BUILD, SHARE, PASS IT ON

By Peter Jenkins, Dir. of Advancement

My grandma, Nancy Banks, passed away in November of last year. At her funeral, I learned that early on in her and my Grandpa Banks’ marriage, they purchased a 40-acre plot of land in White Pigeon. They then gathered together a group of friends and built a campground with a beautiful chapel for the youth group at their church to use for retreats.

My grandparents: Grandpa and Grandma Banks & Grandma and Grandpa Jenkins. Each volunteered in the youth group and helped build the campground.

A third of the people in attendance at her funeral were former students in their youth group. My grandparents left an amazing legacy of service and financial generosity to their church youth group. Why had we never been told about this?

I walked away from that day in greater awe of my grandma than ever, and I couldn’t let her know. In the two months since her funeral, I am more convinced than ever how important it is to build a legacy and then pass it on.

My grandma was also an incredibly hospitable woman who never knew which youth group kids would show up for dinner, but she always had extra food or found a way to make it work. This legacy of service and hospitality is embedded in me after hearing these stories at her funeral. Living in this way is what it means to be Grandma Banks’ grandson.

The chapel hand-built by my grandparents and others for their youth group.

What if we divided our legacy into three sections? Building, Sharing, and Passing On. I don’t think we have to view these as three different periods of life. My wife, Beth, and I are building a legacy together and sharing it with our daughters at the same time. I used to be a youth pastor, and my mentor was building his legacy in youth ministry, sharing and inspiring others around him, and then passing it on to me when he left.

Grandma Banks gave me so much during her life (even teaching me to play cards). And her legacy has given me a blueprint by which to live and love others. My encouragement from her life, though, is not to shy away from the legacy that you are building. Intentionally build it, repeatedly share it with humility, and lovingly pass it on.

One way you can build, share, and pass on your legacy is to add a gift to Zeeland Christian School in your will or trust. We are excited to share that the next 25 people to do so will unlock $5,000 of match money that will be added NOW to our endowment. For more information, please email me at pjenkins@zcs.org or call me at 616.953.2268.