New Episcopal Communities

2016 Grants Now Available

April 1, 2016
Scott Rands

For Church Starts and Mission Enterprise Zones

Two categories of grants will be available on a rolling basis beginning April 1, 2016.  Applications for this round are due June 1.  Applications received after that time will be considered in the fall. 

The average awards are $20,000 for Mission Enterprise Zones and $100,000 for new church starts, but the Advisory Group on Church Planting will consider proposals of differing amounts as fits the needs of the new initiative.

Category I: Discernment Grants

Discernment Grant Application Link [English / Spanish] 

These grants are for dioceses, missioners, and church planters interested in exploring and assessing the possibilities for church planting and mission within their region with a coach or consultant.  These grants are designed to fulfill the preliminary requirements of those applying  for funding grants.  

Category II: Funding Grants

Funding Grant Application [English / Spanish] 
Funding Grant Re-application [English / Spanish] (If a grant has been previously received)

A.  Church Plant or New Congregation 
This grant is available for Church Plants and Planters with the endorsement of their Diocesan Bishop.  Church plants and new congregations may assume traditional or innovative forms, but their primary gathering point is around word and sacrament, out of which their ministry flows.  Examples:  St. Mary Magdalene, Manor, TXBushwick Abbey, Brooklyn, NYSt. Peter’s, McKinney, TXThad’s, Santa Monica, CANativity, Scottsdale, AZ

B.  Mission Enterprise Zone (MEZ)/Missional Initiative
Mission Enterprise Zones primarily gather around ministries of service, justice, and mercy with communities of a particular demographic.  Mission Enterprise Zones are experimental in nature; witness in the world is the entry point.  Mission Enterprise Zones may or may not require a full-time staff person and may be designed to run for a limited amount of time.  The funding required for these projects is typically less than that of a Church Plant or New Congregation.  Examples of this type of project include:   Laundry Love, Santa Monica, CA; The Stamford Supper Club, Stamford CT

C. MEZ-Church Plant Hybrid
This category is perhaps the most flexible and creative – intended for innovative and entrepreneurial communities in which the celebration of word and sacrament is explicitly and inextricably bound to mission in the neighborhood. Examples of this kind of project/congregation include:  Southside Abbey, Chattanooga, TN; St. Gabriel’s, Leesburg, VA; The Abbey, Birmingham, AL

For more information, please contact us at churchplanting@episcopalchurch.org