Memorial Planning Guide Available

A booklet titled, To My Loved Ones, is now available from the Kansas Methodist Foundation. By sharing your preferences today, your loved ones will experience greater peace of mind later. Proper planning equips the people you care about with the information they need to settle your affairs and make the right choices.

This guide is designed to help you think about questions your family will need to answer when you pass away. Please share with loved ones that you've recorded your wishes and personal information. Keep your completed planner in a safe but familiar place so that your family can find it, perhaps alongside your estate documents and other important papers like deeds, titles, insurance policies, and tax returns. You may also want to provide a copy to loved ones who are likely to assist with your end-of-life arrangements.

For questions, please contact us at info@kansasmethodistfoundation.org or 620-664-9623.

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End of Year Giving Brochure Available

A tri-fold brochure promoting year end giving is now available from the Kansas Methodist Foundation. The brochure highlights ways congregation member can support the church through their giving this year, as well as in the future.

Churches have permission to add their logo and contact information to the brochure. All other text and graphics should remain unaltered.

For questions, please contact us at info@kansasmethodistfoundation.org or 620-664-9623.

View Giving Brochure

KMF Announces Named Seminary Scholarship Funds

A key to the future of our church is strong, theologically-educated, pastoral leaders.

The Kansas Methodist Foundation is working to help fill the need though partnering with families, like yours, to create a named scholarship fund to support seminarians as they answer God’s call in their life.

“One of the most profound gifts I was given when following the calling God placed in my life to go to seminary, was the vital support of scholarships,” said Dustin Petz, President of KMF. “Strong leaders often lead to strong and vibrant congregations. With more pastors retiring, the church needs new strong leaders. At a time when the base cost for a Masters of Divinity program averages $50,000, scholarships help pave a path for seminarians to follow their call.”

Through a named scholarship fund, you can impact the life of a seminarian through creating a scholarship that will have a minimum impact of $1,000 per year. The fund can be in your name or in the name of someone you would like to honor, such as a pastor who has impacted your life.

Depending on your goals for the scholarship, either a term fund or an endowed fund can be created. An endowed fund will generate seminary scholarships in perpetuity and is created with an initial gift of at least $25,000, which may be contributed over a period of up to five years. The scholarship amount is designed to increase over time and keep pace with normal inflation. If you want to make an impact over a set number of years, a minimum gift of $5,000 will create a fund that is fully distributed over a period of five or more years.

If you are ready to create a named scholarship fund, or would like additional information, please contact Tyler Curtis, Chief Development Officer of KMF, at Tyler@KansasMethodistFoundation.org or 620-664-9623.

Justice Ministry Grant Deadline Extended

The deadline for the Justice Ministry Grants has been extended to October 14, 2022.

The Justice Ministries pathway provides grants for programs focused on healing racial divisions, increasing equity among God’s children, encouraging inclusion, and broadening people’s understanding of diversity and bias.

The matching grants are awarded to churches and organizations across Kansas to advance ministries, especially in ways that are creative, innovative, and new. For more information, visit kansasmethodistfoundation.org.

The Kansas Methodist Foundation is grateful for the individuals and families who help make the ministry grants possible. If you are interested in learning more about how you can get involved in supporting ministries across Kansas to meet the needs of our changing world by exploring new possibilities, contact Tyler Curtis at tyler@kansasmethodistfoundation.org or 620-664-9623.

If you have any questions, please contact KMF at info@kansasmethodistfoundation.org or 620-664-9623.

Pathways for Discipleship Grants Available

The Kansas Methodist Foundation is offering Pathways for Discipleship Grants to Kansas churches and organizations in four key areas of ministry: Justice Ministries, Children and Youth Programs, Ministry and Outreach, and Leadership Education.

The matching grants are awarded to churches and organizations across Kansas to advance ministries, especially in ways that are creative, innovative, and new. Grant applications will be accepted from June 1 – September 1, 2022. For more information, visit kansasmethodistfoundation.org.

If you have any questions, please contact KMF at info@kansasmethodistfoundation.org or 620-664-9623.

New Grant Focused on Justice Ministries

The Kansas Methodist Foundation is pleased to announce a new Pathways for Discipleship grant focused on Justice Ministries.

In Luke 4, Jesus proclaims that his ministry includes preaching good news to the poor, proclaiming release to prisoners, recovering sight to the blind, liberating the oppressed, and proclaiming Jubilee.

“As the Body of Christ, we are called to do likewise, which includes serving those in need by being the hand, feet, and heart of Jesus in our local contexts,” KMF President Dustin Petz said. “It also means working to change the unjust systems that oppress our neighbors. I am excited for KMF to provide focused grants to help our Methodist partners do justice and work to change the systems that continue to harm.”

Starting in 2022, justice ministry grants will be awarded to Methodist churches and organizations in Kansas for programs focused on healing racial divisions, increasing equity among God’s children, encouraging inclusion, and broadening people’s understanding of diversity and bias.

