Drawing others near to the Lord: Trio honored for work as evangelists

By RJ Walters, Editor

Three UMC members — one youth, one lay member and one clergy member — were awarded Harry Denman Evangelism Awards at the 2010 Detroit Annual Conference.
Denman was the founder of the Foundation for Evangelism, and each annual conference of the UMC has given out awards for “unusual and outstanding efforts for the work on Christian Evangelism” in his honor since 1981.
For more information on the award and foundation check out www.foundationforevangelism.org.

Youth Award, Elise Gotham, Albion College
Gotham will be a junior next year, striving to earn her degree in political science and Albion College chaplain Dan McQuown said she sets herself apart on campus by continually doing the Lord’s work.
“Elise has shared the Gospel abundantly in her young life, as part of the Albion College chaplain team and Christian community, her service in Haiti and Appalachia, and in Albion, and in reaching out to United Methodist high school (students),” he said. “Most importantly Elise has asked the hard questions. To the atheists she has asked, ‘Can you see God’s hand at work in your story?’ and to acquaintances, ‘Do you need to live a lifestyle that hurts you in order to have fun?’”

Lay Member Award, Lee Donley, Oxford UMC
Oxford UMC Rev. Doug McMunn said Donley has a heart for helping people of all ages, especially males —from fifth-grade students who he works with to making home visitations to elderly people.

“For four years I have watched Lee Donley, with a heart that is bigger than his chest, self driven to make one more disciple for Jesus Christ every day of his life,” McMunn said. “His true passion is to make disciples of men, citing research as he often does, that shows that when a married woman goes to church 37 percent of the time she brings her whole family with her, but when a married man goes to church 90 percent of the time he brings his whole family with him.”

Clergy Member Award, Mark Zender, Pastor Willow UMC
Zender has gone from a life filled with alcoholism to one of leading people toward God’s plan for their life in just over a decade.
After doing some church shopping 11 years ago, he finally ended up at the UMC of Garden City where his wife was attending.

He said he found the men of the church to be friendly and inspiring and being able to partake in communion was extremely satisfying.
Mark Spaw, who will become the Ann Arbor DS on July 1, commented on the awesome spiritual journey Zender has been on ever since.
“Gradually Mark has opened his life to God’s gift and he graciously continues to be one who shares what he has received,” Spaw said on behalf of Jerry Smith, who was Zender’s pastor at Garden City, but unable to be present. “Mark has the gift of relating to people in all stages and stations of life and his experiences have deepened, not destroyed his faith and he continues to share what God’s love has done in his life to help lead others to Him.”

Posted in: Detroit Annual Conference,Elise Gotham. Lee Donley,evangelism,Harry Denman Award,Mark Zender,United Methodist Church