Supported Ministry Guidelines
- Cooperate with the heart of God through prayer. (Luke 6:12-13)
- Accomplish the work of God through the Holy Spirit by methods in accordance with the Bible. (Acts 16:6-10)
- Have a primary commitment to bring non-believers into a relationship with God. (Matthew 28:18-20)
- Be the work of every believer; not just professional clergy. (I Peter 2:9)
- Be open to innovation, risk-taking, and learning. (Romans 1:8-15)
- Engage both word and deed to communicate Christ through teaching and serving. (Luke 24:19)
- Be sponsored by a parent church or churches for care and accountability. (Romans 15:22-29)
- Have a commitment to bring young disciples to maturity through internal leadership development. (Acts 20:16-18)
- Submit themselves to ongoing self-evaluation of ministry effectiveness. (Habakkuk 3:2)
- Acknowledge the need for all kinds of ministry to reach all kinds of people. While not every context demands high levels of diversity, each ministry should demonstrate the power of the gospel to reach people from any racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic background in its unique way. (James 2:1-7)
Tri-State Circuits Mission Support Grant Policies
- TSC Mission Support will fund outreach ministries that advance the Kingdom of Christ.
- Grant funding from TSC Mission Support is not intended for normally budgeted ministries of circuit congregations such as VBS, Sunday School, coffee fellowship, or standard worship materials.
- Grant funding requests must demonstrate viability, sustainability, and measurable outcomes. An annual budget along with anticipated funding sources are required as part of the application. TSC Mission Support grants will generally cover less than 50% of the ministry’s annual funding need.
- Grant applications are due on or before 2/1, 5/1, 8/1, 11/1 and are reviewed for funding by the TSC Mission Support Board of Trustees in February, May, August, and November, respectively. Applicants are informed of funding decisions by the end of the month in which the application is reviewed.
- All ministries receiving funding must submit a quarterly report on a timely basis to continue to receive remaining funding for the year. The format of the report will be established by TSC Mission Support as applicable to that ministry.
- TSC Mission Support grant funding is approved for each ministry on an annual basis and is limited to a seven-year time frame with decreasing funds in years 5, 6, and 7. Ministries granted funds in year 1 must request subsequent yearly funding at least 60 days before funding expires for the current year. Subsequent year requests should be made in writing via email to [email protected]. Subsequent year funding requests will be evaluated based upon ministry quarterly reports and achievement of stated ministry goals. TSC Mission Support Board of Trustees may require additional information in order to approve ministry funding for subsequent years’. Although TSC Mission Support will do its best to provide subsequent years’ funding, all grants approved are annual only and subject to availability of funds to TSC Mission Support.
- TSC Mission Support will not hold calls for rostered church workers. Calls to missionaries-at-large or any employee of the supported ministry will be issued by a circuit congregation or the Pacific Southwest District Board of Directors.