The justice ministries pathway is one of four pathways in the Pathways for Discipleship grant program. The matching grants are awarded to churches and organizations across Kansas to advance ministries, especially in ways that are creative, innovative, and new. Other Pathways for Discipleship grant areas include: Children and Youth Programs, Ministry and Outreach, and Leadership Education.

Grant applications will be accepted from June 1 – September 1, 2022. For more information, visit www.kansasmethodistfoundation.org.

Augusta First UMC Starts New Community Karate Ministry

There are a lot of ways we might think of to bring people closer to Jesus Christ. Teaching them karate may not be at the top of that list. Nonetheless, First United Methodist Church in Augusta saw an opportunity for discipleship in karate. With the help of a Pathways for Discipleship grant, the church has been coming into contact with children and youth who are developing a passion for that discipline.

Like many other smaller communities, Augusta has been hit hard by COVID. A number of athletic programs for children and youth quit functioning and are now trying to re-start. The virus also hit many
families hard economically, and the fees associated with some other
children and youth programs were difficult for them to support.

While others saw only problems, Derek Highbarger, a longtime member of the Augusta Department of Public Safety who holds a black belt in karate, saw opportunity. He has worked with kids for a long time and has three children of his own. He knew from previous experience that there was interest in karate in Augusta. As an active member of Augusta First UMC, Derek was aware that the church was always open to non-traditional ministry with young people. What he needed was resources to purchase the mats the ministry would need. Though the church was experiencing a COVID-strapped financial year, it found some money that could be used as a match for a $500 Pathways for Discipleship grant. When the mats arrived, Derek started the class.

Derek, with the help of his children and additional adult leadership, has been holding the karate class in the church gym since November of 2021. There are 10 to 15 children and youth ranging in age from four to sixteen who meet on Thursday nights and more are showing interest. Their parents bring them and often stay to watch the training. Some of the older youth recently asked for a second session with Derek during the week to increase their training and he managed to work it in. All of this is free to the participants.

Rev. Lynn Lamberty, pastor of First UMC Augusta, is excited about the future of this ministry.

“I believe that karate can be a good fit for us in forging new relationships with a variety of people in the community,” Lynn said. “They are experiencing the church in a new and exciting way and have appreciated the welcome they have received. At the heart of the training for karate are values also useful to Christians: selfdiscipline, respect for others, self-confidence, support for family and being willing to develop one’s given talents and abilities well for the blessing of others. This ministry opportunity would not have developed into anything concrete without the support of the Kansas Methodist Foundation.”

The program will continue as long as students keep showing up. God is moving in interesting ways.

Schultes Update Estate Plan to Give Charitably and Protect Family

Because they were raised in the church and it is in their hearts to follow God’s word, Steve and Teresa Schulte believe giving charitably is something they are called to do. While recently helping to settle her uncle’s estate, they saw the need to revisit their own plans for the future to ensure their charitable desires would be met and they would take care of their family.

“We wanted to have a plan for our kids and our grandchildren that would persevere,” Teresa said. “We also wanted to give to our church, the Methodist church, as well as some other organizations near and dear to our hearts. When we initially set up our trust documents in 1999, it was in essence an ‘in case of emergency plan’ to protect our children should something happen to both of us.”

However, as they reflected on the plan they previously created, they knew that due to changes in life, such as now having grandchildren and their increased ability to give charitably, their estate plan no longer reflected their current desires.

Through a conversation with Kansas Methodist Foundation President Dustin Petz following his presentation at Stilwell United Methodist Church, Steve and Teresa became aware of the estate planning and charitable giving services provided by the Foundation.

“It’s like a community foundation, but it has the Wesleyan tie to it; it just made sense,” Steve said. “With the help of John Griffin, an estate planning attorney with Stewardship Counseling, LLC, whose service is provided by the Foundation, I thought, ‘This is too good to be true’ and we absolutely wanted to take advantage of it.”

With the assistance of John, Steve and Teresa worked on a complete restatement of their trust. “Estate plans are very personal, and John took a lot of time to listen and educate us to help clarify what we really wanted,” Steve said.

“It was definitely not just a template, which I feel like we might have gotten had we gone directly to the attorney,” Teresa said. “I think the nuances he helped us get into our document were very important to both of us.”

In the restatement, it was important to the Schultes to include a charitable giving component as well as to create a special trust that will provide for their children and grandchildren.

“We chose to give ten percent to the Foundation for charitable purposes,” Steve said. “We also felt like it was important that our children have some say in that charitable giving. It’s nice that we can pass along generationally the charitable idea of being benevolent.”

Because of the way the Foundation has established the legacy gifting program, their children will be able to direct a portion of the charitable asset throughout their lifetimes. The Schultes appreciate the flexibility the Kansas Methodist Foundation provides for their charitable giving during their lifetime and into perpetuity. Since the gift to the Foundation is named in their estate plan, they have the latitude to change the charitable recipients of their fund at the Foundation without going back to their attorney and updating their documents.

“I would much more likely give my money to the Foundation because I believe they will be good and faithful stewards of our gift lasting into perpetuity,” Steve said.

