When Camp Lakeside applied for a Pathways for Discipleship grant from the Kansas Area United Methodist Foundation, they had no idea that the 2020 summer camping season would quickly come to a halt due to COVID-19.

After the Great Plains Campus Board suspended the summer’s traditional camping programs, Ross Janovec, Camp Lakeside Director, Katie Laing, Camp Lakeside Program Director, and the site council brainstormed ways camp programs could still continue, even if not in the traditional way.

“We knew our campers likely had been pursuing online schooling and communication with friends, so we wanted them to experience ‘camp’ at home and off-screen,” Ross said. “Camp in a Box was a way for our campers to experience camp at home while providing activities and devotional materials that weren’t technology oriented.”

Camp Lakeside’s Camp in a Box included a variety of materials to serve the campers experience while at home with their family. The box included everything from a devotional book, crafts, a worship playlist, an exclusive “Lakeside Canoeing Lizard” sticker, and more.

The response from campers and their families was extremely positive and the Camp Lakeside staff quickly found themselves in need to help. The site council reached out to the Foundation for approval to change their grant from supporting the originally planned summer events to supporting the Camp in a Box efforts. With the support of the grant, Camp Lakeside had the additional resources it needed to partner with other Great Plains camps for staffing.

“Camp Fontanelle and Camp Chippewa graciously and excitedly sent 15 of their summer counselors to assist Lakeside both with packing Camp in a Boxes, and also to work on other maintenance projects on-site,” Ross said. “It was a blessing to share in fellowship, community and laughter with our sister camps for a weekend.”

Through the creativity of Camp in a Box and the partnership with their sister camps, the staff at Camp Lakeside helped their campers experience camp in a new, creative way, despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We have heard stories that a 9-year-old boy brought the nature scavenger hunt to do on a Boy Scout camping trip, that a 15-year-old female camper decided to work through the devotional book with her friends from school — and of course, the stuffed animals from the Camp Store were extremely popular with our youngest campers,” Ross said.

The Foundation was honored to continue partnering with Camp Lakeside in what turned out to be an unprecedented camping season. The Foundation is thankful for its many faithful donors who give to the Pathways for Discipleship Grant Ministry to allow ministries, like Camp Lakeside, have new visions for what ministry can be.

First United Methodist Church of Emporia had a long-standing endowment program in place, but leadership knew it needed to be streamlined and refocused.

“The big picture is stewardship,” Ed Bashaw, Chair of the Permanent Endowment Committee said. “We are supposed to be good stewards of what we have and our goal is to create disciples for Christ. We saw some inefficiencies both from the operational side and promotional side.”

The church knew the positive impact of having an endowment ministry as generous gifts given to the endowment in the past made possible many ministries, including allowing the children and youth ministry leaders to attend a conference. The conference was a valuable tool for the leaders to continue learning and finding resources for Sunday School and Vacation Bible School. By attending prior to the pandemic, the leaders had creative ideas to help the ministry continue through COVID-19.

Leaders from Emporia First attended the Leaving a Lasting Legacy workshop presented by Rev. Dr. Dustin Petz, President of the Kansas Area United Methodist Foundation. As a result, they saw the potential for the church’s endowment ministry and how the Foundation could help them make it happen.

“Rev. Petz was very gracious to offer his services as we began looking at updating our charter and forming a Permanent Endowment Committee,” Rev. Karla Sheffy, Co-Pastor at Emporia First UMC said.

The church worked through an example charter provided by the Foundation, which included disciplinary guidelines and issues to have included in their working document. During this process it became clear that the endowment program needed to be simplified and have direction from one standing committee.

“The one committee really has knowledge of a lot of things and are able to make the directives for the cash flow a little bit better with that knowledge,” Ed said.

In addition to streamlining the committee, the leaders also worked to form a vision and refocus the giving areas to improve communication. Many of the funds that the church previously established were combined to create an unrestricted Legacy Fund, with two other targeted ministry funds, the Ministry Impact Fund and the Property Fund.

The updated charter was then adopted by the congregation and the church is excited for the future of growing their endowment ministry to strengthen and impact their ministry. The leaders at Emporia First are grateful to Rev. Dr. Dustin Petz for his work in helping to update the program.

“Everything we do is for the future,” Rev. Karla Sheffy said. “Our Christian faith is no different. To keep Christ’s life giving love in focus is important and the endowment program is a resource for building the future of faithful Christians.”

