Funding for Planting & Strengthening Churches

AdvanceUK & Europe

Advance exists to plant and strengthen churches. Often this requires financial support and this document sets how funds can be accessed by partner churches.

There are three categories under which grants may be made: Training, Sending, and Supporting.

1. TRAINING

In order to plant and strengthen churches it is necessary that there is a constant flow of appropriately identified and trained individuals emerging from within our churches. In many contexts the local church is able, and should, finance training for such people but there may be cases where this is more difficult and AMUK/E as a whole is able to plug some of the gap.

There are two training pathways for which partner churches can apply for funding:

A. Theological Training Grant (up to £5k p/a for up to 3 years)

This grant is available to candidates who already have a proven track record of ministry fruitfulness in their local church as well as significant future potential.

In order to support an application we will require the following:

  • Full references from the elders of the candidate’s church, supplying evidence of their character, leadership potential, track-record and academic ability.
  • An in-depth interview and assessment with an external AMUK/E strengthener, approved by the AMUK/E team.
  • Any grant made will be conditional on the candidate having a job offer during or after the course with an AMUK/E church.
  • Candidates will need to demonstrate the normal character and gifting qualifications of a deacon or elder.
  • Only certain, approved, courses will be considered in grant applications. At present these are courses offered by Union School of Theology.[1]

B. Church Internship Grant (up to £15k p/a for 1-2 years)

In some cases practical, on the job, experience may be required in developing a potential leader. This may mean a candidate moving to a different AMUK/E church than their home church in order to gain specific experience.

As well as assessing the candidate, any church hoping to host such an intern will be closely assessed.

  • The placement church will be assessed for health and must not be struggling, shrinking or in danger of splitting.
  • The lead elder and eldership team must demonstrate gospel health.
  • There must be the capacity and ability within the eldership team to train and mentor the intern.
  • The placement church will be expected to partially fund the internship, so central AMUK/E funds are to support but not cover all expenses.
  • While the intern may not be pursuing more advanced theological training it would be typical for them to be part of ACPC and/or ATC concurrent with the internship.
  • If the intern is planning on undertaking a course of theological study it is possible for them to apply for the Theological Training Grant to run concurrently with the Internship Grant.
  • The placement church will not need to make any commitment to employment post-internship, but candidates will still be assessed for aptitude, sense of calling, etc.
  • Candidates will have an in-depth interview and assessment with an external AMUK/E strengthener, approved by the AMUK/E team.
  • Candidates will need to demonstrate the normal character and gifting qualifications of a deacon or elder.

2. SENDING

Planting churches is central to our mission. All AMUK/E churches need to be caught up in this mission and typically local churches will be directly involved in church planting, as well as supporting those church plants which are more clearly initiated and led by the movement leadership.

Finance can often be a limiting factor in church planting so AMUK/E is committed to financially supporting church plants. There are two broad categories into which this support can fall:

A. Full Church Plant Grant (up to £200k, spread over 3 years)

Plants that come under this category will be recognised as having the support and backing of the movement as a whole. They will be overseen and accountable to the AMUK/E team leadership rather than any particular partner church.

In order to access this funding the planter will be able to demonstrate a high degree of capacity and calling and, by God’s grace, be considered to have a high likelihood of effectively starting a healthy church. They will:

  • Be fully assessed and endorsed both by their sending church and by the AMUK/E team.
  • Have completed the Advance Church Planter Development Tool and be in a coaching relationship with a recognised AMUK/E planter.
  • Have already completed ACPC, or equivalent.
  • Have undertaken appropriate theological training.
  • Fulfil the normal character and gifting qualifications of an elder.
  • Demonstrate a proven ability to gather others to the vision.
  • Be able to present a budget and plan for the first three years of the church plant.

The level of funding provided to such planters will be determined by (a) context, (b) scale, and (c) estimation of the opportunity.

B. Plant Support Grant (up to £25k one off gift)

Many church plants are more ‘organic’ than those described above. For example, a local church might sense an opportunity in a nearby area and, having started a small group there, feel growing faith for that small group to become a church.

In such situations it is likely that a plant will be primarily spearheaded by one sending church, with the planter remaining in the same/similar location, and the launch team coming largely from one sending church. This all reduces financial costs, but a grant may still be useful in helping the church plant become established.

This funding can also be applied for in the case of church ‘sites’ if there is a demonstrated need for finance.

Whatever the exact shape of such plants, in order to qualify for a grant, the planter will need to:

  • Be assessed by an external AMUK/E strengthener.
  • Have completed the Advance Church Planter Development Tool and be in a coaching relationship with a recognised AMUK/E planter.
  • Fulfil the normal character and gifting qualifications of an elder.
  • Have completed or be undertaking ACPC, or equivalent.
  • Demonstrate a proven ability to gather others to the vision.
  • Be able to present a budget and plan for the first three years of the church plant.

3. SUPPORTING

As well as planting churches we are committed to strengthening churches. Sometimes limited financial resources can be what is holding a church back from experiencing the measure of strength they might expect and in such circumstances a support grant can be applied for.

A. Smaller Church Grant (up to £25k one off gift)

These grants are designed to help ‘level up’ where finance is seen as the major obstacle to forward movement, e.g. to allow a pastor to be full-time, or to recruit an additional staff member. NB these grants are not available for building projects, as this could quickly empty AMUK/E funds.

To qualify for such a grant, the following criteria must be met:

  • This grant is intended for smaller churches over five years old (i.e. not qualifying for any of the other grants)
  • ‘Smaller’ is defined as those with attendance below 100 and/or annual income of less than £60k.
  • The applicant church will be assessed by a recognised AMUK/E strengthener to determine whether there is health and momentum in the church, and whether financial support would make a difference.
  • A clear rationale will be provided for the amount given so as to avoid bad precedents or a lack of fairness with similar situations.
  • The applicant church must be in good standing with AMUK/E and the leader appropriately qualified and trained.
  • The church leadership must be willing to receive coaching in church growth and raising of finance.
  • There must be a willingness to engage and train the congregation in mission and financial generosity.

B. New AMUK/E Joiner Grant (up to £25k one off gift)

Sometimes churches are planted by people outside our movement who then want to explore partnership with us. In such cases there may be potential for a financial gift where this will be strategically needed. NB any sense that a church planter is looking to partner with us because of such a potential is very unlikely to qualify.

As with the Smaller Church Grant these grants are designed to help ‘level up’ where finance is seen as the major obstacle to forward movement, e.g. to allow a pastor to be full-time, or to recruit an additional staff member. NB these grants are not available for building projects, as this could quickly empty AMUK/E funds.

Applications may be received from recent church plants (1-5 years) when:

  • There is full alignment doctrinally and in values with Advance.
  • The planter has completed or undertaken to complete ACPC.
  • The planter has completed the Advance Church Planter Development Tool and formed a coaching relationship with a recognised AMUK/E planter.
  • There is a commitment to join the movement from the pastor and church members.
  • When this is endorsed by the AMUK/E team.

For more information or to apply for funding please contact admin.uk@advancemovement.com

[1] We recognise that there are a number of institutions offering worthwhile courses of study that can help strengthen our churches. However, the primary aim of these training grants is to quickly up-skill those entering ministry in doctrinal knowledge and understanding, within a broadly Reformed theological framework. Because of this, and our strong connections there, as well as for the sake of simplicity, we are currently restricting grants to courses run by Union.