In June The Foundation for Evangelism awarded 17 grants to small or medium-sized Wesleyan-tradition* churches or church-based organizations. A total of $112,500 was distributed through $5,000, $7,500, and $10,000 grants. The recipients are from 7 Wesleyan-tradition denominations across 11 states:
- Smith Metropolitan AME Zion Church Anniston, AL
- Fragrant Offerings Church of the Nazarene Decatur, AL
- Fortuna First Church of the Nazarene Fortuna, CA
- Altruistic Servanthood Corporation (St. Paul CME) Smyrna, GA
- Faith Community Church (Free Methodist) Plymouth, MA
- Fair Havens AME Church Baltimore, MD
- St. Francis UMC Charlotte, NC
- Deep Time (Trinity UMC) Asheville, NC
- Woodlawn Community Fellowship (UMC) Charlotte, NC
- Checkpoint Church (UMC) Lincolnton, NC
- St. Luke CME Church Tryon, NC
- Reaching Our City Church of the Nazarene/Ceili Community UMC Oklahoma City, OK
- Prospect Park United Methodist Church Prospect Park, PA
- Point Hope Church (GMC) Mount Pleasant, SC
- Covenant Church at Creekside (GMC) The Woodlands, TX
- Emanuel AME Church Portsmouth, VA
- Bethel AME Church Woodbridge, VA
The Foundation for Evangelism’s Equipping the Local Church Grants support local churches with up to 250 participants, toward a culture shift for invitational evangelism, missional ministry and discipleship engagement. The grants allow churches to launch an experiment or initiative to share the Gospel and invite others into a relationship with Jesus, providing an opportunity to be creative and take risks.
Terri Farmer, grants coordinator for the Foundation, said, “Each of these recipients are working at the grassroots level to educate, empower, and equip clergy and laity to share the Good News of Jesus Christ in their communities.”
The 17 recipients were chosen from 86 applicants in this year’s grant cycle. The review committee evaluated each applicant’s proposal on criteria corresponding to the Foundation’s values of evangelistic, Wesleyan, steward, equipping, catalyst, and leaders.
“Our goal is to encourage and equip congregations to share the Good News of Jesus Christ through ministries that serve their local communities, foster meaningful conversations about the Christian faith, and invite people to explore what it means to know and love Jesus Christ,” said Foundation president, Rev. Dr. Jack Jackson.
Equipping the Local Church Grant recipients will meet at least two times during the course of the year to talk about the progress with their proposed initiatives, note any challenges or pivots that need to be made, report on the impact to their communities, and encourage one another in their work.
Read their stories on our Stories of Impact page.
* We define Wesleyan-tradition as based on the ministry movement begun in the 18th century by John and Charles Wesley. Responding to God’s pursuit of us, all are invited to the lifelong journey to love God and neighbor with their whole heart.
