THE PLAN

To meet the need to grow and develop new churches and their leaders, the North Carolina Conference of The United Methodist Church has established a long term plan for growth. The Conference formed the Congregational Development Fund, Inc., a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization with the mission of providing land and resources to new and emerging churches. The Fund is administered by a board of directors chosen by the North Carolina Annual Conference and is associated with the Office of Congregational Development. With the blessing and leadership of Bishop Edwards and the guidance and support of some of the Conference's most capable and committed members, the Fund has created an initiative to provide funding to support this pursuit. The initiative is focused on two primary needs:

Growing New Churches
Experience indicates that the concerns over costs associated with initial operations and site acquisition often detract from the focus on ministry. The goal of this initiative is to supplement the efforts of new churches to fund these initial operating costs and to provide seed funding (in form of grants and/or loans) for the purpose of acquiring land. These costs tend to vary from church to church and are influenced by the location, situation and circumstances of each. Our intent is to provide approximately $300,000 for each new church start.

Fostering Leadership
New churches are unique and challenging environments, and their leaders are the most important ingredient in making these churches successful. Indeed, even with the best land, a new building, and great programs, a new church will not succeed without strong leaders. This initiative will support the recruitment, training, development, mentoring, and compensation of clergy who will be responsible for the growth and development of our churches. Our intent is to provide approximately $100,000 in leadership costs for each new church start.

"Strive to excel in building up the church." ---First Corinthians 14:12 back to top