Two New Grants
by Pastor Mike Mercurio
January 17, 2025
Have you heard the news? First Alliance Church was recently awarded two new grants to further the work that we are doing here in the community.
The first grant comes from the Christian and Missionary Alliance. It is called the “Dream Incentive Grant” and it is for the purposes of becoming a Refugee and Immigrant Network (RAIN) Hub for the Mid-Atlantic District. The purpose of RAIN is three-fold:
- Welcoming - Together, Alliance churches welcoming our global neighbors with the love and compassion of Christ, as He has welcomed us into His Kingdom, is the heart of this network.
- Engagement - We focus on equipping our Alliance churches to engage their local global neighbors through English as a Second Language (ESL), secondary resettlement services and other welcoming ministries
- Training - We partner with academic organizations to train practitioners worldwide in ministry strategies that address the needs of traumatized refugees and immigrants, and those who serve them.
The second grant comes from the Capital Area Food Bank in the amount of $20,000. This is a capacity building grant and it will be used to help fund the hiring of new staff. Our plan is to add this money to our own resources and hire someone to expand our outreach into the community and provide support for family related ministries. Details about this hire will be shared as developments unfold.
So what are some things that you can do to further these blessings and enact God’s call to serve others well?
- Pray for God’s continual leading as we receive the grants and add capacity to our ministries.
- Consider volunteering to help teach English. Contact Paul and Rita Schuh.
- Continue or begin to support the work of the church financially with regular financial gifts.
- Help us with our fundraising effort to gain support from local businesses. As this article is being written, new efforts are just getting underway. Look for and listen to announcements.