Foundation Newsletter, June 2019

In May, at an event in San Francisco, Google recognized a ministry in the Orange Mound neighborhood with deep ties to Second as its 2019 Tennessee Small Business of the Year. My Cup of Tea will be featured in Google’s economic publication with 51 other small businesses from across the nation.

The Foundation has supported My Cup of Tea with grants for the last two years.

Second’s Domestic Outreach Director Brian Lewis says, “My Cup of Tea is a strategic foothold in Orange Mound for ongoing kingdom work. It has provided income and job skills, created a venue for racial reconciliation, and developed a vehicle for knowing Christ. It is a bridge-building ministry that breaks down barriers between class and ethnicity.”

“Ministry and serving alongside our local mission partners is as natural and reflexive as breathing to Eddie Foster. He has poured himself into expanding the Lord’s kingdom, with a special focus on Memphis. His heart for all people has encouraged us all.”  

Brandon Morrison
Foundation Grants Chair

Learn how the Foundation has shown its appreciation for the work of the former Director of Domestic Missions.

Our church’s one earthly Foundation is strong — due to the individual strong funds. The individual funds are strong — due to the one Foundation.

Ever wonder what the Second Presbyterian Church Foundation does with the resources it has and how it is even possible to do as much as it does? The monthly FUNDation STRONG series conveys this information including the current and cumulative ministry impact that affects not only our ministry partners, but our own congregation.

Understanding Our Church's Foundation

The combined assets of the Foundation and the Realty Foundation are currently close to $29,000,000. Additionally, grants have been made totaling $28,000,000 over the 21-year life of the organization for a total of $57,000,000 in combined resources.

 The resources needed for all of the grants the Foundation makes are housed in funds. There are different types of funds. Some are undesignated and some are designated. Some of the designated funds are designated by the donor and some by the Board. Some funds are designed so that only the annual earnings are available to be spent, while others allow for the entire balance to be spent. 

 Our church’s one earthly Foundation is strong — due to the individual strong funds. The individual funds are strong — due to the one Foundation. 

 The one Foundation:

•  provides a platform to host funds suited for long-term management and growth as well as a platform to foster new creative funds

• gives collective investment strength and opportunities that benefit the individual funds

• allows the marrying of funds to accomplish a specific purpose.

 The individual funds:

•  collectively strengthen the one Foundation    

• benefit the ministries of our church as well as her mission partners

• give options to members of the congregation for landing spots for designated gifts

• provide an efficient mechanism for members of the congregation to financially engage with our ministry partners

 There are close to 40 total funds. Understanding where the money comes from and what ministries are funded by those individual funds is key to understanding what the Foundation does.

 In 2015, the Foundation began a dedicated monthly post in the online Messenger called Living Out Your Legacy. This past fall it was decided to use that space to inform the congregation of how the Foundation is structured by way of its funds. The two-year long series is called FUNDation STRONG.

 Those articles touch on the history behind the establishment of the fund; the mission of the fund; the current impact and relevance of the fund; and any future goals for that specific fund.

This series is a way to dive deeper in an enjoyable way – not with unending numbers and statistics – to learn about the Foundation. Follow along each month as the mystery of the big story and big numbers is revealed through the impact of the smaller yet powerful stories.

Serving Well: Eddie Foster

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The Foundation Board of Directors recently honored Eddie Foster, former Director of Domestic Missions, for his 13 faithful years of service as a trusted advisor to the Foundation.  It did so by adding $50,000 to the endowed Home Missions Reserve Fund. This action will expand committed resources to the area of domestic missions.

 When considering making strategic grants to local agencies, both the Foundation Grants Committee and Board of Directors look to receive input from the Domestic Missions department of the church. Potential grants may be for existing church ministry partners or new emerging ones. A thorough review is provided by the Domestic Missions staff as to the suitability of the potential grant and the strategic nature of it. Church staff often accompany Foundation staff and volunteers on site visits.

