IDES – April 17 2017 – What is your gift or talent?

What is your gift or talent?

Have you ever thought about if or how God may use you to bless those in need?

IDES’ Harvest of Talents program is an “every-person” ministry centered upon the truth of 1 Peter 4:10, “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.”

Find out how YOU and your church family can provide nutritious food for hungry people around the world by using your very own gifts and talents in unique ways by watching the video above – just click the screenshot or the button below.

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Resurrection Demands Response

“We believe and proclaim that the man Jesus Christ who walked the earth 2,000 years ago is the one and only Son of God who was crucified for our sins, died, and then rose up from the grave. This is huge. The fact that Jesus was resurrected from death back to life changes everything in history. Think about it — what if Jesus had stayed dead?”

Jesus’ resurrection demands our response. What will yours be? Click the graphic or the button below to read more.

How God Can Use Disasters: Ecuador

One year ago last week, the country of Ecuador was struck with a massive earthquake. According to USAID, 660 people were killed, over 4,600 were injured, and more than 30,200 were displaced from their homes.

Normally, we would summarize what progress has been made based upon the reports from our mission partners on the ground. This time, however, we felt we could more accurately communicate our partner’s excitement by sharing our partner’s story with you directly in their own words. Click the photo or the button below to find out what they said.

Find Out

We Have an Opportunity

Did you see anyone you have never seen before in your church this past weekend? There is a good chance that they were visiting. We have a responsibility to love, reach, and pray for those visiting our church for the first time. The impression we make is incredibly important.

Though Easter Sunday has passed, these words still ring true for every Sunday service. Learn more about how we can bless visitors by clicking the graphic or the button below.

Learn More

Have You Considered a Charitable Rollover Gift from your IRA?

In December 2015 the U.S. congress passed legislation making the Qualified Charitable Distribution a permanent part of our nation’s tax code. You can now make such a gift at any time during the year.

The IRA Charitable Rollover provision allows individuals who have reached age 70½ to donate up to $100,000 to qualified charitable organizations directly from their Individual Retirement Account (IRA), without treating the distribution as taxable income.

To make a tax-free gift from your IRA, it is important to not withdraw the funds from your account, but to have your IRA custodian distribute the gift directly to a qualified charity such as IDES.

Amounts given in this way count toward required IRA minimum withdrawal amounts for the year in which you make your gift. Depending on your place of residence, such a gift may also result in state income-tax savings.

(A Qualified Charitable Distribution may offer certain advantages over taking a Required Minimum Distribution from your IRA and donating an equivalent cash gift to charity. The advantages occur because a QCD will be excluded from your adjusted gross income. Check with your IRA administrator or your tax advisor for more information.)

(Remember that a QCD is made from pre-tax income, so you cannot claim an income-tax deduction for your QCD.)