Flourishing Churches Grant

How can congregations reimagine their mission, ministry, and spaces to thrive and flourish for generations to come?

The Flourishing Churches Grant program empowers congregations to envision and create vibrant, sustainable ministries, equipping them to thrive spiritually, missionally, and communally for generations to come. 

About the grant program

The Flourishing Churches Grant program is focused on building strong ministries in context, combining missional imagination and facility improvements to bring about lasting change and flourishing congregations. The program includes a congregational assessment, coaching and training, honing in on mission and vision, and a grant opportunity to apply learning and upgrade ministry facilities accordingly. Grants of up to $50,000 are available for participating churches to use for facility improvements.

This work is facilitated through the RCA’s discipleship and church innovation team within the denomination’s Center for Church Multiplication and Ministry. The program is generously funded through a sustainability grant from the Lilly Endowment Inc. and the Church Growth Fund.

History

The current iteration of the Flourishing Churches Grant, launched in 2026, is a combination of two previous initiatives: Renovations, an innovation lab that helped churches re-imagine treasured traditions for the future, and the Church Growth Fund’s Flourishing Churches Grant, which offered grants for facility improvements to thriving churches that lacked financial resources. Funded by a sustainability grant from the Lilly Endowment Inc., the new Flourishing Churches Grant combines Renovations’ assessment, coaching, and training with the CGF’s grant resources, connecting building and capital investments with clarified mission, vision, and direction. This merger is an effort to help RCA congregations flourish for the long term, not just offering grant money for building repairs.

Read the press release about the sustainability grant.

Participation details and timeline

Applying churches must be:

  • Organized in the RCA for a minimum of three years and have the intention to stay in the RCA
  • Stable or show increasing church membership and attendance over the past three years
  • Capable of meeting essential operating expenses
  • Lacking access to financial resources to fund the cost of necessary facility project(s)
  • In good standing with their classis/middle assembly

The selection process will also take into consideration:

  • Age of the church building
  • Deferred maintenance
  • Socioeconomic status of church attendees and/or the financial position of the congregation

Other requirements

Congregations applying to participate in the Flourishing Churches Grant program and to receive the associated grant should exhibit the following attributes, designed to ensure long-term impact and alignment with the mission of the program.

  • Mission and vision alignment: Applicants should show commitment to discerning or refining their mission and vision, and aligning ministries and building use with that missional identity.
  • Engagement in the learning process: Congregations must commit a leadership team to assessments, coaching, training, and shared learning throughout the cohort.
  • Demonstrated need: Churches should articulate the challenge or opportunity they hope to address, showing how grant funds directly support mission-centered flourishing.
  • Capacity for innovation: Applicants should demonstrate openness to experimentation, creative ministry practices, and adaptive leadership.
  • Participation in evaluation: Churches must commit to reporting progress, sharing stories, and contributing to RCA-wide learning.
  • Financial stewardship: Churches must demonstrate responsible stewardship and clarity about how grant-funded work will be sustainable beyond the grant period.

How to prepare a strong application

  • Engage your leadership team early: Discuss the purpose of Flourishing Churches and ensure clarity about your church’s needs, hopes, and readiness.
  • Clarify your ministry challenge or opportunity: Identify the specific issue your congregation seeks to address—building functionality, mission clarity, community engagement, or leadership development.
  • Connect your goals to mission and vision: Clearly articulate how the grant and learning process will strengthen your ministry’s long-term direction.
  • Demonstrate congregational buy-in: Provide examples of how leaders and members understand the need for change and support moving forward.
  • Showcase innovation: Highlight any steps your church has already taken toward creative or adaptive ministry—even small ones.
  • Prepare to measure impact: Indicate how you will evaluate progress and share learnings with the broader RCA.
  • Review financial context: Ensure your financial documents or summaries reflect stewardship and readiness for grant investment.

Apply for a grant

A committee of General Synod Council (GSC) staff will oversee the grant program, including both the selection process and follow-up with the recipients of grant funds. Tell us what your project will do, but spend more time telling us why this project will help you make disciples in your church or share Christ’s love in your community.

Applications close on July 30, 2026.

Contact smeulenberg@rca.org with any questions.

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