Eddie, who retired in December 2018, was an invited guest to the Foundation’s recent Board meeting where they presented their action. In response, Eddie has conveyed the following. “It is deeply meaningful to me that some additional dollars are going to be invested in ministry in our city that somehow are connected with me.   

“We recognize that as a church we have been exceptionally blessed with financial resources.  While the investment of our people directly in God’s work in our city is, in my judgment, the greater contribution we make to ministry efforts in Memphis, certainly the dollars we invest have had significant effect in blessing our city.  I have been in the unique position to see firsthand how the Foundation’s funding has enhanced our support of strategic initiatives.   

“We should all be grateful for the foresight of Herbert Rhea, Monte Weaver, Jim Boren, and others who had a vision of how a foundation could fit into the church’s missional strategy. The others that have had more recent leadership roles with the Foundation have, in my judgment, been faithful to that original vision and even increased the bottom-line effectiveness of how dollars are distributed. The established parameters and controls and the seriousness with which they consider each request have contributed to that effectiveness.  

“I am grateful for the opportunity I have had to have contributed in some small way to the work of the Foundation and am appreciative of the Board’s special recognition.”

Brandon Morrison, Foundation Grants Chair stated, “Ministry and serving alongside our local mission partners is as natural and reflexive as breathing to Eddie Foster. He has poured himself into expanding the Lord’s kingdom, with a special focus on Memphis. His heart for all people has encouraged us all.” 

The city of Memphis is a better place due to the thoughtful labor of Eddie Foster.

Tea for Two...and Many More

My Cup of Tea, now a social enterprise, initially was launched as a small profitable business by Mary Beth Bryce in 2006. She studied tea, traveled abroad to meet blenders and growers and developed a small top - tier tea import company.

 In 2012, Carey and Rick Moore, who had wholeheartedly invested in property and ministry on Carnes Avenue, started a resource center called The House of Orange Mound to intentionally champion a neglected community and demographic.  Carey stated, “We knew many gifted women at Second desiring to embrace true religion: ‘to visit the fatherless and widows and care for the poor’ (James 1:27)”.   The House had become a sanctified space of classes, activity, Bible study and reconciliation between cultures by 2015. 

Mary Beth approached Carey in 2014, hoping that the Moore’s mission at the House in Orange Mound might benefit should they purchase her small business to attract more women in Orange Mound needing low-entry jobs. The vacuum of job opportunities for women without diplomas or reliable transportation was solved and filled by the purchase of the tea company.

 Carey and Rick converted the company into a production and assembly operation and hired Orange Mound single moms. They applied for non-profit status which was granted in November of 2017. New creative branding defined the mission of the company of excellent teas and opened a new awareness of “tea with a ministry to women.” 

The many classes at The House, taught by volunteers, identify talents, interests, and giftedness of the employees. Volunteers assist in literacy, marketing, mentoring, cooking, teaching, gardening, sewing, photography, and more.

Daily devotions and weekly Bible studies have brought healing to deep wounds endemic in poverty, isolation and neglect. A community of genuine trust and cross-cultural friendships have seeded a field of hope, stability and dignity. Security, beauty, and hospitality within the walls of the House lead to laughter, loyalty, and trust. 

The good news of redemption through the Gospel softens the countless injustices the women face.  It is a place of prayer. Most have heard the Gospel for the first time in class. Most are unchurched as the many historic churches of Orange Mound are closed but for Sunday worship.

Inquiring and curious women of Orange Mound continue to knock on the door of the House.  To be employed, a woman must complete Work Life, Tea Life, intern, and pass a drug screen.  Starting wages begin $2.00 over minimum wage, but the assured dividends of working in a safe, nurturing, organic, and supporting community is beyond measure. 

Over 30 women have been employed, some moving on to full-time work with strong resumés. Currently 15 are working at the House, mostly part time, so as to care for their children.  At least five of the employees have been equipped for independent second businesses at the House.  “We are constantly rewarding initiative, motivation, and talent,” Rick said. My Cup of Tea has become an incubator.

