Barby Bowser, Communications director, recently sat in on one of the check-ins with 2025 Local Church Cohort grant recipients.
“You threw us a lifeline – we really needed it!” This was just one comment during a recent check-in with seven churches who had been part of the Thriving Congregations Local Church Cohorts. These churches received a grant to put what they’d learned into practice. Those churches that were on the call shared photos, videos, and most importantly, stories of how their training and these grants had not only transformed their congregations to be more evangelistically minded but had ripple effects in their communities!
One participant in Georgia, which includes three distinct churches working together under the name Altruistic Servant Corporation, determined through the cohort training that they wanted to be a “lighthouse rather than a lifeboat,” guiding by example and helping others find their way to God. The grant they received from the Foundation enabled them to bridge an accessibility gap by creating a digital ministry that leveraged technology for a weekly virtual Bible Study. This has opened so many doors, allowing them to meet together, despite being located in different communities, and inviting people hesitant to come in-person to church to participate in this low-barrier gathering. Their process has also forced them to think about how the lessons they’ve learned could help them be a resource to other churches. Gary Faniel, one of the leaders of this initiative shared,
“A lot of the traditional rural C.M.E. Churches are not in the 21st century. We want to help modernize and connect these churches better than what we’ve been doing in the past.”
Bethel A.M.E. Church in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, shared that a natural disaster, which displaced them from their church building, caused them to shift their plans. They decided to hold “Compassion in Action” days and reported on a recent day that took the church “outside the walls” to a local Christian youth and family center. At first, the congregation was not comfortable with this change, but now there is skyrocketing excitement around it! The youth, young adults, and adults served a meal and engaged people about their faith. New people are now coming to their church, either through connection with the center or word of mouth, and this church is inviting them in.
Gershom C.M.E. Church in Indianapolis, Indiana, has been ministering to women in addiction for close to four years, and the Foundation’s grant helped them expand to a monthly Sunday worship time when the entire church goes to the women’s facility to share in a meal and worship. It has also allowed mentoring through small groups for women who have been sober for two years or more. A mentor from the church walks alongside them as they journey through some of the difficulties in life, helping them stay the course. The church also recognized that these women would need support in raising their families and are offering help with parenting and good citizenship. In the last quarter, 18 women and children were baptized through the church’s ministry. What began as three women attending a Wednesday night Bible Study has grown to over 20.
Lula Atkins, one of the initiative’s leaders shared that,
“The evangelism [cohort] helped our church embrace things they hadn’t considered: to respect [the women’s] ideas and views, merging those things and still growing through it.”
Nineteen churches were awarded grants following participation in the 2025 Spring Thriving Congregations Local Church Cohorts. These three stories highlight recipients that are already putting these funds to good use. The Foundation’s grant coordinator, Terri Farmer, holds these mid-year check-ins to give churches a way to name their challenges and successes while supporting each other and sharing ideas.
