For those who are still building something that outlasts them.
Some people reach a certain age and start thinking about what they've
already built. Others are still thinking about what they haven't built yet.
The Silver Circle exists for the second kind of person.
Silver Circle is a founding membership for those who want to do more than attend — who want to build something that outlasts them. For $5,000 in a calendar year, your gift deploys experienced ministers to struggling churches, provides a stipend to ministers who can no longer afford to stay connected, provides a safety net for retired ministers in unexpected hardship, and supports the launch of new aspects of UPCI Sages 55+. If you've spent your life giving to the church, this is one more way to make sure that giving keeps going after you do.
THE NEED
A generation with more to give
Every week, somewhere in this country, a retired minister with forty years of experience sits in a pew while a young church planter two states away is about to quit. The planter doesn't know where to turn. The retired minister doesn't know he's needed.
That gap — between those who have wisdom and those who desperately need it — is the space Sages was built to close. When the senior generation of a church is mobilized rather than sidelined, something remarkable happens. Wisdom transfers. Churches stabilize.
The question is never whether they have more to give. It is whether anyone asks them.
WHAT SAGES DOES
Sages 55+ is the national ministry of the UPCI that mobilizes adults 55 and older for active, purposeful service. Not spiritual retirement. Redeployment.
Leading in Faith Together deploys retired ministers to support church planters and pastors in crisis situations
Regional gatherings, summits, and cruises build community among senior ministers nationwide
A growing district director network extends the Sages reach into every region of the denomination
YOUR INVESTMENT
When the Silver Circle reaches full enrollment, it does not sit in a fund waiting for the right moment. It moves. Every dollar given through the Silver Circle is designated. Here is specifically where it goes and what it does when it gets there.
15-20
LIFT PARTNERSHIPS PER YEAR
Leading in Faith Together pairs retired ministers with church planters and pastors in crisis for a weekend or week-long assignment. Fifteen to twenty ministries that did not face their hardest season alone.
10
ANNUAL MINISTRY STIPENDS
Ministers on honorary status who can no longer afford national dues receive a modest annual stipend — restoring connection to the ministry community they spent a lifetime building.
8-10
RAVEN’S REACH GRANTS PER YEAR
One-time assistance for retired ministers facing unexpected hardship. When one of our own calls for help, the answer is "we already prepared for this."
Where your gift goes
Silver Circle funds are distributed across eleven designated areas. Every allocation reflects a real need that already exists and is currently limited by resources.
Leading in Faith Together
Honorary Status Stipends
Raven's Reach
Working in Missions
Sages Endowment Fund
Regional Sages Events
Sages Bible Quizzing
Sages Promotion
Silver Circle Recognition
Operational Expenses
Church Advancement
Funding LIFT partnerships that deploy retired ministers to church planters and pastors in crisis for weekend or week-long assignments.
Annual support for ministers on honorary status who no longer pay national dues, restoring their connection to the ministry community.
One-time assistance grants for retired ministers facing unexpected hardship — medical, housing, or other unforeseen needs.
Partial-needs scholarships enabling Sages members to participate in international missions who could not otherwise cover the cost.
Long-term investment in a permanent endowment that will continue serving retired ministers beyond any single funding cycle.
Funding the infrastructure of Southwest, Northeast, and other regional gatherings that keep the Sages network connected and active.
Supporting the launch and growth of Sages Bible Quizzing, extending engagement and purpose within the Sages community.
Expanding reach so more ministers and churches are found, served, and mobilized — not advertising, but discovery.
Covering the cost of honoring Silver Circle members so donor gifts fund ministry, not ceremony.
Ten percent supports UPCI Sages operations — the infrastructure that makes every other allocation possible.
One percent supports UPCI Church Advancement administration, the denominational accountability structure under which Sages operates.
“By Sages Summit 2027, a fully enrolled Founding Class will have made possible up to 60 LIFT deployments, annual support for 10 ministers, and assistance for up to 30 colleagues facing hardship. That is what we are asking you to help build.”
THE DETAILS
Your questions answered
GIVING LEVEL
ONE TIME OR ANNUAL?
HOW TO GIVE
HOW TO GIVE
TAX DEDUCTIBLE?
ACCOUNTABILITY
RECOGNITION
$5,000 in a calendar year, given as a single gift or in installments throughout the year.
Silver Circle is an annual membership. Members who give at this level each year remain in the Circle with no multi-year obligation — each year stands on its own.
Online through our secure giving portal, or by check. Contact us and we will walk you through it personally. We'd rather hear from you than have you figure it out alone.
Yes, through Sages 55+. You will receive an official acknowledgment letter for your records.
Members receive an annual one-page impact report showing specifically how their collective giving was deployed that year.
Members are honored by name at the annual Sages Summit and listed on this page. Founding Class members receive a framed certificate and are recognized as a distinct cohort in perpetuity.
STEWARDSHIP
Sages 55+ operates under the oversight of the United Pentecostal Church International. Silver Circle funds are distributed across eleven designated areas and are not pooled into general operating expenses.
We have a plan for every dollar. We'll show you that plan before you give and report back on it after.
Carlton and Norma Coon lead Sages together. Every Silver Circle member will hear from one of them personally — not from an assistant, not from an automated system.
FOUNDING CLASS
Those who are building first
Every significant thing that lasts was built by someone who showed up before it was finished. The Silver Circle Founding Class is forming now — men and women willing to invest before the full picture is complete
We are currently forming the Silver Circle Founding Class. If you feel called to be among the first, we invite you to reach out directly.
A PERSONAL INVITATION
This begins with a conversation
I have been in ministry long enough to know that the most significant decisions a person makes are rarely made alone. A gift of this size is not a transaction. It is a statement about what you believe is worth building.
Norma and I have given our lives to this generation. We are not asking you to give to a program. We are asking you to join us in something we believe has years of impact ahead of it.
Fill out the form and one of us will be in touch. Not an assistant. Not a follow-up sequence. Us.
“If you are ready to give, we would still love to hear from you first.”