At the Christian Church Foundation, our mission is to connect Disciples' passions with ministries. Foundation staff members do not solicit gifts for the benefit of the Foundation; rather, staff help Disciples create legacy gifts that support the ministries they care about deeply. Working hand-in-hand with congregations and other ministries, we strive to build for a new generation of Disciples in three important ways.

First, we work with individuals who have a desire to "pay forward" the spiritual legacy received from prior generations with a planned financial gift to benefit the ministries that have touched their lives. That's what Allen and Marie Brady did when they created an estate plan that now undergirds the various ministries of their Arizona congregation. It's been done by Sue Malotte in California, Martha Nell Simpson in Texas and countless other individuals with gifts large and small who have put together estate plans that include charitable giving through the Christian Church Foundation to benefit the donor's favorite ministries.

As the planned giving ministry of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), the Foundation will support the ministries you choose as a part of establishing your permanent fund with the Foundation. Permanent funds are easy to set up, easy to change, and may be funded with a gift during your lifetime or with a gift from your estate. Working together, over 1,000 such permanent funds distribute millions of dollars to Disciples ministries every year. These gifts are as unique as the faithful donors who dreamed them into reality, ranging in size from a thousand dollars to several million dollars and benefiting the wide spectrum of Disciples ministries.

The Foundation's other two services are offered directly to congregations and other ministries called to be faithful stewards of resources given to them by a multitude of Disciples. Whether assisting a congregation with the development of healthy endowment fund policies or offering professionally managed, prudent investment fund management, the Foundation seeks to grow the Church's financial resources in a way that will also grow the faithfulness of our membership. In our investment management services, we seek to both grow and use these ministry resources—what we believe is God's money—so that we will pass both a powerful witness and a growing endowment to the next generation of Disciples.

To learn more about how the Foundation can help you and your congregation, call us at (800) 668-8016 or visit us at www.disciples.org/ccf.

Jim Cullumber is Vice President Communication of the Christian Church Foundation, a general ministry of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).