Five church plants identified as missional peace churches have received $5,000 grants from Mennonite Church USA.
Three of the recipients — Iglesia Cristiana Roca de Refugio in San Antonio, Texas, Moveable Feast in Chicago and The Intention Church, an online community — received the grant for the first time.
The other two — Summit Street Church in Beatrice, Neb., and Wild Church Fresno in California — received the grant for their third and final year.
The grants, known as Thrive, help relieve financial barriers new churches often face, helping them live out the gospel message and engage their communities.
“The Thrive grant is intended to give a boost to the work that is happening at the grassroots, in a way that empowers them to live into their unique calling,” said Michael Danner, associate executive director of MC USA.
Iglesia Cristiana Roca de Refugio is an immigrant-led church plant. Pastored by Dianne Garcia, a second-generation immigrant, and shaped by a leadership team of four immigrant women, the church began meeting in April 2023. It recently became affiliated with Mountain States Mennonite Conference.
Because it is made up mostly of asylum-seeking immigrants experiencing financial instability, the church has not been able to support itself financially and has mostly relied on grants and the support of others.
Garcia said the church serves “people who really want and need church but who have few tangible resources to contribute.”
The grant will enable the church to offer Sunday community meals.
“Since we are a church of people on the wrong side of the systems of oppression and injustice, this grant really demonstrates for us the whole denomination’s commitment to a shalom that is felt by all,” Garcia said.
Moveable Feast is an emerging community of faith that meets weekly in a restaurant/music venue in Chicago. Participants are engaged in peace and justice work, striving to dismantle racism, classism, misogyny and hierarchical systems.
About every other month, they host an intergenerational theological activity for people of all ages to engage in faith and ethics formation in their own ways. The congregation also places an emphasis on the countercultural practice of keeping the Sabbath and prioritizing rest. It is affiliated with Central District Conference.
While attendees are eager to participate in acts of service, many are not yet prepared to support the church financially. The grant will help cover rent for Sunday worship space, provide resources to engage in outreach and allow for a pastoral stipend.
“The Thrive grant is helping our community focus on welcoming new people into our midst and building relationships with them,” said Pastor Celeste Kennel-Shank. “I am excited about the work I am doing with several families to redesign our interfaith gatherings to have children and youth at the center. We will explore scripture and engage our creative gifts in an intergenerational setting.”
The Intention Church is an online faith community that does not intend to replace in-person services but form meaningful relationships, study the Bible and share in communion.
Intention introduces Anabaptist and Black church theology to people who may not have encountered these ways of thinking before. It is an emerging faith community affiliated with Central District Conference.
The grant enabled Intention to launch in September. It helps fund the pastor’s salary, resources for individuals and small groups and in-person regional and national gatherings planned for 2025.
“We’re most excited about providing a seat at the table for people who may be skeptical about church but haven’t ruled Jesus out yet,” founder Trey Ferguson said. “We’ve been able to connect people with very different journeys to the story of Jesus. In The Intention Church, people find that church is not about where we go but who we are.”
Summit Street Church is a replant of Beatrice Mennonite Church. Beginning in 2021, the congregation voted to start fresh, focusing on becoming more missional and being a church for people who feel like they don’t belong or are uninterested in church. It is affiliated with Western District Conference.
“Thrive grant distributions have allowed Summit Street Church to rebrand and take the initial steps toward acting more missionally,” said Pastor Andrew Dungan. “We have grown relationships with other churches that are interested in what being missional means. A lot of the money from the past two years’ grants went to subsidizing pastoral financial support, but things are stabilizing, and today the church is able to support me full-time.”
In addition to supporting the pastor, the grant funds have allowed the church to host an annual trunk-or-treat event that serves the community of Beatrice, purchase new lighting, support marketing initiatives and create a book study for people inside and outside the congregation.
Wild Church Fresno is part of the worldwide Wild Church Network. Participants meet monthly outdoors year-round, usually on the banks of the San Joaquin River. They aim to create a safe and inclusive space where people of all walks of life can encounter God through reconnecting with all of creation — plants, soil, water and all creatures. It is affiliated with Pacific Southwest Mennonite Conference.
The Thrive grant has enabled Wild Church Fresno to hire an administrative assistant and pay guest speakers. With some of last year’s grant funds, they hosted a camping retreat to celebrate the Divine in nature and hope to do so again this year.
“We have been amazed at how many people are just looking to connect with the Divine in nature,” said Heather Hilscher, a Wild Church Fresno council member. “They are hungry for fellowship with those who are seeking the same.”
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