Community MinistryGrants Initiative

Program Application

Please refer to the Program Guidelines for details on the program and the application process.Before you begin, please ensure that your congregation is in an eligible Indiana County.Note that congregations in the eightcounties of Metro Indianapolis (Boone, Hamilton, Hancock, Hendricks, Johnson, Marion, Morgan, Shelby) are not eligible for this initiative.

Congregation Information
Name of Congregation:
Website:
County:
Address: (address, city, state, zip) / Federal Employer Identification Number:
(An Employer Identification Number [EIN] is also known as a Federal Tax Identification Number. This is used to report employee income andwithholdingson IRS W-2, 1099, and similar forms.)
Phone #: / E-mail:
Number of Households:
OR Number of Individuals: / Average Worship Attendance:
Annual Budget:
Mailing Address: (if different than address above)
Leadership – Please list names and roles or titles.
Clergy:
Lay Staff:
Key Volunteers:

To prepare this application, please invite interested parties to read and discuss the article, “Mutual Ministry.”Then gather as a group to discuss the following questions, before designating someone to write the responses.

  1. Describe your congregation’s call to community ministry.

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  1. Have you done community ministry in the past?If so, what were some of the joys you experienced and challenges you faced?

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  1. Why now?Tell us what makes the next two or three years a good time for you to develop a new community ministry?

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  1. The CMG program requires congregations to engage in new and possibly challenging ways of doing community ministry.Tell us about a time when your congregation changed its approach to a ministry.Describe the process of deciding what to do, introducing/implementing the new thing, and evaluating.What did your congregation and leaders learn from that experience?(Whether or not the new thing was “successful” is not what’s most important here.)

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  1. Describe how your board, team, leadership, clergy and lay, have shown their support for a new community ministry program.Please be as specific as possible.

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  1. Your congregation will be asked to commit more money, space and time to your community ministry program.Knowing that, how will you get congregational buy-in for these additional commitments?

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  1. After reading and discussing the article, “Mutual Ministry,” please describe your key insights.What excites you about a mutual ministry program?What challenges do you see ahead if you are selected to participate?

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  1. Describe the process that led to this application. Who was involved in deciding to apply and preparing the application? What did you discover about your congregation as you prepared this application?

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  1. The CMG program will require time commitment to both participate in the on-site and on-line classes/gatherings AND additional time to do the work in your congregation and community.What changes will your congregation need to make to free up people to focus on this new community ministry program?

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If your congregation is selected, you will design a new community ministry program. Participating congregations will apply for non-competitive grants of up to $30,000 in matching funds for grant-eligible expenses in the new program.

In applying to access those funds, you will be asked to identify the source(s) of your matching funds (operating budget, special fund, individual donations, fundraiser, etc.).

If you are accepted into the program, you will be required to provide proof of your congregation’s tax-exempt status. You may meet this requirement by providing a group (denominational) 501(c)(3) letter, an individual 501(c)(3) letter, or you may obtain a letter from an attorney attesting to your status. Please note that a sales-tax exemption certificate does not meet the requirement.

Please print and sign the application

Signature page:

By signing this program application, we affirm that the congregation’s leadership team and/or governing board support our congregation’s full participation in the program, including participation in all classes and gatherings and commitment of matching funds.

Senior Clergy LeaderSenior Lay Leader

NameName

Mail completed, signed application to:

Community MinistryGrants Initiative

Center for Congregations

9801 Connecticut Drive Suite 200

Crown Point IN46307

Applications must be postmarked by March 20, 2018

CMG Statewide January 2, 2018 1