From a young age, Nedra Starkey knew she wanted to be involved in ministry and giving back to others.

As a student at Southwestern College in Winfield, KS, Starkey wanted to go to the mission field. Her senior year, she met the love of her life, James (Jim), and they quickly began planning their lives together serving Christ.

Although not everything went as planned, together they served pastoring and planting churches in Kansas and other parts of the United States.

Jim and Nedra spent their retirement years traveling. Together, they visited all the National Parks open at the time!

It was during their retirement, that they realized their income was more than they needed at the time and wanted to give the excess charitably. The couple set up multiple Charitable Gift Annuities with the Kansas Area United Methodist Foundation, one each year for a few years.

With the Charitable Gift Annuities, the Starkey’s received an annuity payment and expected that at the end of their lives, the remainder would go to ministries they care about.

However, at the age of 92, Nedra decided to terminate her annuity payments to give more to the charities that meant a lot to her and Jim.

“If I would have waited until I died, which could be another ten years, there may not be anything left.” Starkey said.

Starkey has been blessed and because of her generous heart, wants to change lives now.

While taking a load of hay to bless fellow ranchers stricken from a massive Kansas wildfire, Lyn Saltzman said to her husband, Gene, “This is our first mission trip!” Little did they know this was the first of many mission opportunities that would become a new beginning in their lives. They had no idea how God would lead them next. They were blessed to be a blessing in ministry and mission.

Since that day in 2016, after multiple mission trips and a time of discovery and transition, the Saltzmans discerned that God was calling them to leave their previous lives as farmers and ranchers of Jamestown, KS, to be God’s servants in mission to the places where God would send them. Just like Abram and Sara were in Genesis 12, Gene and Lyn were being called to a new place:

Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. …I will bless you, …so that you will be a blessing. …So [they] went, as the Lord had told [them].”

After Gene and Lyn made many mission trips, including to the United Methodist Committee on Relief supply depot in Baldwin, LA, to Guatemala, and to ReelFoot Rural Ministries in Tennessee, they came to the realization that the only way they could do more ministry is if they stopped farming. Each trip had been a step building upon the previous one and Gene and Lyn were open to going and serving wherever the Lord would lead. They placed their lives into God’s hands, believing that “God’s Word done in God’s way will never lack God’s supply!”

In the midst of this discernment journey, Alan D. Herndon, the then President and CEO of the Kansas Area United Methodist Foundation, met the Saltzmans. Herndon made a presentation to the First United Methodist Church of Concordia, where he taught about ways that people can give generously that would make a lasting difference in the church and beyond. It was then that a new way forward was revealed to Gene and Lyn.

The couple decided to create a charitable remainder unitrust in partnership with the Kansas Area United Methodist Foundation. The process involved giving their farm equipment to the trust, including tractor, combine, planters, and sprayer. The trust then sold the farm equipment and raised approximately $475,000 to provide a lifetime income for Gene and Lyn. This income will support them as they serve God in ministry and mission.

John Griffin, an estate planning consultant, prepared an agreement between the Saltzmans and the Kansas Area United Methodist Foundation, which resulted in the establishment of the Two-Life Charitable Remainder Unitrust. This charitable instrument is designed to provide a charitable tax deduction and life-income for families. Then, at the time of the survivor’s death, the amount of money remaining will go into a permanent endowment fund, to be a lasting witness of the faithful disciples. Gene and Lyn saw this as a win-win opportunity and are grateful for the income now and that the remaining amount of money will be a lasting witness of their faith for the causes and ministries they care about.

Once the trust was in place, Gene and Lyn met with the new President and CEO of the Kansas Area United Methodist Foundation, Dustin Petz, to decide how the remainder of the trust will make a lasting difference across Kansas and beyond. “It was a great joy to meet with Gene and Lyn and to hear their heart for giving.” Petz said. “They have a strong faith and are excited to serve and be a blessing in mission.”

At the beginning of 2019, the Saltzmans were serving at the ReelFoot Rural Ministries in Tennessee with plans to move to Alaska later in the year.

People of faith are transformed as they give generous gifts, and then those gifts grow to make a lasting impact beyond their lives.

The Kansas Area United Methodist Foundation seeks to cultivate generosity to change lives. If you would like to talk with a staff member to learn more about how you can give a gift of a lifetime by partnering with the Kansas Area United Methodist Foundation, please contact us. The Foundation would be honored to serve you.