Survival in crisis and exposure to available solutions are daily subjects at The House. “We have built The House of Orange Mound on the Solid Rock, and in obedience to that, have found the joy of God’s Hand and Word guiding us constantly. My Cup of Tea is the Lord’s gift for the neighborhood ladies we respect and love. Our staff has discovered the elegance of our product, poise and refinement, a trusted income source, and a dignity and confidence rarely seen in poverty.  Many give evidence of a Spirit led life now.” Carey stated.

The inspirational house with a mission on the corner of Semmes and Carnes will continue to strengthen the credible witness of reconciliation for Memphis. The economic benefits will continue to fortify single mothers of Orange Mound. Google’s selection of My Cup of Tea as the Tennessee Small Business of 2019 will expand the product’s identity, sales, and further the mission. Within the next three years there are new plans to construct a tea house for serving world class teas to guests, hosting community meetings, and showcasing crafts and art created by Orange Mound women.

FUNDation Strong: Forming Boys in Wisdom and Stature

Second Presbyterian Church birthed Presbyterian Day School in 1949. The founding of PDS was an important missional decision by our church in furthering God’s Kingdom. Since its inception, PDS’s mission has been to honor God by developing boys in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man. PDS is deeply rooted in its founding belief that Jesus Christ is Lord and that Christian education is vital.

It is an integral part of the PDS mission to provide an academic and Christian foundation not just to those who can afford it, but also to boys who would otherwise not have access to a PDS education. Second Presbyterian Church and subsequently the Foundation have historically supported that mission with the Clay Scholarship Fund, which was established by a donor to support boys of members of Second seeking financial aid through PDS. Scholarships in the amount of $215,000 have been provided since 1985.

In an effort to reflect God’s Kingdom and the city of Memphis, PDS also has been taking intentional and strategic steps to become more ethnically and socioeconomically diverse.  PDS Headmaster Steve Hancock recently stated, “We need to make certain this world-class education is affordable and accessible for all qualified applicants. The possibilities are very exciting as we build a robust community that mirrors our city.”

The PDS Young Scholars Program was launched in 2010 to provide the opportunity for boys from any part of the Memphis area to attend PDS. The initial efforts have borne fruit in the lives of many young men, who are now well on their way to completing the secondary level of school. There are an additional twenty young scholars who are currently enrolled at PDS across the JK – 6th grade spectrum.

“The great news about this program is that PDS has, for many years, successfully recruited, welcomed, discipled, mentored and graduated boys from under resourced families,” says Don Batchelor, former PDS Board Chair and 2PC Foundation Board member. In fact, the first Young Scholar graduates were so well taught and mentored that they were all in the top half of their respective classes.

Based on this proven track record, PDS expanded the program in the fall of 2017.  The Foundation also established the Presbyterian Day School Young Scholars Fund at that time.  The PDSYSF will help support this goal with partial scholarship funding for tuition and related costs to attend PDS.

With Christian Leadership Development a key missional focus for the Foundation, in the fall of 2017 the Board approved partial support for one Young Scholar for eight years and also established the endowed Fund with seed money of $50,000. A goal of approximately $300,000 will net sufficient earnings to sponsor an additional student in perpetuity.  The Fund also has an expendable component, which allows donors to contribute resources that can be immediately deployed to support current students.

John Alexander is the Chairman of the PDS Board and also serves on the Foundation Board. He said, “The PDS Young Scholars Program is helping qualified boys who might not otherwise have the opportunity to gain access to world class Christian education. In supporting this program, the 2PC Foundation is participating in changing our school, our church, and our city for the glory of God.”

Learn more about the PDS Young Scholars Program.

FUNDation Strong: Forming Millennials and Gen Zs in Christ

Why would an early 20-something move to a city mostly unknown to him or her; live with complete strangers; be placed in their first job upon graduating from college with the guidance of people they only recently met; commit to hours of more study and volunteerism; dwell in community with a complete group of peer strangers; and pay an additional year of tuition to do all of this? 

