Members of the Franson Fellowship have prayerfully included TEAM as a beneficiary of a legacy gift from their estate to ensure that the Gospel vision of TEAM’s founder, Fredrik Franson, endures for future generations.
TEAM’s founder, Fredrik Franson, lived such a life. Commissioned by D.L. Moody, Franson shared the Gospel on the American frontier and in Europe in the late 1800s.
In response to Hudson Taylor’s call for 1,000 missionaries to China, Franson committed to fulfilling a tenth of that goal and taught his first missionary training class in 1890. Fifty missionaries chosen from that first class birthed the Scandinavian Alliance Mission of North America, later to be renamed The Evangelical Alliance Mission (TEAM).
Following in the footsteps of our visionary founder, the Franson Fellowship exists to recognize and engage people dedicated to furthering TEAM’s transformational mission through a legacy gift. Members of the Franson Fellowship have prayerfully included TEAM as a beneficiary of a legacy gift from their estate to ensure Franson’s vision endures for future generations.
Will you prayerfully consider joining this community through a lasting investment in TEAM’s kingdom work?
Franson Fellowship Member Benefits
The joy of reaching people among the nations with Christ’s love
Updates in the Franson Fellowship newsletter and other TEAM communications
Invitations to special opportunities
Appreciation gift for your thoughtful plan to include TEAM in your estate
Already Designated a Gift to TEAM?
Thank you!
If you’ve already been gracious enough to include TEAM as a beneficiary in your will, trust, insurance policy, or other accounts, please let us know so we can include you in the Franson Fellowship. For more information, please contact Jeanne Conder, Director of Planned Giving, at jeanne.conder@team.org or calling (719) 339-6868.
Everyone Leaves a Legacy. What Will Your Legacy Be?
If you would like more information about the Franson Fellowship, please contact us by emailing legacy@team.org or calling 1-800-343-3144.
TEAM is blessed to partner with Franson Fellowship members – those who have chosen to plan for a lasting legacy of generosity. A few of those folks share their stories below.
Retired TEAM office worker Catherine* and her husband, Tom* know the win-win benefits of a TEAM gift annuity. In 1999, Catherine’s brother funded a gift annuity as a way to provide secure income for her during retirement. Later, Catherine and Tom funded two additional gift annuities.
Now in their 90’s, they recently used funds from a matured Certificate of Deposit (CD) to establish a fourth gift annuity at a rate of 8.4% that will provide fixed payments for the rest of their lives. Thirty-five years after Catherine’s retirement from TEAM, the couple also continues to support TEAM global workers.
Catherine and Tom are thrilled that whatever remains in their four gift annuities after their lives will stay with TEAM to impact future generations for Christ.
*names have been changed
Doug and Jane Batchelder
‘We Want to Make Sure TEAM’s Mission Continues’
“We want to continue our Kingdom impact even after we’ve been ‘promoted’ to heaven,” Doug Batchelder says. That’s why he and his wife, Jane, chose to put TEAM in their will.
The couple first learned about TEAM while Doug was pastoring a church. The congregation sent two couples to the mission field through TEAM — one to Japan, the other to South Africa. As Doug got to know the two couples, he also got to know TEAM and its disciple-making mission.
As Doug and Jane considered their legacy, it was a natural step to make TEAM a beneficiary of their will. “We love the mission of TEAM and value how it has stayed true to the Gospel over its long history,” Doug says. “We want to make sure that the mission continues!”
John and Shirley Bennett
An Avenue of Service to God
For John and Shirley Bennett, TEAM was not only their “avenue of service to God,” as Shirley says, but also how the Lord brought them together. Both served cross-culturally in TEAM before taking assignments in TEAM’s Wheaton, Illinois office where they met for the first time. The couple married in 1975 and continued to serve through TEAM in various capacities for many years.
The Bennetts included TEAM in their will when they first married and never wavered in that conviction. “TEAM’s priority is to share God’s Word worldwide,” says Shirley. “Whether involved in medical, education, church planting or other means, we are commanded to ‘go into all the world and preach the Gospel.’”
“Anyone who is planning to give to TEAM can be assured that their gift will be used judiciously, wisely, and frugally,” Shirley says.
John and Judy Nicely
All-In for God’s Work through TEAM
John and Judy Nicely have been “all-in” with God’s Work through TEAM since they entered the mission field in 1989. The couple shares that their many years with TEAM, both in the field as well as in the home office, have given evidence of the organization’s unwavering commitment to its mission to send disciples who make disciples and establish missional churches to the glory of God.