Ruth Ann and John grew up living down the street from each other in Pueblo, Colorado.  In school, their alphabetical last names often resulted in them sitting next to each other.  After graduation, John enlisted in the efforts of World War II, though he was never far from Ruth Ann’s thoughts.  Upon his return, Ruth Ann and John started a family and began their respective careers; Ruth Ann in social work and John in the insurance business.  A job transfer eventually led the Pile family to Topeka, Kansas, where they became members of Crestview United Methodist Church.  The two loved to travel and shared adventures in Greece, Israel and Ireland.  Ruth Ann recently met Alan Herndon, President and CEO of the Kansas Area United Methodist Foundation, during a presentation at Crestview UMC titled “How to Use Your Methodist Foundation”.  Through this visit, Ruth Ann learned about Charitable Gift Annuities through the Foundation.  She admits she struggles with the “business side of things” and the Foundation seemed like nice place to invest her money.  Ruth Ann says a Charitable Gift Annuity is “a great help to me.  It is the little things you give that you get back in return.”  Crestview United Methodist Church was Ruth Ann’s choice as her beneficiary, as she has spent over half her life in this church watching families grow up!  Ruth Ann believes “a person needs the church as a basis for family.  Trust God and His ways.”  Through her decision to invest her resources through the Kansas Area United Methodist Foundation to benefit her home church, Ruth Ann will continue to help families grow at Crestview UMC.

Tom and Phyllis Schneider both grew up in Kansas; Tom in Wichita and Phyllis in Hoisington.  Tom and Phyllis met on a blind date arranged by Tom’s seminary roommate who attended church with Phyllis’s parents.  With parents who grew up during the Great Depression, responsibly investing their resources became a priority.  Tom being a United Methodist Elder, investing with the Kansas Area United Methodist Foundation was not only close to home but also close to heart.  Tom and Phyllis believed that establishing a Charitable Gift Annuity through the Foundation would be a reliable source of personal income in retirement, as well as a way to help the Foundation sustain the United Methodist witness.  They chose Southwestern College as the beneficiary for their first Charitable Gift Annuity; the Alma Mater of both of their sons.  Camp Lakeside became the beneficiary of a second Charitable Gift Annuity set up by the couple.  Serving many years as camp counselors and eventually a member of the camp’s Board of Trustees, Tom and Phyllis continue to have a vested interest in the ministry that continues to bring camp attendees closer to God.  During Tom’s tenure in ministry, together the Schneider’s served churches in Leon, Wichita, Johnson, Sublette, Goodland and Hesston.  Tom also served as the District Superintendent for the Concordia District.  Upon retirement in 2007, the couple moved to Asbury Park in Newton.  Being a part of this dynamic retirement community has led Tom and Phyllis to set up a third Charitable Gift Annuity, this time benefiting the ministries of Asbury Park.  The Schneider’s have devoted a lifetime to the ministries of the United Methodist Church.  With the help of the Kansas Area United Methodist Foundation in establishing these three Charitable Gift Annuities, Tom and Phyllis’s legacy will live on!

After 55 years of harvesting wheat, corn and soybeans on their central Kansas farm, Clinton and Bonnie Russell have planted the seeds for a bounty that will benefit United Methodist churches in the state.

The couple donated the sale of their farm equipment from a July 25 auction to the Kansas Area United Methodist Foundation, establishing a charitable remainder unitrust. The sale of the equipment – including two tractors, drills and a corn planter – raised about $1.3 million for a ministry grant for local churches to enhance their outreach ministries.

“You two are groundbreakers,” Bishop Scott J. Jones of the Great Plains Conference of the United Methodist Church told the couple when he met them Dec. 16 on their farm south of Belpre in Edwards County.

“You all are breaking new ground for the United Methodist Foundation in Kansas,” Bishop Jones told the Russell’s. “They do a lot of good things at the Foundation, but this was a neglected area who needed some visionary donors who could set some things in motion.”

Clinton Russell, who turned 80 in January, said he was advised that a charitable donation would be the best way to avoid taking a loss on taxes on his farm.
“When you don’t have much debt, and you’ve got all this land with high land prices, you’ve got to do something,” he said. “My accountant and lawyer have been telling me for several years to do something or the government would come in and get me.”
After being told that charitable deals had been struck with Mennonite churches in the area, Russell – who has attended the nearby Trousdale United Methodist Church all of his life – said the decision was an easy one.

“Once we decided on the Methodists, that was it,” Bonnie said. “It’s always been family and church first.”

