Supporting New Communities of Faith

As we continue on our New Way Forward journey, the Synod of the Northeast is committed to supporting new expressions of community formed around a commitment to Christian faith and the teachings of Jesus. This variety helps to promote diversity and to lift up previously marginalized communities -- two of the Synod's core values!

While we believe worship is an important, even critical, component to the life of faith and Christian community, we acknowledge that it may not be a central or early-phase activity of every new community formed around the Gospel of Christ. For that reason, we have chosen to use the phrase "Emerging Gospel Community" rather than "New Worshiping Community" to allow us greater flexibility in our criteria for support.

We envision Emerging Gospel Communities as stand-alone entities (for new ministries within an existing organization, check out our Innovation Grant) that are new or developing ("Emerging") gatherings of people with the intent to develop ongoing relationships ("Community") who come together around a shared interest in and commitment to the teachings of Jesus ("Gospel").

We anticipate that some Emerging Gospel Communities will indeed hold worship as a central component of their life together, and may thus qualify for 1001 New Worship Community grants through the Presbyterian Mission Agency (PMA) of our national denomination as well. To simplify the application process, we provide the option to include a PMA grant application as a substitute for some aspects of our Emerging Gospel Community grant application, though this is not required.

If you are part of a new community of faith and you feel your plans include the same dreams and aspirations we've described above, we encourage you to apply for an Emerging Gospel Community grant by completing the form below.

If you are inspired by the work of others and would like to support them by contributing to the Innovation Fund from which these grants are made, we are deeply grateful for your donation.

Application Deadlines:
    - January 4, 2019 (late-January Review)
    - april 12, 2019 (may Review) **postponed to september**
    - September 6, 2019 (late-september review)

CONTACT:
    - synod Mission Coordinator, Margaret Mitsuyasu

Because this form is not equipped to save partial entries for completion later, we recommend you prepare your application in a separate document and cut and paste your responses into this form when you are ready to submit your final version.

For your convenience, we offer these templates (Year 1 funding, and Year 2 funding) to work from as you develop your application draft. Please note that only the applications submitted through the official webform below will be reviewed for approval.

We expect all Emerging Gospel Community Grant recipients to submit an annual report. They are also required to notify the Synod if the project ends during the funding period. Our definition of "report" is a loose one; we simply want to hear how things are going and what you've been learning. We welcome creativity in the manner through which this information is delivered. We will provide more information about this report and deadlines upon receipt of the grant.