soliciting funds from churches to help the Jerusalem believers who,
as a result of a famine, were facing economic crisis. Scripture tells us Paul and Barnabas
delivered a monetary gift during an initial famine-relief visit to Jerusalem in A.D. 46 (Acts 11:29-
30). Believers who followed Paul continued to give to the Judean church until the collection
effort was successfully completed and funds delivered in A.D. 57.

Commentaries offer some insight into Paul’s motives for undertaking such a fundraising effort.
Modern-day Christians should likewise be motivated similarly:

• The need was genuine. Paul understood the persistent food shortages and economic
challenges.

• The relief fund signified the importance of interdependence among believers
worldwide. The Corinthians’ surplus supplied the needs of the Judean churches so that
the Judean churches could, in turn, meet the needs of the Corinthians
(2 Cor. 8:14).

• The collected funds for the Gentile church was a tangible example of the inclusivity of
the gospel.

• Finally, Paul emphasized that generous giving only comes as God blesses and enables us
to do so. Generous giving is an act of divine grace (8:1).


Guides for Sermons, Lessons, and Other Messages

Topic: Giving Because God Gave First
Scriptures: Psalm 116: 1-14
1 Corinthians 4:7
James 1:17
1 John 4:9-10

Topic: Giving Sacrificially to God
Scriptures: Malachi 1
Proverbs 3:9
Luke 21:1-4

Topic: Being Responsible Stewards of God’s World
Scriptures: Matthew 25:14-30
Romans 14:12
Psalm 24:1, 50:10

Topic: Faithful Giving: Trusting God to Provide So We May Give
Scriptures: Genesis 4
Hebrews 11:2-4
1 Corinthians 16:2
2 Corinthians 9:7


Stories of Impact
The stories of the ways in which The Permanent Fund has impacted lives are countless. This
endowment fund allows us to reach into communities and minister all around the world.
Telling stories is one of the most powerful ways to connect potential donors to the true impact
and legacy of their decision. Below are several stories of projects supported by The Permanent
Fund that you can use to illustrate the importance of maintaining this resource.

Chicago Church Shows “The World Is My Neighborhood”
Henri Giles, freelance writer and producer based in Nashville, Tenn.

The Rev. Robert Biekman has a way of simplifying complex issues. He is even known
as Pastor B. — just one example of his preference for keeping things simple and to the
point. For five years, he has served as senior pastor of Chicago’s Southlawn United
Methodist Church on the city’s South Side.

In his ministry, Biekman has taken a hands-on approach to dealing with the many
social issues endangering his church’s neighborhood. His dedication links directly to his
theology. “John Wesley said that the world is my parish,” Biekman explained. “And if you
think about the world as our parish, then we need to begin in the neighborhood.”

Chicago has seen its share of violent crimes in 2012 and is desperately trying to reverse
a recent 38 percent increase in murders since 2011. Some of the murder victims have
lived in close proximity to Southlawn. It would be easy to focus on delivering a message
on Sunday mornings and letting residents and parishioners solve the neighborhood’s
problems, but that is not Pastor B.’s style.

“I’m a firm believer that when God appoints a pastor or when our church is put in an
area, it’s there to serve not just the needs of the members, but also the needs of that
community,” he said. “We have to be a light in that community. We ought to be able to
shout on Sunday morning and still be relevant from Monday through Saturday.”


Pastor B. chooses to be relevant by being active. Members collaborate with groups in
their Calumet Heights neighborhood, including the Chicago Police Department, local
government and businesses. This partnership resulted in the Neighborhood Intern
Project, which seeks to engage young people and allows them to determine how their
community could improve.

“We saw it as an opportunity to be able to provide some
positive influence in the lives of young people,” said
Pastor B. “But the part that really grabbed me was that IMPACT
they would take ownership and leadership in this
YOUR
program, and the young people would connect with
older adults and seniors. It was a way to bridge that NEIGHBOR.
The Permanent Fund
generational gap in an effective way.”
supports active outreach
and development in local
Thanks to a $6,000 Ethnic Local Church grant (which
communities.
is funded by The Permanent Fund) from The United
Methodist Board of Church and Society, the program
can expand its community projects and have a greater
impact in Calumet Heights. The goal of the grants is to strengthen the ethnic local
church through education, advocacy, or leadership training and development as
congregations engage in social justice.

When the Neighborhood Intern Project teams are working, it sends a powerful message
to other young people. “The others passing by will see our kids cleaning up, and they’ll
become interested,” said Pastor B.

“It’s been a blessing because officers with the Chicago Police Department will come out and
grill hot dogs, and they’ll give us some special attention because we are in the inner city.”

Participants wear blue t-shirts that read, “Neighborhood Intern Project.” “Instead of
identifying with a gang, with a white or red or black t-shirt, they’re identifying with this
positive program,” Pastor B. said.


The Permanent Fund is the financial lifeline to a long list of Christian mission and
ministry throughout the denomination. By supporting UMC global impact, congregations
play a part in making sure God’s work in the world is done.

Overcoming Chronic Child Malnutrition in the
Democratic Republic of Congo
Janet Kaiser and Dean Meyer, Pacific Northwest Annual Conference

The New Mission had a dream: to make a
significant difference in the Kapanga region
(southwest area) of the Congo by establishing an
ongoing, long-term presence for medical care and a
self-sustaining nutrition program.

