What We Do
All of us are indebted to the past, to those who precede us. We drink from wells we have not dug. We enjoy liberties we have not won. We share faith whose foundations we have not laid.
At the same time, we are seeds of the future, for those who succeed us. We dream and envision and set things in motion. The fruition of our decisions will be known only to others whom we will not meet. We are called to partner in faith with those who have gone before us and to offer the best that we have to give to those who will follow.
- Message from Wilton Presbyterian Church (CT) and Bradley Hills Presbyterian Church (MD)
Mission
To Provide resources that encourage Presbyterian churches and organizations toward best practices in gift planning and the use of endowments.
What does PEER do?
PEER strives to build a supportive network of Presbyterians which, as an expression of Christian stewardship, effectively and faithfully develops, manages, and uses endowments to support Christ's mission to the world.
We are committed to building leadership within Presbyterian congregations of any size for the creation and faithful use of church endowments. We do this through education, research, and dialogue about the theological insights, development strategies, and management principles that guide the use of permanent funds. In our continuing efforts to provide comprehensive resources, PEER:
- Produces an annual conference with well-known, highly respected speakers and practical, comprehensive workshops.
- Maintains an ever-expanding library of comprehensive resources on our website library, including templates of endowment-related documents, sample brochures and endowment policies, stewardship sermons, pertinent articles, and more.
- Provides a website discussion room for posting queries, where questions can be seen and answered by others who have dealt with similar situations.
- Produced Catch The Vision, a video which tells how several churches have used permanent funds to generate income for greater ministry or to fund planned maintenance. This is available by request at no cost.
- Developed a model for the use of endowment income which churches in small communities can use to expand their mission.
Today, across the denomination, congregations are wrestling with the choices and opportunities stemming directly from the blessing (and some would say curse) of having endowment funds. In 1995, in an attempt to clarify these issues, PEER completed a pioneer study of endowed Presbyterian congregations. A copy of the Executive Summary is available in our online library.
Please note that the PEER Network is not a money manager. We do not provide investment advice or manage investment funds. We simply pool experience and share it with those who can use it.
Is PEER associated with the Presbyterian Foundations?
We have no formal relationship with the Presbyterian Foundation or Texas Presbyterian Foundation. However, we are in constant dialogue with the Foundations to ensure we complement each other's efforts.
How did PEER get started?
Early in 1984 a small group of diverse people from radically different congregations met at Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church in New York City to discuss what was "peculiar" about being an endowed congregation. Before the day ended, the group discovered that their similarities were far greater than their differences. The seed for the National Association of Endowed Presbyterian Churches, later to become the Presbyterian Endowment Education & Resource Network, was planted at that meeting.
Since then, thanks to grants from the Lilly Endowment, donations made by churches, individuals, and PEER partners, and conference registrations, thousands of clergy, lay leaders, and church administrators have been given opportunities to participate in ongoing dialogue about the challenges which are unique to endowed congregations.