The answer: To start well.   

Each academic year about 10 recent college graduates arrive in Memphis to participate in the Fellows program at Second for the next 8 ½ months.  The Memphis Fellows is part of a network of almost 30 Fellows programs across the country that are members of The Fellows Initiative, a national organization committed to the flourishing of Fellows programs. This growing movement is a proven model for forming millennials and now Gen Zs in Christ.

As part of a state-wide two day legislative trip to Nashville, the four Tennessee Fellows programs convene annually to attend legislative sessions; tour the Governor’s residence; meet with state legislators and other public officials; learn about civic involvement; and fellowship with other Fellows. The Memphis Fellows also met with recently inaugurated Governor Bill Lee and his wife, Maria, as well as Attorney General Herbert Slatery.

The Memphis program is now in its 14th year, having a total of 123 participants. The weekly elements of the Memphis program consist of a 32-hour internship in a chosen industry; instruction in both Christian world-view and Bible study; testimonies from speakers from various vocational disciplines on the integration of faith and work; round-table dinner discussions on relevant topics or for fellowship; and volunteerism with ministries in the community.

Other elements throughout the year include vocational discernment and preparation; counseling assessment; financial planning; domestic and world missions exposure; evangelism; a silent retreat; and a mentoring relationship. Addressing the cultural issues of the day through the Christian lens is a key component. 

The results of the program are impressive both at the national and local levels. The spiritual formation of over 2000 millennials nationwide and the encouragement and training of them to be engaged in the local church is the overarching accomplishment. In Memphis, an overwhelming number of graduates have chosen to remain in Memphis at least for a few years, investing in this city. Concurrently the new member rolls of Second have included many Fellows graduates.

Deborah Coleman is the current Fellows Director. She is responsible for overseeing, through the work of committees, the functions of recruitment; placement in homes, jobs and with mentors; instruction and programming; volunteerism; and alumni involvement; as well as being present in the lives of the Fellows during the program year and sometimes beyond.      

As with most educational programs, tuition does not cover the entire cost to administer the program.  Second provides valuable but limited support to the program. In 2012, the Foundation was asked to help manage the growth of the modest resources that the Fellows held. Subsequently, donations were directed to the newly established Fellows Fund and the Board later directed a portion of a bequest to it from an individual who had valued the purpose of the program.

The fund exists for scholarships for participants unable to pay or raise the total tuition and for programmatic support. The Memphis program annually hosts the Micah 6:8 regional conference for half of the national programs. Funding for the conference speakers has been a part of the grants made as well as for the silent retreats and registration fees for the female Fellows to attend the church’s annual Women’s Retreat and the male Fellows to attend a similar retreat. 

The goals and results of the Fellows program are far reaching at many individual and corporate levels; enhance the local church; impact many of its ministries; and impact the community in which we live. The Foundation is pleased to have the opportunity to support this intensive method of developing future generations of leaders for the church.

Foundation Newsletter, February 2019

Sixty-eight of our youngest members and their youth leaders, upon engaging with specific ministries, have made decisions to recommend grants to those ministries from accounts set aside for that purpose.

Those accounts are known as “Seed Money” Funds and are provided by the Foundation when these young students join the church. They are designed in part to facilitate family conversations about philanthropy.

At present there are 170 nationalities in Rotterdam. In the Netherlands over 50% of the people are from non-Dutch backgrounds and in the cities it can be as high as 75%.

There are 39 churches in a network in that country that was envision in 2006 by Theo Visser, called Intercultural Church Plants. ICP Netherlands’ goal is to build bridges within the network as well as grow it. Under the leadership of Hans and Carolien Euser, they would like to have one intercultural church per 10,000 of the 4,000,000 non-Dutch in the Netherlands. 

The history of Second’s commitment to funding seminarians who are members of our church goes back to at least the early 1960s. A recent bequest of $85,000 has been used to seed the establishment of a Seminarian Support Fund.