Pass the Torch Scholarship Impacts Next Generation of Clergy

With aspirations of serving every seminary student in the Great Plains Conference, the Pass the Torch committee stepped closer to their goal through the growth of the scholarship fund.

Since its founding, the Pass the Torch Scholarship has provided more than $100,000 to help seminary students answer their call. Through generous gifts and memorial funds, in 2021 alone the scholarship endowment fund grew by over $14,000.

“It’s an effort on the part of retired clergy and surviving spouses to address the needs of people wanting to answer God’s call to ministry in the church, but for whom the cost of that was prohibitive,” Pass the Torch Committee Chair Rev. Gary Beach
said.

Started in the 1990s by retired pastors and surviving spouses of the Kansas West Conference, the Pass the Torch Scholarship has since expanded to serve the Great Plains Conference and provide financial support to the next generation of clergy.

“When obeying God’s call and making plans to attend seminary, I had to have faith that God would provide,” scholarship recipient Brenda Hogan said. “The cost of seminary is daunting. While still ‘dreaming’ of going to seminary, I learned about the Pass the Torch scholarship from my pastor at the time, Mark Conard. I filed it away as future help with school expenses. It was an early step in believing in the possibility of this new chapter in life. I was blessed to receive scholarship funds that have been a great help to me in furthering my
education.”

For the students receiving the scholarship, it not only helps provide financially, but also provides encouragement in the seminary journey.

“While the Pass the Torch scholarship only covers a small percentage of the annual cost of seminary, the impact is far greater,” Victor Peterson, a scholarship recipient said. “It warms my heart to know that former pastors and spouses are willing to invest in the future of the church and specifically help fund young pastors, like me, in training. Most retiring pastors are not wealthy, and there are numerous causes I’m sure they feel called to help fund. So their generosity toward me and my call both affirms my call and makes me feel valued and appreciated. Being in seminary and ministry simultaneously can be challenging and exhausting at times, but their gifts encourage me to continue pushing through.”

Brenda and Victor are just two of many scholarship recipients impacted by the generosity of past and current retired clergy and spouses.

As seminary costs continue to rise, the committee is hopeful it will be able to provide a greater impact through increasing the number of scholarships awarded and the dollar amount.

“The cost of seminary is far in excess of what we retired clergy would ever have had to pay for a seminary experience,” Gary said. “The retired clergy want to continue to beef up what we are able to do.”

The Kansas Methodist Foundation is honored to partner with the Pass the Torch committee to support the next generation of clergy through investing the scholarship endowment funds and helping administer the
scholarship program. If you are interested in joining the retired clergy in their efforts, please contact the Kansas Methodist Foundation.

Endowment Program Funds Upgrades for Live Stream Worship Service at Council Grove Dunlap UMC

When the pandemic started, members of Council Grove Dunlap UMC were not strangers to live streaming worship. However, when they resumed worship in person, they found new technology was needed to provide the in-person and online experiences they desired.

The church’s streaming worship service started with humble beginnings in 2019. A member of the congregation had a procedure that required him to be hospitalized for several months. Since he wanted to continue engaging in the weekly service, the congregation began using a cell phone and a tripod on Facebook live.

When the pandemic closed the church building, the congregation was familiar with live streaming and made quick adjustments.

“It wasn’t a leap for us at all to go to continue our live-stream worship service when they shut down buildings,” Rev. Brenda Davids, pastor of Council Grove Dunlap UMC said. “It was a bit of a leap to get it more intimate.”

Throughout the pandemic, they got better at providing a streaming option in which viewers felt a part of the service. However, when the building reopened, the camera person moving around became a distraction to those worshiping in person.

“We wanted to provide a hybrid worship service - continuing to worship with our online congregation,” Brenda said. “We have a pretty large following online now.”

As one of the only United Methodist Church in their area to offer a live stream worship service option, Council Grove found a niche broadcasting its weekly service. Although it is hard to estimate exactly how many people participate online after the livestream is ended, the Facebook recording receives numerous views throughout the week.

The congregation looked at options to provide an intimate worship experience in person and online and found a video solution with MSM Systems in Lawrence. There was only one hurdle.

“It was more money than we were expecting,” Brenda said. “We’ve had zero investment in this. We were using our own phones and Facebook live is free so we had no bank to do this project…. We had to come up with some money and that’s where we leaned back into our investments with the Foundation.”

Before an online service was on their minds, the finance committee chair had a dream of starting an endowment program. The congregation worked to start an endowment and opened investment funds with KMF.

“When we got the endowment started, I don’t think we even had $1,000,” Brenda said. “It really didn’t have anything, but what was important was starting it.” Congregation members could now leave an estate gift to the endowment fund to be used at a future date.

Through the endowment program and the faithfulness of congregation members to give, the church had immediate availability of funds to upgrade the cameras for the online service. Through these gifts, their legacy will live on in the church and community in a way they would probably never have imagined.

“Our live-stream worship service is missional,” Brenda said. “We were serving our own congregation and we were serving people who we don’t even know we’re touching. We don’t know when the next thing is going to happen where we would need a vital way to reach people.”