2011 Kingdom Advancement Grants
Trinity Church, through its Global Outreach Department, is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2011 Kingdom Advancement Grants. The broad goals of the Kingdom Advancement Grants are evangelism among unreached peoples, strategic intervention on behalf of the poor & marginalized, increased availability of Scripture, and leadership training & development.
These grants are intended to stimulate ministry done directly by Trinity’s missionaries (including associates), strategic partnerships, and partner churches. We pray that our global friends will be encouraged and blessed by these funds.
We received 19 outstanding applications that were God-glorifying, Kingdom-centric, and in line with Trinity’s heart to be a blessing to the nations. However, limited funds and agreed-upon criteria constrained the number of finalists and the awarded amounts. Three different groups, including Trinity’s Global Outreach Ministry Team, separately reviewed each application.
We are pleased to announce the following 11 finalists for a total grant allocation of $95,000.
$7,500—Youth Training Among the Wayuu People
Submitted by Trinity missionary Ubaldo Restan of the Colombian Pastoral Institute, this proposal expands the successful 2010 training for Wayuu church leaders to young people. Significant church growth is a real possibility among this unreached people group that has historically been resistant to outsiders. The potential for collaboration between CPI and La Iglesias Cristiana Confraternidad de Unicentro (Bogota) – a larger urban church similar to Trinity, pastored by long-term Trinity missionaries Luis and Loida Huertas – is exciting.
$10,000 — Training Latino Missionaries, Ibero-America
Submitted by Trinity missionary Bob Strauss, this matching grant will help print 3,000 training manuals, facilitate three train-the-trainer events, and develop five online courses “to equip leaders, missionary trainers, and local church pastors in the use of the missionary training manual. The expected outcomes include increased effectiveness of Latino missionaries in cross-cultural ministry and a larger number of authentic Christ followers among host societies in North Africa.” The 2009 commissioning of World Resource Group and Recursos Estrategicos Globales (Argentina) – the grant recipients – by COMIBAM International to produce these training resources reflects the strategic nature of this Kingdom investment.
$10,000 — South American Church Leader Project
Submitted by Trinity missionary and South America Mission’s International Ministries Director Dave Broucek, this grant will help this almost 100-year old organization’s ministry in Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Paraguay, and Colombia. SAM is “helping to develop church leaders through initiatives that serve primarily two demographics: ethnic tribal groups and the working class.” SAM wants to connect Trinity with their training centers to foster “cross-cultural prayer & concern, and provide a direct tie-in for North American churches to mobilize teams for missions projects in partnership with our leadership training initiatives.” We trust this grant will lead to higher enrollment, more graduates, and an enhanced follow-up/mentoring program. Trinity missionaries Dave and Rachel Powell work with SAM in Peru.
$5,000—Coffee House in Fukuoka, Japan
Submitted by Rob & Jill Stoddard of Midland Evangelical Free Church, this grant will help launch the third phase of The Friendship Center in the metropolitan city of Fukuoka. “The Coffee House will not only provide a vital role of relationship building and a context for evangelistic opportunities, but also provide funds for short-term workers, new national ministry staff, and future replication.” The growing support of Trinity attendees, the strong possibility of a missional partnership with Midland Evangelical Free Church, and the desire to support this more recent “business as missions” model encouraged us to make an exception to the Trinity missionary requirement. We look forward to deeper relational involvement in the years ahead.
$7,500 — Residential Discipleship and Training Center, China
Submitted by Trinity missionary Susan (pseudonym) from a remote part of this creative access nation, this grant pays for two years of rent and soundproofing, as she continues the development of a center for Tibetan Buddhist background believers from two unreached people groups: the Pumi and the Mosuo. “Our greatest challenge here is lack of privacy as traditional houses share walls and every room opens to the outside… our foremost need is a place where we can talk, pray and worship without fear of being heard by our neighbors.” We hope to help Susan with a properly soundproofed house in the near future.
$5,000—H20 Church (Ohio State University) & Trinity Partnership in Nairobi, Kenya
Submitted by Trinity missionary Kevin Cody, this partial grant encourages H20’s desire to “establish long-term, multi-lateral partnerships between H20 Church, Trinity Church, and Kenya-based churches and ministries.” In addition to being part of Trinity missions trips to our partners in and around Nairobi, we are particularly excited about H20’s desire to establish “a six-to-eight week program in the summer of 2012 to give students and others a longer-term, more immersive experience of foreign missions, with the prayer that this will both inspire and equip future missionaries.”
$10,000—Kato International Training Academy, Nigeria
Submitted by Mason high school teacher and Trinity member Paul Kato, this grant celebrates the recent initiative of a Trinity attendee (Paul) to make a difference in the lives of young Muslim and Christian boys in Nigeria. Adopting a soccer club model, this well-thought-through strategy, and already implemented vision is making a difference in Kano, Kaduna, and Jos. We celebrate in particular the creative engagement of secular organizations like Rush USA and Nike International. This partial grant goes toward the establishment of a resource center in one of those locations “where players can find computers, tutors, reading materials for school, and resources for the pursuit of Christian thought and belief.” With Trinity sending the Shephards (with SIM International) in April to ECWA’s Evangel Hospital in Jos, we anticipate a growing involvement in this influential African country.
$10,000 — Pastors’ Wives Retreat in Budapest, Hungary
Submitted by Ildiko Kovacs, Trinity missionary and co-leader of our Strategic Partnership in Hungary, this grant would make possible a retreat this October in Budapest for the “spiritual, emotional, and physical refreshment” of pastors’ wives. The invitation to Trinity women to serve at this retreat is appreciated. We celebrate Rose Garden Church’s commitment to build into pastoral husband-wife leadership teams in Hungary.
$10,000 — Rose GardenChurch’s Love Service (Deacon’sFund), Budapest, Hungary
Submitted by Geza Kovacs, Trinity missionary and co-leader of our Strategic Partnership in Hungary, this grant facilitates the Church’s ongoing compassionate intervention “over the last 10 years with the gypsies in Sazbolcs County” and “the poor and marginalized in the 22nd district of Budapest in collaboration with local government and local churches”. We trust this grant, when coupled with local giving, will strengthen the hands of RGC Love Service’s efforts to meet their neighbors’ physical and spiritual needs.
$12,000 — Discovery Church’s Community in Action Program (Deacon’sFund) in Galway, Ireland
Submitted by Paul Cullen, Pastor of Discovery Church and co-leader of our Strategic Partnership in Ireland, this grant would supplement their church’s ongoing efforts to minister to those in need, especially the homeless and the hungry. We celebrate Discovery Church’s sacrificial efforts to share the Gospel holistically during these financially challenging times in Europe.
$8,000 — Multi-Church Evangelism Training Conference in Galway, Ireland
Paul Cullen writes in his application, “While we are able to win some souls for the Lord through His grace and our testimony, teaching about evangelism and outreach methodology, and the implementation of that teaching would greatly enhance the efforts of our church as well as those of other evangelical churches in Galway.” He adds, “Unity between churches in Ireland has not been evident in the past, but Discovery Church has begun to make in-roads in this area with several other churches within the past year.” We trust this grant will be strategic in Kingdom expansion in Galway this fall.
Praise be to God for the faithful giving of Trinity attendees and members that make possible our collective efforts to strengthen Christ’s Church and expand His Kingdom around the world. We are both humbled and grateful for the privilege of meaningful and strategic global partnerships with our missionaries, missions associates, and partner churches.
Soli Deo Gloria