Emerging Communities of Faith Grant

Central District Conference and Mennonite Church USA, Vision: Healing and Hope

God calls us to be followers of Jesus Christ, and, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to grow as communities of grace, joy and peace, so that God’s healing and hope flow through us to the world.

Central District Conference Mission Statement

The mission of Central District Conference is to know Christ’s abundant love in who we are and how we live, and to answer God’s persistent call to share that love with one another and the world by:

Promoting a Christ-like community of hospitality where all are welcome and where grace-filled relationship flourish, and patience and generosity are practiced,
Calling and nurturing wise, dynamic and compassionate Anabaptist leadership,
Supporting missional partnerships that make God’s reign visible and fostering ministries of evangelism, peace, healing and hope.

Central District Conference is excited to see how the Spirit is moving across our conference as we work at carrying out our mission. We are offering Emerging Communities of Faith grants designed to encourage the growth of emerging communities of faith in our conference. This grant will match (see details below) money raised at the grassroots level (from the local community) to give the extra financial boost necessary for an emerging community of faith. An emerging community of faith may be any group that sees itself as growing into relationship with Central District Conference.

There are up to $8,000 grant dollars available to emerging communities of faith, per year up to three years.

First Year: There is up to $8,000 grant dollars available for those who submit a grant request and are approved.
Second Year: There is a 2:1 matching grant available, up to $8,000 grant dollars, contingent on the emerging community of faith providing up to $4,000 dollars (pledges or in hand) towards longer term sustainability.
Third Year: There is a 1:1 matching grant available, up to $8,000 grant dollars, contingent on the emerging community of faith providing up to $8,000 dollars (pledges or in hand).towards longer term sustainability.

The purpose of matching funds is to develop sustainability past the three-year grant renewal period. (Match requirements are subject to change as we learn more about developing healthy sustainability.) Signs of sustainable funding include:

diversified sources (for example, many small donors are better than one big one)
on-going sources (for example, a grant that can be renewed every year vs a one-time grant)

Grant proposals may be submitted at any time. An emerging community of faith may apply for this grant once/year up to three years.

Once we have received your application, members of the Missional Church Committee will meet with you to talk about your application and may assist you in refining your application. Applications will be reviewed by the CDC Missional Church Committee. The Missional Church Committee and CDC staff will serve as a resource for you as your emerging community develops.

The process for receiving an Emerging Communities Grant will include leadership assessment/official credentialing of emerging community leadership, official recognition of the emerging community as a provisional member of Central District Conference, collaboration with other emerging communities of faith/participation in pastor-peers/cohorts and coaching by Associate Conference Minister for Emerging Communities of Faith.

Emerging Communities of Faith Grant Application follows.

Grant recipients will submit the Emerging Communities of Faith Grant Reflection and Renewal Application 10 months after receiving a grant whether or not they are asking to renew. In the case of renewal matching grants, funds will be distributed after receiving information that the matching funds and/or pledges have been raised. The amount of funds disbursed will depend on the available funds.

Grants must be used for emerging communities of faith. Please contact the conference office for guidance by email at matt@mcusacdc.org or call 574 534 1485.

Decisions for funding will be made by the Missional Church Committee at a regularly scheduled committee meeting. In the case of matching grants, funds will be distributed after receiving information that the matching funds and/or pledges have been raised. The amount of funds disbursed will depend on the available funds.

Applications can be submitted:

online at https://mcusacdc.org/resources/missional-resources/emerging-communities-of-faith-grant/
by email at office@mcusacdc.org
by postal mail to Central District Conference, PO Box 1199, Goshen, IN 46527-1199. Please use black ink.

Download the Emerging Communities of Faith application

Emerging Communities of Faith Grant

Central District Conference recognizes that writing is one of many great ways to communicate. We welcome audio, video, artistic, presentation-based and other ways of communicating your vision instead of or in addition to a written grant application. We also recognize that English may not be the language that best reflects your community and we’re happy to receive your application in other languages. We ask that you seek to cover the following information in whatever format your application takes. We look forward to having a follow-up conversation with you after receiving your grant application.

Date(Required)

Name(Required)

First Last

Address(Required)

Street Address Address Line 2 City State / Province / Region ZIP / Postal Code Country

Email(Required)

Phone(Required)

Emerging Community of Faith Name (if applicable)

Emerging Community of Faith Website (if applicable)

We are excited to get to know and learn about your emerging community of faith. Your answers don’t need to be long and we’re not looking for specific formal answers or policies, but we do want to know what you’re thinking about and doing. We also know that emerging communities of faith are dynamic and changing, so we expect that your answers might be different a year from now (and probably even a month from now). We encourage experimentation and trying things that may not work. We look forward to gaining an understanding of what God is doing through and in your emerging community of faith!

Share core highlights from the story (with rough dates) of how your community of faith has emerged.

What are the practices of your emerging community of faith? For example: gathering for bible study or worship every two weeks, sharing meals once a month, gathering for prayer weekday mornings, meeting once a month to plan and vision, distributing food to our neighbors every week, organizing a local protest each week.

What are the commitments to peacemaking/justice/mission for your emerging community of faith and how are you living those out?

