Grants in aid of Stipend / Ministry Grants

We are starting to think more broadly about these grants. For many people “stipend” applies only to ordained ministers. Sometimes a grant is needed for a CDE or Stated Supply who isn’t an ordained minister. The bottom line is that these grants assist those who provide ministry whether ordained or not.

It is the Presbytery that must apply for these Grants. Congregations are encouraged to approach their Presbytery who will in turn approach the Mission & Discipleship Committee, consolidating all their applications into one Presbytery application.

Here are three easy steps to assure grants for your Presbytery:

STEP 1
Please could you furnish us with the following information in preparation for next financial year, 1 July of this year to 30 June of the next year. Please could you send this information as soon as possible.

The name of the contact person in your Presbytery for Mission & Discipleship matters – this could be either your Treasurer, MaD Convener, or whatever you call the person who administers the Grants (we are aware that this may have changed due to annual Presbytery elections).

The contact details for that person – postal address, telephone numbers, fax numbers (if they have access to a fax) and email address (if they have one). We want to continue to improve our communication!

STEP 2
Please send us a list of churches for whom you are applying for grants for the next financial year. This must include the name of the Church, the name of the minister for whom a grant is being paid, the amount being applied for (monthly) and a brief motivation/description of the circumstances of the congregation. Please send this by latest Friday, 25 June.

STEP 3
We are asking one additional thing. Take a step back, try to be objective and determine whether the congregation which is receiving a grant is
(a)    new – that is, recently planted;
(b)     demographically under-resourced – that is, in an area where members are unemployed, or earning small incomes; or
(c)    in the process of reconstruction – that is, the Presbytery is doing a ‘make-over’ on this congregation, trying to change its condition. This will help us tremendously.

Presbyteries are reminded of their responsibility to ensure that grant-receiving congregations complete the bi-annual return form – Click HERE for the form.
PLEASE NOTE: Unless these forms are submitted timeously, grants will not be paid.

Please note that the Mission & Discipleship Committee CANNOT pay grants for Probationers. Churches who employ Probationers should apply to the Secretary of the Ministry Committee in the Central Office for financial assistance.

In early August, we will endeavour to contact you to have a conversation about your request. This is in line with the policy of the Assembly that we should discuss each Presbytery’s grants application with that Presbytery before determining the final grant and that we should treat every Presbytery’s application holistically and not in terms of individual congregations.