In April 2010, a trial nutrition program for severely
malnourished children was implemented by a New
Mission team. That team brought a “Ready to Use
Therapeutic Food” (RUTF) (known in some circles
by the brand name of “Plumpy’nut”) to this small
community. This product has been shown to be
highly effective in treating malnourishment. It is
an energy-dense paste made up of ground, roasted
Photograph courtesy of UMNS peanuts mixed with powdered milk, oil, sugar,
and a highly specialized vitamins/minerals mix.
It needs no water or refrigeration and can be eaten “as is” once produced. Plumpy’nut
has been used extensively by Doctors Without Borders, a medical relief agency, calling it
a “revolution in nutrition.” It is now endorsed and supported by other agencies such as
UNICEF and World Vision.


After a successful trial, the ministry wanted to bring this nutritional resource
permanently to these communities. The challenge was that transport of a product
outside the local area is difficult and expensive. To solve this problem, in spring of 2012,
we brought in manual large-volume mixing machines
and hand-grinding machines specifically for producing
this product in regions without electricity. These IMPACT
machines allow villagers in hard-to-reach locations such
as Kapanga to produce the product themselves while
THE
creating jobs for the community. The local laborers grind WORLD.
the peanuts to create the final product will earn a wage, The Permanent Fund
allowing them to become productive members of their supports ministries that
engage with the people living
small community, as well as generate income for local
in poverty around the world.
peanut farmers. Our hope is to assist the local health care
staff to physically set up the peanut grinder and mixer,
work with them on purchase of local milk, sugar, and oil,
bring in the highly specialized powdered vitamin/mineral mixture, reinforce training
done in 2010, work with them on the supply chain process, and set them free to begin
this program!

The strength and beauty of this program is that it is designed to empower the local
Congolese people to take and retain ownership of the program from the outset. This
must remain their program as they maintain ownership and administration of the
program. They will assess who qualifies for the program and then make enough of the
product to meet the needs of the children they enroll in the program by hand cranking
their own fortified peanut paste and distributing it to the qualifying residents. While
it will become their program, we must walk beside them throughout the years to come
because in Christ, they are members of our family. These are our sisters and brothers,
our kids, our grandbabies.


New Church Development in Vietnam
The Rev. Ut To, Country Director and Mission Superintendent of
The United Methodist Vietnam Mission Initiative

Twenty years ago, God laid on our hearts a vision of bringing The United Methodist
Church to Vietnam. Having experienced Methodism in the United States, my wife
Karen and I wanted to take The United Methodist Church to the Vietnamese people in
our homeland. So, in 2002, the year Karen and I were sent back to Vietnam as Global
Ministries’ missionaries, The United Methodist Church in Vietnam was born.

Our goal from 2002 to 2010 was to establish 39 churches—one for each of the 39
provinces of Vietnam. But by 2008, the Lord had given us 57 new churches, exceeding
our goal by more than 45 percent! Building on this model, we were able to establish 63
new churches in 2009 and 85 new churches in 2010. Today, Vietnam has more than 200
United Methodist churches. We refer to churches that have 25 to 75 members as small
churches; 75 to 150 members, as medium churches; and more than 150 members as large
churches.

In The United Methodist Churches thriving in Vietnam
IMPACT
ETERNITY.
today, we call our Wesleyan class meetings “cell
groups.” Their main purpose is evangelism. A cell group
in Binh Thuy, Can Tho, heard that an impoverished The Permanent Fund
supports new places of
widow was living in the village without assistance.
worship for unreached
The group leader assigned four members to visit her people.
and her family.

The widow was unemployed and very lonely. The group
members talked with her and suggested ways that she could make a living. They loaned
her some start-up money and helped her plant herbs and vegetables on the land around
her house. This garden would give her food for herself and her family, along with extra
food to sell in the market.


The widow was touched by these acts of kindness. She asked: “Who are you? Why are
you helping me?” They answered: “We are members of The United Methodist Church
and we belong to a cell group near you. We would like to invite you to our next meeting.”

From then on, she came to the cell-group meetings. Her business is doing well. She
earns enough to feed her family and even has extra funds to help her relatives. She
accepted Christ at one of the cell-group meetings and helped bring her whole family and
many of her relatives to Christ. She is now a faithful member within that cell group—
which, today, has grown into a brand new church in Ba Se, Can Tho.

Photograph courtesy
of UMNS


Thank you
Thank you again for becoming a UMC global impact ambassador.
If you have questions about UMC global impact please contact:

Rhodes Logan,
Director of Development
General Council on Finance and Administration

615.369.2382
rlogan@gcfa.org
www.umcglobalimpact.org

1 Music Circle North www.facebook.com/umcglobalimpact
P.O. Box 340029
Nashville, TN 37203-0029 www.twitter.com/umcglobalimpact


As a gift for becoming an Ambassador
for UMC global impact, you will
receive a free copy of the book
Enough: Discovering Joy through
Simplicity and Generosity
[Special Edition]
written by Adam Hamilton.

Recommended books:

The Spirituality of Fundraising, Henri Nouwen
(Upper Room, ISBN 978-0835810449)

Enough, Revised and Updated: Discovering Joy through Simplicity and Generosity, Adam Hamilton
(Abingdon Press, 2012 [revised], ISBN 978-1426742071)


A Guide for United Methodist Church Ambassadors

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