Grant Proposal Approved
In Monday’s special edition of our newsletter, we mentioned “Church Council has approved the submission of a grant proposal to the Annual Conference asking for additional funds for marketing, needs connected to this position, and some first-year financial support to protect a minimal amount of emergency funds.”
We received notice Wednesday afternoon that our grant proposal was approved in full. The approval letter says: “We appreciated the detailed proposal from Desert Mission UMC for how they plan to serve the larger community with a gospel of hope and joy.
“After much discussion, Vital Faith has approved the total amount of the proposal, $189,818. We know the proposed ministry is a leap of faith for the Conference and for DMUMC, but we believe in you as the pastor, and we believe in the lay leadership who serve DMUMC so faithfully. We move into this experiment together!
“We are aware that the church will hold a Church Conference May 2 to decide if they want to move forward. From the Conference’s side, we’re all in!”
It is important to remember that the use of these funds must conform to the intent of the request:
Acceptance of these funds is tied to the proposal our church is considering on Sunday, May 2, at 2:00 PM.
These funds may not be used to pay for this position, but up to $23,191 may be used to prevent our emergency funds from falling below a 50-day reserve.
The remainder of the funds are designated for helping this proposal to succeed (if undertaken) and for connecting Desert Mission UMC to new people.
Again, we hope all members of Desert Mission UMC will make Sunday’s Special Session Church Conference a priority at 2:00 PM.
