The JoinHands Mennonite Church Building program will serve Mennonite churches in the United States and Canada seeking to buy or build their first place of worship. A tithe of contributions raised for grants will be given to international churches with priority given to Mennonite Mission Network (MCUSA) and Witness (MC Canada) projects. Other international requests will be evaluated on a case by case basis.
Priority for JoinHands grants will be given to MC USA or MC Canada church planting endeavors demonstrating long-term viability and stability with potential for growth less than 10 years old and acquiring their first permanent church building. Only one grant will be given to a congregation. Church properties purchased with these grants must be owned and controlled by the church applying for the grant. In order to qualify for a grant, the church must currently be established with active participants, regular patterns of worship and fellowship, and follow an established governance system.
MCUSA churches seeking grants are encouraged to meet with an Everence representative and consider stewardship education that is culturally appropriate for the congregation. MC Canada churches are encouraged to meet with a similar consultant to develop stewardship education.
Buildings are given priority for grants. However, other projects such as land purchase may be considered. A grant may not exceed more than 20% of cost of the building and land. The current grant maximum is $40,000 for grants made in the United States and Canada. The current grant maximum for overseas tithe grants is $10,000. All grant amounts are in USD.
For MCUSA and MC Canada churches, an application requires the approval of the conference minister from the area conference in which the congregation is a member. The Mennonite Men board of directors will act on completed applications.
Grants will be considered in the order they are received.
Recipient congregations will send a report to Mennonite Men describing how the grants were spent no later than one year from disbursement or upon the date such funds are used, whichever occurs first.
Grants will not be disbursed until any pending loans are approved and the property is purchased. If the church should close and the building be sold, the Mennonite Men Board requests that the grant money be returned to assist other churches. If the church should choose to leave Mennonite Church USA or Mennonite Church Canada within three years of receiving the grant, the Mennonite Men Board requests that the money be paid back to JoinHands in an agreed upon fashion. If the church’s conference should leave Mennonite Church USA or MC Canada within three years of the church receiving the grant, the conference will be asked to reimburse the grant to JoinHands in an agreed upon fashion.
The JoinHands Mennonite Church Building Program is a service ministry of Mennonite Men, an organization of Mennonite Church USA and Mennonite Church Canada with a mission of engaging men to grow, give and serve as followers of Jesus. The Mennonite Men office is located at 718 N Main Street, Newton, KS 67114-0347. Call 574-202-0048 or email for more information or to request an application.
For churches in Canada, contact Don Neufeld at donn@mennonitemen.org. For churches in the United States, contact Steve Thomas at stevet@mennonitemen.org.
April 2020
