Ministry Renewal Mini-Grant – Ministry Resource Center

The Ministry Resource Center is pleased to announce the opportunity for ministry renewal mini-grants of up to $2500. The purpose of a mini-grant is to support the flourishing of ministers who are in their first five years of ministry and provide another way for them to connect with each other and find renewal.

Any minister in the MRC network can apply. Priority will be given to those in the mentoring community or those in their first five years of ministry. Funds cannot be spent on just one individual (or couple) but must include at least one other minister and can go up to six ministers. We prefer these ministers to be from different churches or ministries. The proposal should not be easily funded through other means. These are rolling grants, meaning you can apply today. The funds must be spent in the 2024 calendar year.

Mini Grant Examples

We understand that ministers will have different approaches to how they find renewal and sustainability in ministry. Below are three areas, along with examples one can choose or develop further.

Retreat:

Create a personal retreat as a way to step back, reflect, participate in prayer, and worship. Use this time for active rest together. This can involve play but should also include some intentional prayer practices that you create for each other. This could involve a retreat you do together, care packages, or personal day retreats, done synchronously or asynchronously.

Examples: Book a retreat for two to four other ministers at Valle Crucis Retreat Center and Hermitages, Valle Crucis, North Carolina or take a prayer retreat at St. Meinrad Monastery, St. Meinrad, Indiana.

Learning:

Is there a question about ministry, scripture, or the church that you would love to learn more about? Is there a conference that you and several others would like to attend together or visit another ministry together? Is there a new skill or a topic that you would like to learn from an expert about? Learning grants involve answering one of these questions and then sharing that information with your church and the larger MRC network in some way. This could involve site visits of another ministry that you want to learn about or a podcast you create with another minister or a webinar with an author for you and other ministers.

Conference examples: Attend the April 11-13th, Festival of Faith and Writing in Grand Rapids, MI or attend the May 13-16, Festival of Homiletics in Pittsburgh, PA.

Service:

Is there a small project that your church or ministry could collaborate with another ministry on? These funds are reserved for Emmanuel alumni or ministers in the MRC network who want to collaborate together on an event that would benefit both of their communities.

Examples: A lectureship, worship event or revival, a community meal.

Explore the partner ministers and ministry contexts associated with the larger MRC network and the mentoring community on the MRC Directory.

Mini-Grant Application

Name

First Last

Address

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

Phone

Names of Group Members/Participants:

Select the theme that your project best fits under:

Renewal

Learning

Service

Briefly describe the goals of your project:

Upload an example of your budget or budget narrative.

This can be a word doc or excel sheet.

Max. file size: 128 MB.

How does your project fulfill the aims of the MRC in connecting ministers with each other and churches? How will it contribute to your group or congregation's learning?

How will you share what you've learned with a church or a wider audience?

Please provide the name of the point person for your group and the best way to get in contact with that person.

Is this person willing to turn in a brief budget report, receipts, and reflection summary at the end of this grant period?

You may write this together as a group but one person needs to be responsible for turning in this final report.

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