Almost 60 years later support for seminarians remains at the heart of the mission. Learn more about how that support came to be, how it continues, and the immeasurable fruit that has come and is yet to come from this investment in spreading the gospel.

Seminarians at the HEART of the Mission

Price Morrison chats with Barr Overcast who recently received a Master of Divinity from RTS Charlotte. Price served as a mentor to Barr during his years in seminary.

The history of Second’s commitment to funding seminarians who are members of our church goes back at least to the early 1960s. When researching those old and sometimes yellowed records, one has to smile at the quite literal “carbon copies” of documents; the formality and length of hand written letters of correspondence; the odd shaped forms of promissory notes for student loans to be forgiven if engaged in full time Christian work; and most notably the price of seminary in those days.

The Wills and Endowment Committee of the Session – the forerunner to the Foundation – facilitated support for about 65 seminarians until 1998 when its work came to a conclusion as it granted its pool of resources – almost $3,000,000 – to seed this then new organization, the Second Presbyterian Church Foundation.

So it is appropriate that support for seminarians is arguably a core mission and priority of the Foundation. As part of the transition, the Foundation assumed responsibility for six funds that were established either from bequests or memorials given.  The majority were given in the mid 1980s. 

For those who have been at Second for a while, the names on these funds will resonate – Earl Hooks, Dr. Jim Hazelwood, Blanch Pence, Martha Stewart, William Crosby and Sara Vanfossan. For most others the names will not ring a bell, but the ongoing impact of these funds is mighty. Together they established an early pattern of dedicated support for this form of intensive preparation for ministry.

Due to the nature of the funds established in another economic time, the current total of these funds is $185,000, which nets approximately $9,000 per year. In today’s economy, that covers expenses for less than one year for one student.  

However, because of the historical commitment to providing support for our members called to full time ministry and the long term proven results, the Foundation Board marries funds from its undesignated fund to make up the difference in what is needed from year to year. For instance this year the total commitment is $240,000 for 30 seminarians. 

Ideally the Foundation will one day have enough resources housed in a dedicated fund that will meet the expense needs for our seminarians, freeing up those undesignated dollars for missional work at home and abroad. 

The Foundation recently received a bequest of $85,000 from donors who prioritized the support of seminarians during their lifetimes. Appropriately, the Board directed that bequest to establish such a fund with the hope that it will accumulate adequate resources over time.

So what is the result of the $993,000 that has been spent in the first twenty years? Immeasurable Fruit. There have been 67 students supported with an even more number of degrees earned. Degrees such as Master of Divinity, Master of Arts in Biblical Studies, Master of Arts in Theological Studies, and Master of Arts in Biblical Counseling. 

Students obtained those degrees from institutions such as Reformed Theological Seminary either in Orlando, Charlotte, Jackson or as part of the RTS Global Education program; Covenant Seminary in St. Louis; or Gordon Conwell Seminary near Boston and in Charlotte, among others. 

Seminarians are still required to continue into full-time Christian ministry upon graduation and the overwhelming majority of those supported remain in Christian service today. They are ordained pastors; hold non-ordained positions of leadership in churches; serve as counselors in a Christian setting; are missionaries in foreign lands; serve in many and various types of para-church organizations; and work in Christian educational environments. 

The stories and the fruit are voluminous. Ten seminarians have been featured over the past year as we have learned in detail how they are sounding forth the gospel in various parts of the world. 

The success of this investment is rooted in the thorough examination and application processes that candidates are subject to – for the good of all. The Foundation works with the pastoral staff of the church and the Christian Psychological Center. Lay mentors are assigned for the length of seminary and two years beyond.   

More that just continuing and improving an effort begun many years ago, the Grants Committee of the Foundation constantly asks what is the prevailing purpose of an investment this large. For instance, with the inception of the LAUNCH pastoral residency program a few years ago, it was determined that support would be provided for their seminary studies as well. The basic answer however is the reminder that we provide partial support for our members while they are taking theological training to the end that they may be able to give themselves more fully to intensive study and preparation for serving our Lord Jesus Christ in full time Christian service. 