Tell us about your emerging community's context. For example, your neighborhood or your constituent focus (i.e. LGBTQ+).

Tell us about the people who are part of your emerging community of faith.

Who are the leaders/core people and what are their roles? What experiences do they have starting new things? What experiences do they have gathering people?

How are decisions made within your emerging community of faith? For example: consensus or voting of all, leadership team consensus or voting, planter making most, leaders make decisions within their focus areas.

Who are your emerging community of faith's core partners (organizational and individual) and in what ways are they resourcing/supporting your community (for example: coaching, financial support, accounting/fiduciary)?

Describe the resources people from your emerging community of faith are contributing to the endeavor (for example: financial contributions, in-kind donations, time, gathering space)?

How do you get the word out? Where are your participants coming from? How are you finding and inviting new folks to belong?

Who is your emerging community of faith for? How are you listening to and engaging with the people your community serves?

What have you been hearing from God recently concerning your emerging community of faith?

What are two or three key things you have learned along the way as a community of faith?

Are there any Scriptures that are of particular importance/guidance to your emerging community of faith?

If your hopes for this emerging community of faith come to fruition, describe what it will look like in five years.

How do you handle finances now? For example: we just Venmo money around as needs arise, we have an official bank account, or our sponsoring church handles this for us.

What will this grant allow you to do that you cannot do currently? How will this funding make a difference?

Grant amount requested

When do you need to receive the grant resources by

What is your anticipated budget for the next year with total expenses by key expense category?

Sources of Resources to Cover Total Costs (If Using Multiple Sources of Funding). Please include any organizations, congregations, additional grants, volunteer hours, participant donations, individuals not part of the emerging community and other funding sources.

Emerging Communities of Faith Grant Reflection and Renewal Application

Central District Conference recognizes that writing is one of many great ways to communicate. We welcome audio, video, artistic, presentation-based and other ways of communicating your vision instead of or in addition to a written grant application. We also recognize that English may not be the language that best reflects your community and we’re happy to receive your application in other languages. We ask that you seek to cover the following information in whatever format your application takes. We look forward to having a follow-up conversation with you after receiving your grant application.

Emerging communities of Faith Grant Reflection and Renewal Form

Date(Required)

Name(Required)

First Last

Address(Required)

Street Address Address Line 2 City State / Province / Region ZIP / Postal Code Country

Phone(Required)

Email(Required)

Emerging Community of Faith name (if applicable)

Emerging Community of Faith website (if applicable)

We are excited to continue to get to know and learn about your emerging community of faith and how it has been developing over the last year. Your answers don’t need to be long and we’re not looking for specific formal answers or policies, but we do want to know what you’re thinking about and doing. We also know that emerging communities of faith are dynamic and changing, so we expect that your answers might be different a year from now (and probably even a month from now). We look forward to gaining an understanding of what God is doing through and in your emerging community of faith!

Share core highlights from the story (with rough dates) of how your community of faith has further emerged since your last application.

What are the current practices of your emerging community of faith? For example: gathering for bible study or worship every two weeks, sharing meals once a month, gathering for prayer weekday mornings, meeting once a month to plan and vision, distributing food to our neighbors every week, organizing a local protest each week.

What are the commitments to peacemaking/justice/mission for your emerging community of faith and how are you living those out?

Tell us about your emerging community's developing context. For example, your neighborhood or your constituent focus (i.e. LGBTQ+).

Tell us about the people who are part of your emerging community of faith.

Who are the leaders/core people and what are their roles? What experiences do they have starting new things? What experiences do they have gathering people?

Who are currently your emerging community of faith's core partners (organizational and individual) and in what ways are they resourcing/supporting your community (for example: coaching, financial support, accounting/fiduciary)?

Describe the resources people from your emerging community of faith are currently contributing to the endeavor (for example: financial contributions, in-kind donations, time, gathering space)?

How do you get the word out? Where are your participants coming from? How are you finding and inviting new people to belong? What have been your most fruitful efforts to invite people?

What are you discovering about retaining people? Who chooses to stick around and why? Who has left and why?

Who is your emerging community of faith for? How are you listening to and engaging with the people your community serves?

What have you been hearing from God recently concerning your emerging community of faith?

What are two or three key things you have learned along the way as a community of faith?

Are there any Scriptures that are of particular importance/guidance to your emerging community of faith?

If your hopes for this emerging community of faith come to fruition, describe what it will look like in five years.

What have been the best sources of ongoing development/resourcing this year?

How helpful resources has CDC provided you? How could CDC resource you better?

How do you handle finances now? For example: we just Venmo money around as needs arise, we have an official bank account, or our sponsoring church handles this for us.

What is your budget for this year with specific categories? What you have spent so far? How did you spend last year’s grant?

What will renewing this grant allow you to do in the coming year? How will this funding make a difference?

Grant Amount Requested

When do you need to receive the grant resources by

What is your anticipated budget for the next year with total expenses by key expense category?

If you are applying for years 2 or 3: Please describe your match for the coming year. Is it pledged or already donated? How will the match move you towards sustainability in the coming years? In what ways does it come from diversified and ongoing sources?

Anything else you’d like us to know?