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News
Darwin Collins to join CCF development staff
The Rev. Dr. W. Darwin Collins, regional minister for the Christian Church in Pennsylvania since 1994, will join the executive development staff of the Christian Church Foundation this fall.
“Darwin brings tremendous pastoral and administrative skills with him, as well as a good knowledge of finances,” said Rev. Gary Kidwell, Foundation president. “It is important to remember that first and foremost, the work we do here is ministry.”
He will join Deborrah Wray as vice presidents in the Great Lakes Zone, assisting donors and congregations in Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and the Northeast states.
Kidwell said Collins also has a great understanding of regional ministry work, which will help staff members better identify issues related to the regional manifestation of the church.
“Darwin has a proven track record as a pastor and regional minister. He already is quite familiar with most areas within our Great Lakes Zone, and he knows and loves the church,” Kidwell said. “We are excited to add him to your Foundation’s team.”
In a letter to Pennsylvania pastors as he announced his change, Collins wrote: “I give thanks to God for these fourteen years we have shared together and look forward to our continued ministry as I serve in this new capacity with the Foundation.”
Collins, a Pennsylvania native, has master of arts and master of divinity degrees from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. In 2003, he received his doctor of ministry degree from Lutheran Theological Seminary. Bethany College in 2002 presented him with an honorary doctor of divinity degree.
Before becoming regional minister, Collins served Uniontown Central Christian Church as a student assistant, assistant minister, associate minister, and from 1980 until 1994, senior minister.
In the general church, he has served on the board of Church Extension and as trustee of Bethany College and National City Christian Church Foundation.
He and his wife, Rachel, have two grown daughters.
CCF Distributes $8.1 million in '07
The Christian Church Foundation distributed $8.1 million for ministry in 2007, including a record $4.3 million from permanent funds alone. 
“These are the dollars that are undergirding the witness of general ministries, congregations, regions and other Disciples causes,” said the Rev. Gary Kidwell, Foundation president. “What this figure does not include is the millions of dollars in income generated by subject-to-withdrawal accounts owned by Disciples ministries that were returned to those ministries to expand their work and witness.”
Disciples Mission Fund, the general funding system for the Christian Church
(Disciples of Christ), received more than $1.1 million from permanent funds and donor-advised gifts. This figure is the largest distribution to the church’s mission funding system in CCF’s history.
At the end of 2007 the Foundation was responsible for a record $436.7 million of the church’s money – up from $407.3 million the year before. This figure includes $110.3 million in permanent funds and $277.9 million owned by Disciples ministries with investment accounts at the Foundation.
Kidwell said 2007 was another strong year for the Foundation, as total gifts reached almost $10 million, the highest since 1998. That figure includes $4.5 million in new permanent fund dollars, as well as $2.7 million in life-income gifts.
The Foundation’s Steward’s Bank, a donor-advised fund, receipted a record $2.4 million.
New subject-to-withdrawal deposits to Foundation accounts reached $24.3 million.
Kidwell also reported:
• $1.5 million flowed into permanent funds from the maturity of deferred gifts, such as charitable gift annuities and charitable trusts. Overall, $1.7 million matured, with donors directing most of those dollars into permanent funds at CCF.
• The Foundation ended 2007 being responsible for $35.7 million in deferred gifts.
• More donors are using the Steward’s Bank for giving. Just over $1 million was distributed in 2007 from donor’s Steward’s Bank accounts, with about 85% of those dollars going to Disciples ministries and the rest to other charities. The 2007 Steward’s Bank distribution was almost twice what was distributed in 2006.
• Many closing Disciples congregations are seeing their witness continue through permanent funds. At the end of 2007, 38 closed congregations had established permanent funds at the Foundation, distributing nearly $600,000 for ministry.
• The Foundation ended 2007 on solid footing, with income of $3.8 million and expenses of $3.1 million.
“We have a sacred responsibility to the church because the dollars entrusted to us actually belong to God,” Kidwell said. “The great trust that donors and the church have placed with us is humbling and we take our responsibility as custodian of those gifts most seriously.”
The Christian Church Foundation is a general ministry of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) with the mission of undergirding ministry through permanent funds, planned gifts and prudent investment of funds owned by Disciples ministries. It is a donor-directed Foundation designed to benefit Disciples ministries and institutions.
The Foundation's audited 2007 financial statement is completed, and can be found by clicking here.