Praise the Lord that so many have been raised up out of Second Presbyterian Church for this intensive mission. 

Those who would like to make a donation to the Seminarian Support Fund can contact Vicki Simmons at 507-7898 or vsimmons@2pc.org or use the button below.

Responding to a Significant Cultural Shift in European Nations’ Societies

In 2000 the International Christian Fellowship (ICF) of Rotterdam was started in a culturally diverse neighborhood. After several years inquiries came from other cities in the country to help them start new intercultural communities like the ICF. In 2006 the network of Intercultural Church Plants (ICP) started as an answer to the need in a Dutch, multicultural society. With the support and help of ICP more than 30 churches were planted. 

While this network began in The Netherlands, at the same time there are similar initiatives elsewhere in Europe. An early goal was to meet at the European level, to exchange perspectives, to learn from each other, and to see healthy movements of church planting develop all over the Netherlands and Europe. 

The mission of ICP is to advance the kingdom by equipping church planting efforts with intercultural communities. There are three main things done through ICP.  

• Inspire churches, organizations and theological schools with the vision of Revelation 7:9-12. ICP searches for and recruits new pioneers and church planting teams.

• Train newly formed church planting teams in a two-year span with four weekend sessions, monthly contact and personal coaching.

• Support the network of intercultural church plants with what they need with training days, tools, and research.

It also has a long-term goal of sending out people to their homelands in order to plant churches there. ICP also encourages church plants to eventually plant other churches, because they see multiplication as essential to the growth of the church in Europe.

ICP has a strong missionary and intercultural focus. Grace is at the heart of the ICP work. They combine sound theology with a great openness for everything the Spirit of God is accomplishing in the worldwide church of Jesus.

In order to reach the increasing number of immigrants and see the church represent the multicultural society, they have developed a more cross-cultural approach to church planting. Realizing that God sent Jesus to give us connection with Him and with each other they see that an intercultural church focuses on bringing the variety of cultures along ethnic lines together in one church.

ICP Netherlands has a strong team, including Hans and Carolien Euser, who have been the network leaders since Theo left ICP NL to start ICP Europe in July 2017.  With a European network taking shape, it will support national networks such as ICP NL. 

Other ICP NL members of the leadership team are from Iran, Burundi, China and Hungary. The team has recently collaborated with the Protestant Church of the Netherlands, giving them access to an additional, larger network. They are now involved in the training of 20 of the churches within the PKN network.  

ICP NL helped form another network with a result of engagement with all of the theological universities in the country. They are thinking through issues related to reaching an increasingly multicultural society. 

The Foundation has supported ICP NL with grants totaling $80,000 and ICP Europe with a grant of $15,000 to date.

Our Youth Experience the Grace of Giving

Sixty-eight of our high school aged youth and their youth leaders made grant requests totaling $8,611 from their Youth Stewardship “Seed Money” Funds to be disbursed to 68 Session or Foundation approved agencies since the program began in 2015. 

Among the ministries chosen are: Advance Memphis, Binghampton Christian Academy, Boy Scouts, Christ’s Community Church, Esperanza, Innovation Church, Leadership Empowerment Center, Memphis Gridiron Ministries, Neighborhood Christian Centers, New City Fellowship, New Song, PDS, Paulus Movement, Refugee Empowerment Program, Streets Ministry, Su Casa, and Young Life Memphis.

In an effort to provide a tangible experience of expressing generosity, the Foundation opens a fund in the name of each student who joins our church with $250. Funds may be matched or contributed to by family, friends, or the student. 

The Student Ministries staff provides teaching, direction, and mentoring, as funds also have been established for them. The funds are designed to be granted out by the time a student graduates from high school and to those agencies with whom they have developed a relationship with. Students have an option to convert their youth fund into a normal Donor Advised Fund at the completion of their high school years