On Being Presbyterian:New Round of Mission Grants

It is my pleasure to announce a second round of mission grant funding is now available. This second round of mission grant funding will distribute $19,500 to mission projects and mission partners throughout the presbytery and is available because of your generosity, expressed through our congregations!

The mission grant application forms can be found HERE and the grant applications are open until September 24, 2017. The Congregational Resourcing Team will evaluate all grant applications at their meeting on October 3, with all applicants alerted of the team’s funding decisions no later than October 6.

As this process of mission grant funding is still relatively new to the presbytery, the team’s process continues to evolve and become more focused. They now have criteria by which all grant applications will be evaluated. The purpose of creating the criteria is to be able to make values-based decisions; the purpose of communicating the criteria is so that you, Dear Reader (and potential grant applicant), will be able to craft your application accordingly. Here are the criteria:

·         Is the purpose of the grant request clear and comprehensive (i.e., does it convey the mission’s who, what, when, where, why and how)?

·         Is there a connection to Presbyterian mission?

·         Does it encourage multi-ethnic relationships or ministry?

·         Does it encourage congregational networking and partnerships?

·         How many individuals will be impacted?

·         What is the level of innovation or creativity?

·         Is there a clear and specific plan to evaluate the mission’s effectiveness?

The Congregational Resourcing Team assumes no grant application will receive full marks on all of the categories, so please don’t stress if your plan is stronger in one area and weaker in another. Each grant application will be reviewed with grace and funding decisions will be made with prayer.

Grace and peace,

Brad Munroe

P.S. A big apology shout-out is owed to Montlure Ministries, as I neglected to list them as one of our mission partners in last week’s missive! (The irony that I wrote that week’s missive from a Presbyterian camp (Ghost Ranch) is not lost on me.) Hey, Montlure: mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa!