Who should apply?

We believe our Lord disciples and grows His people through local churches, and so we are committed to providing funding for church growth projects to help them continue to be healthy, evangelistic, growing churches. We provide seed funding for church growth projects to help them kick-start new ministry initiatives and in bringing on new staff members.

Who should apply for a Church Growth Grant?

  • Established churches that are seeking to employ a new staff worker (equal to or more than 3 days per week).
  • Established churches that have a new ministry initiative they are seeking to fund (e.g. a new youth ministry).
  • Established churches from either Australia or New Zealand. We will not accept plants outside of these regions.

Who should NOT apply for a Church Growth Grant?

  • Church plants that are within the first 3 years of planting. You may be able to apply for a Church Plant Grant.
  • Churches who are seeking to purchase a church building or space to meet. We do not fund church building projects.
  • Churches that are looking to bring on a planting apprentice or MTS worker. You may be able to apply for a Leadership Grant.
  • Churches that are seeking to employ a staff worker less than 3 days a week.

Our vision for churches across Australia is that we’ll see:

  • Established churches that are healthy, evangelistic, growing and multiplying.
  • Churches breaking through the 500 and 1,000 congregational sizes.
  • Churches handing over from founder planter to second leader.
  • Strong growing youth groups.
  • Opportunities for church leaders to grow (e.g. Bible colleges).
  • Churches that reach “unchurched” and “dechurched” people.
  • Effective church management as part of a church.
  • Local churches that value the support provided by denominational centres.
  • Strong consultative support groups.

Please note: If you are unsure of your eligibility as outlined in these guidelines, please contact Gospel Future Fund BEFORE completing the Preliminary Enquiry Form. If you are based outside Australia or New Zealand and you are unknown to Gospel Future Fund, we will not respond to your enquiry.

FAQs

Explore the Frequently Asked Questions related to Church Growth Grants

Read the FAQs here >

Applying for a grant

Overview of application process

  • Applications are accepted once a year per organisation.
  • To assess your suitability for a grant, first complete the Preliminary Enquiry Form.
  • If your project is suitable, you will then be invited to proceed to the comprehensive Grant Submission stage.
  • The latest submission dates are available on our home page.

Important guidelines for your application

Completing the Preliminary Enquiry Form

  • Preliminary Enquiry Forms that do not include all the requested information will not be considered.
  • If you are unsure of your eligibility as outlined in these guidelines, and you wish to discuss the nature of your project, to help save time and effort on both sides, you may contact Gospel Future Fund and request a phone call.
  • Notification of the outcome of the Preliminary Enquiries will be sent via email as soon as possible.
  • In some cases, we may contact you to request further information regarding your Preliminary Enquiry.
  • Gospel Future Fund reserves the right to seek assistance from external experts in examining and assessing Preliminary Enquiries. Accordingly, applicant organisations should be mindful when preparing their applications that any material provided to Gospel Future Fund may be passed on to one or more third parties during the assessment process.

Grant Submission

  • At Gospel Future Fund’s discretion, you may be invited to provide a more detailed Grant Submission after we review your Preliminary Enquiry Form.
  • Invitations for submissions will be sent to applicant organisations via email.
  • Appropriate word counts will be provided for your Grant Submission, which will be completed online, and can be saved at any time before submitting.
  • The Grant Submission Form will list any attachments that may be required.
  • Subsequent to completion of your submission, you may be invited to meet with us to discuss your application, including initial evaluation.
  • After completion of your submission, we may contact you (possibly more than once) to seek clarification on the content of your submission.
  • Gospel Future Fund reserves the right to seek assistance from external experts in examining and assessing submissions.

What happens after you submit?

  • Applicants invited to make submissions will be advised, in writing, of the decision on their submission usually within a fortnight of the relevant Directors’ Meeting.
  • If you are successful, you will be sent a letter outlining the conditions of the grant and the payment schedule.
  • You will be asked to give your bank details (for electronic bank transfer of grant payments) and to sign your agreement with the grant conditions and receipting requirements before the grant commences.
  • Successful organisations should note that Gospel Future Fund prefers not to accept framed certificates, plaques or other tokens of appreciation.
  • A grant condition is that there be no public recognition of the grant without our prior approval. While Gospel Future Fund values the spirit in which these acknowledgements are given, organisations are encouraged to express their appreciation in letter format.

For successful applicants

  • Grants are usually paid in the first week of April and October during the “Specified Period” of the grant. Payments will not be made if there are any outstanding receipts and/or reports.
  • Please promptly send your formal receipt of each grant payment to hello@gospelfuturefund.com.au
  • You are required to provide Gospel Future Fund ongoing information to enable monitoring and evaluating the progress of your project.
  • An Annual Report will be required by Gospel Future Fund within three months of 30 June or 31 December for each year of the project.
  • A Final Report will be required within three months of 30 June or 31 December following the completion date of the project (called the “Specified Period”).
  • The reports are linked to the original Grant Submission planned outcomes and the Grant Conditions.
  • All emails to include in “Subject” the grantee name and unique grant number.

Preliminary Enquiry Form

Your online Enquiry Form will be completed in one session. Please download the Church Growth  Preliminary Enquiry Planning Document so you can prepare your responses before completing the form below. Please check the Current Submission Dates before completing this form (enquiries outside the submission dates will not be considered).

The preliminary enquiry form is not available to be completed at this time

Church Growth Grant Submission

When your Preliminary Enquiry has been approved, you will be invited by email to complete a Church Growth Grant Submission Form. Please download the document to complete, and email to hello@gospelfuturefund.com.au

The grant submission document is not available to be completed at this time

All fields are mandatory, please work within the maximum word count

Reporting

An Annual and Final Report will be required by Gospel Future Fund for Church Growth Grants within three months of 30 June or 31 December for each year. Please ensure you complete within 3 months of your financial year through the Online Report. Please note the online form will not send you a copy of your report, we recommend copying and pasting your answers into a word document for your future reference.

A Final Report will be required within three months of 30 June or 31 December following the completion date through the Online Report.