“TEAM has shown itself to be flexible and adaptable,” says John. “TEAM does a good job of trying to strike the balance between new and innovative, but at the same time, remembering the lessons that we learned from history.”
When it came to considering an estate gift to TEAM, John says, “To us, it was a no-brainer. We’re all-in with TEAM. We left our careers, our family, and our home to be all-in with TEAM. Why not part of our will, too? To me, the question is, why wouldn’t we do this?”
Doug and Laura Snyder
A Legacy of Loyalty
Doug and Laura Snyder have a passion for the next generation of Kingdom workers. Their work with TEAM began as global workers in central Asia and continued when they returned to the U.S. The Snyders often share about God’s work among Muslims and encourage young people to see their responsibility to share Christ with others.
One example of the fruit borne from these efforts occurred when Doug and Laura made a return visit to central Asia. A student approached Doug and said, “I know you. You and your wife talked about Muslims in my class at Wheaton College. I’m here because of you.”
It’s this type of legacy that prompted the Snyders to include TEAM in their will. “Legacy and loyalty go hand in hand,” Doug explains. “TEAM has helped us to exercise our gifts in serving for many years. We want others to have the same opportunity.”
Is Your Story Next?
Leave Your Own Legacy
Did you know there are creative ways to support TEAM? Ways in which TEAM, you and your loved ones all benefit at the same time? Such giving techniques are called “planned gifts”, because with thoughtful planning, you create win-win solutions for you and TEAM. There are a variety of ways you can give,
• Name TEAM in Your Will or Trust
• Beneficiary designation in an investment or retirement account
• Charitable Gift Annuity
Not sure how to get started or need some help updating your estate plans? Request a free Estate Planning Guide and Will Starter Kit by emailing jeanne.conder@team.org.
Leave a Legacy
Where there’s a will, there’s a way…to leave your legacy!
Create a new or updated Last Will and Testament, Health Care Power of Attorney, and Financial Power of Attorney for free.
More than 60% of Americans pass away without a valid will in place. When asked why they don’t have a will, the most common reasons people give are not knowing how to get one, not getting around to it, or not believing they have enough assets to warrant a will. The fact is if you die without a will, the state in which you live gets to decide who gets your money, children, house, pets, and valued possessions. Don’t let that happen to you and your family!
Get Your Free Will
To help you with this important responsibility, TEAM has partnered with GiftWise to provide you with an online will and advance directives (health and finance powers of attorney) free of charge. In less than 20 minutes, you can protect your family, gain peace of mind, give charitably and create a legally binding will that details your wishes for your estate. You’ll also be invited to make an optional gift (bequest) to TEAM. Leaving a gift to TEAM costs you nothing during your lifetime and leaves a powerful impact. Whether you’re making a will for the first time or need to update the one you made years ago, you can create your will today with GiftWise.
Things to Consider in Making an Estate Gift to TEAM
It’s impactful.Leaving a gift to TEAM in your estate costs you nothing during your lifetime but makes a powerful impact.
It’s flexible.You can give a specific asset or a percentage of what’s left after your heirs are cared for.
It’s revocable.You can easily revise your plans if your life circumstances change.
It’s simple.A simple paragraph or a one-page amendment to your existing documents is all it takes.
It’s a community.Making an estate gift means you are part of TEAM’s Franson Fellowship. (Please let us know about your gift so that we can thank you and make sure you receive your benefits as a Franson Fellowship member.)
It’s meaningful.When you include TEAM in your will, your gift will eternally change someone’s life and serve as an inspirational example for your loved ones.
Have Questions?
Please contact Jeanne Conder, Director of Planned Giving at jeanne.conder@team.org or (719) 339-6868
Online wills might not be for everyone and are not advisable for those with complex families, desires or assets. You may wish to consult an attorney if any of these factors apply to your circumstances.
Obey God’s call to make disciples among the nations by joining a community united by and committed to sending disciples who make disciples around the world.
Invest in something that cannot be shaken. Partner with TEAM to steward your resources in a way that leverages them to make eternal impact by sending global workers to the places to proclaim the rule and reign of Jesus Christ.
God has gifted TEAM with more than 130 years of continuous ministry around the world. There is more to be done. Learn how to pray, to mobilize and why involvement in missions is an indispensable piece of a healthy and obedient life of discipleship to Jesus Christ.
