RCA Receives Sustainability Grant to Pivot Work for Flourishing Churches

Lilly Endowment Inc. has awarded the General Synod Council (GSC) of the Reformed Church in America (RCA) a $500,000 sustainability grant to continue its work within the endowment’s Thriving Congregations initiative. The original grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. was awarded in 2019 for an “innovation lab for flourishing churches.” The RCA’s work, formalized as the Renovations Project, actually launched in 2022, following delays related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Renovations—focused on church health and innovation—provided training, coaching, and grants for participating churches to reimagine the best of their treasured traditions for flourishing ministry. The grant work is facilitated through the discipleship and church innovation team within the RCA’s Center for Church Multiplication and Ministry, which aims to provide hope by strengthening and growing Christ’s church, particularly in supporting churches and classes (middle assemblies) in church revitalization, church multiplication, discipleship, leadership development, and equity-based hospitality, as well as living into a Revelation 7:9 future.

In the last five years, 51 congregations participated in Renovations and embarked on journeys of innovation, from repurposing ministry spaces for greater hospitality to aligning mission and vision and engaging communities in new, imaginative ways.

“This program has bolstered the learning of the RCA in how we listen and respond to the articulated needs of congregations, resulting in ministry leaders feeling heard, encouraged, and empowered,” says Rev. Annalise Radcliffe, director for discipleship and church innovation, who has stewarded the Renovations work for the past few years. “Overall our greatest learning is that when a congregation is laser-focused on their mission and effectively prioritizing characteristics of a healthy church, they are establishing long-lasting change.”

Now, with the sustainability grant, the Renovations work will continue, but with a pivot and a new name: Flourishing Churches.

The name change points to the heart of the work, which is to create lasting change in congregations so their ministries and communities can flourish both in the present and into the future. It’s also reflective of a partnership with the RCA’s Church Growth Fund (CGF), which has previously awarded Flourishing Churches Grants to thriving ministries that lack the financial resources for necessary building improvements. To be eligible for the sustainability grant, the RCA needed to provide $500,000 in matching funds. Most of the matching funds came from the CGF, which has annually contributed a portion of its loan-generated income back to the denomination for ministry grants, including Flourishing Churches Grants.

“This program merger solidifies a sustainable agreement that will ensure operational longevity for our revitalization work, which will continue offering equipping opportunities to strengthen and grow RCA congregations for the future,” says Radcliffe.

“The merging of Renovations and the CGF’s Flourishing Churches Grant program will now offer more than just grant money for building repairs but will truly be an effort to help RCA congregations flourish for the long term,” adds Ruth Langkamp, associate director for discipleship and church innovation. “The revamped Flourishing Churches provides key learnings to help congregations cement the functionality of their buildings with their missional calling. It combines the best of the Renovations project—coaching and training—with the CGF’s iteration of the Flourishing Churches grants.”

“The CGF has been supporting churches through contributions it has made to the Flourishing Churches Grant Program for the past eight years. While this program has helped many churches complete capital improvements to support ministry, it seemed as though there was more that could be done to help churches leading up to this point,” says Diane Smith Faubion, vice president of the CGF board. “By merging the Flourishing Churches Grant and Renovations programs, churches will be able to discern their mission and ministry focus first, which can then be better supported by capital improvements. We are excited to contribute funds to provide overall support for churches in their revitalization efforts through the redesigned Flourishing Churches Grant Program.”

Additional funds from endowments and committed funds that align with the Thriving Congregations Initiative were also pledged as matching funds for the sustainability grant.

The coming year will focus on building the foundation for the initiative and recruiting participating congregations, with the full launch of the Flourishing Churches learning process anticipated in the fall of 2026. Applications will open in March and remain open through June 30, with churches notified of their acceptance by August 30. Accepted congregations will assemble a leadership team that will enter a structured learning journey shaped by a comprehensive assessment. This process is designed to help leaders clarify mission and vision, practice adaptive leadership, and align their resources in ways that deepen core Christian practices.

Congregational grants will continue to play a central role in both learning and evaluation. Participating congregations will be invited to apply for a grant, which may be used toward facility updates, that supports an innovation or ministry experiment emerging from their discernment work. Once approved, churches will commit to a guided learning experience as they implement their grant, allowing them to test new ideas while receiving coaching and support.

“Congregational grant offerings allow both congregations and the broader RCA to learn,” explains Langkamp. “Congregations get to ‘try on’ an innovative discovery they’ve made on the journey, and GSC staff can interpret what congregations are trying and, more importantly, how they are trying new things. At the same time, we gain insight into the local needs present in our communities, which helps us understand what equipping is required, how our ministry staff can offer deeper support, and where outside partnerships may be needed. And as we share stories of congregations experimenting in ministry, we often see other churches adapt those ideas to their own contexts.” 

The sustainability grant period is five years, beginning in October 2025 and concluding in December 2030. However, as outlined, the RCA’s work funded through this Lilly Endowment grant will become self-sustaining within five years, and the program and impact will extend well beyond 2030.