Part of an ongoing series, focusing on those who are dedicated to evangelism in the 21st century.

These articles will spotlight individuals who successfully utilize their leadership skills in evangelism and ministry with youth.  

Ronnie Collins, associate pastor for First Hillsville UMC in Hillsville, Virginia. He is also pastor for Out Of The Box Youth & Out Of The Box Worship Center. 

"Our first hurdle was to present the vision God had given us to the Church Council. We wrote up a proposal that included the cost of rent and utilities and then shared what we believed God had shown us, that there were many teens who needed a place to belong, a safe place, where they could learn about Jesus and not be intimidated by the elements of Christianity they didn't understand..."

Foundation partnership through E. Stanley Jones Professor plays key role

The Reutlingen School of Theology in Reutlingen, Germany, recently received its institutional re-accreditation for an unprecedented 10 year period from Germany's Federal Board of Science. In its press release, the board notes the positive development in research and teaching as well as the international relationships of the school as being crucial points for their decision.

The Foundation for Evangelism was mentioned five times in the Board of Science's public statement on the re-accreditation of the school, clearly indicating that the long-term support of the E. Stanley Jones Chair of Evangelism has had a significant impact on the development of the school as a whole as well as its public perception within the academic community.  

"The easy thing would be to attribute Safe Harbor's worship attendance increases to my dynamic leadership and preaching. Unfortunately, I have a conscience. The increases are more likely due to our efforts to provide diversified, worshipful experiences each week." begins Rev. Tom Potter, Senior Pastor of Safe Harbor United Methodist Church in Moss Point, Mississippi.

"In the two years post-Katrina, at least 20 to 30 out-of-state mission team members stayed at the church and worshiped each week."

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Dr. Leonard Sweet, E. Stanley Jones Professor of Evangelism at Drew University, spoke at Lake Junaluska during the United Methodist Camp and Retreat Ministries Gathering Feb. 1. As he addressed listeners he told them that leaders in the church, do not get to pick their moment. Rather, God makes that choice for them. They are placed where and when God's stories and love are most needed. He admonished listeners not to spend time developing intricate missions and program plans.  

The mission statement comes from Christ and is simply "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit," (Matt 18:1 NRSV). "That," he said, "is our job, and this is our time."

The beginning of a new year brings new changes to federal taxes-estate taxes, that is. As of Jan. 1, 2011, federal estate tax laws have undergone major adjustments. The most notable being the reinstatement of the estate tax at the $5 million level. Check out the "Quick Reference Guide" below to learn more about what changed this year.

What This Means for You
Most of us know that we need an estate plan to determine who gets what from our assets when we are gone. Plus, we know that without a valid will, we are leaving it up to the state to determine who gets the majority of our assets and belongings. Now, with the estate tax threshold temporarily raised to a $5 million mark, for many of us, estate tax planning won't feel so necessary in the short term. The important part is deciding who gets what from our estates.