John Janssen, accountant, confirmed the fact the income tax consequence for Clinton to sell the machinery would be quite substantial.  John and Alan Hanson, attorney, explained the concept of transferring the farm machinery to a charity which could sell the machinery without paying income tax and invest the proceeds to make payments to Clinton and Bonnie for the rest of their lives, and the survivor of them. But the idea needed some numbers so Clinton and Bonnie could better understand what they were talking about.

The Russell’s were put in contact with Alan Herndon, President and CEO of the Kansas Area United Methodist Foundation.  Herndon was able to “run the numbers” on software he has available at KAUMF and in a few minutes he had a print out of the approximate income that could be available to Clinton and Bonnie from a Charitable Remainder Trust.  With the help of John Griffin, Estate Planning Consultant, to KAUMF, an agreement between the Russell’s and KAUMF was made for the creation of a Two Life Charitable Remainder Unitrust.

“We’ve talked about having it be more than bricks and mortar, more in the sense of changing lives and transforming lives through the Methodist Church,” Herndon said.

Between online bidding and the live auction, the $1.3 million was raised, including $200,000 each for the Russell’s two newest tractors. All of the implements were purchased from the John Deere dealer in Greensburg, Kansas.  There is no income tax to be paid on the donation of the sale proceeds and the total proceeds are invested to provide the agreed payments to Clinton and Bonnie.

Greensburg and Trousdale were both struck by two days of vicious tornadoes in May 2007, where damage included the virtual demolition of the Russell’s’ home church. The congregation voted to rebuild the church, with a groundbreaking that October and a grand opening in time for Easter Sunday in 2008.

“I have bragged on this congregation now for eight years,” said Bishop Jones, who served as bishop of the Kansas West Conference at the time of the tornadoes. “This is a town where the United Methodist Church plays a crucial role. They said, ‘Of course we’re rebuilding this church.’”

Clinton was the building superintendent for the project at the church, where Bonnie has been the treasurer for 23 years. While the new church was being built, members of the congregation held services in their homes. A Sunday service at the Russell’s was documented in The Hutchinson News.

The project was paid off before construction began, and both the Russell’s said there were “no arguments” among those discussing the design of the new Trousdale church, with separate ideas for the new kitchen turning out to be nearly identical.

“That church has maybe the best kitchen in all of Kansas, because that’s where all of the community gathers,” Bishop Jones said. “They did a great job, built a beautiful building, and it fits their congregation. That’s a story about resilience of people who have roots in the community and said ‘We want this church to continue to play a role in the community.’

“These folks have played a crucial role in leadership,” Bishop Jones added.

That spirit of leadership continues with their gift to the foundation, he said.

The Russell’s – who have two sons who both farm the family land while leasing equipment and one daughter, who lives in Wichita, as well as eight grandchildren – said they were unaware before this year about such donations to the foundation and would encourage fellow farm families to consider the same.

“Where’s everybody been?” Bonnie, 74, asked with a laugh.  “That’d be a great thing.”

“It will encourage others who are in a similar situation,” Bishop Jones said.  “I want there to be Methodist witness to the Gospel to help people know the Lord in as many communities as possible in Kansas.”

“It is a joy to have been able to help the Russell’s avoid taxes and use their assets as they see fit, not just for themselves but for the work of the church through the Kansas Area United Methodist Foundation”  Alan Hanson, attorney at Hanson & Jorns, LLC

We have been investors with Kansas Area United Methodist Foundation for many years.  I don’t remember when we first invested but we have continued to have investments there since the beginning. 

We chose to invest with the Foundation for a couple of reasons.  You offer better rates than many places but more important it is a way to support the Foundation in their work to help United Methodist churches.  I believe our church, University United Methodist Church of Wichita, was a recipient of your loan for a short time when we were fund raising for an expansion.  It helped us start on the project before all pledged funds came in.  We have a beautiful multi use addition that has provided much needed space and bathrooms.  We also now have an elevator for handicapped to better access the basement and Fellowship Hall. We call our new addition the “Gathering Place”, which it is. It is such a warm and inviting space that you see as you walk in the front door.  It is wonderful for meetings, lunches, and so nice for families at the time of funerals.

I would imagine the Foundation makes it possible for many churches to do needed building, expansion or remodeling that they might not be able to do otherwise. So I am happy to know that we have been a part of that.

I believe the Kansas Area United Methodist Foundation provides very important support for United Methodist churches and we are glad to be a part of the organization.

Sincerely,

Richard and Cheryl Lewis