Church Planting Grant
Funding, Coaching, and Care for Church Planters and Their Families
Planting a church is one of the most blessed and difficult things your family will ever do. Our three-year partnership is designed to make sure you don't do it alone.
The Reality
Beautiful Work. A Little More Expensive Than You Planned. Full of Surprises You Didn't See Coming.
Most church planters begin with a God-given calling, a small team, and a lot of work. Imagine raising support, building a team, caring for a congregation, and trying to keep your own family healthy all at the same time. The pressure of the launch process can mount quickly.
Our church planting partnership is built to meet you right there. Real financial support, so fundraising stops eating the hours you need for ministry. One-on-one coaching for you and care for your wife, because she's in this too. A cohort of planters who know exactly what this season feels like, because they're in the trenches as well. Less stress. More support. Right when the stakes are highest.
The Partnership
What Our Church Planting Grant Includes
Substantial Financial Support
$75,000 distributed over three years to strengthen your foundation and free you to give your best energy to the mission God has entrusted to you.
Family Vacation Fund
$5,000 a year, set aside just for your family to get away. We earmark it because we know you won't take it otherwise, and you'll need the rest and renewal it brings.
Monthly Coaching for You
Regular one-on-one coaching calls with our Executive Director, drawing on over 30 years of ministry experience. Practical wisdom, spiritual encouragement, and honest conversation.
Care Calls for Your Wife
Once a month, someone who knows this life picks up the phone to listen, pray, and care for her. It's the kind of attention most ministry spouses never get but need most.
Pastor Care Program
You are paired with a dedicated prayer and care supporter who knows you by name, prays for you and your family consistently, and stays connected throughout the journey.
Annual Partner Retreat
A yearly gathering of all partner couples for fellowship, encouragement, and renewal. Time together with people who understand the weight and the joy of what you carry.
Relationship Beyond the Grant
When the three-year financial partnership ends, the relationship doesn't. You move from coaching to counsel — and stay part of the 23 Project family for life.
Why It Matters
This Is Not a Typical Church Planting Grant
Most church plant grants start with a form and end with a check. This one doesn't. Here's how a 23 Project partnership is built differently, from day one.
- RelationshipA check and a wish for the best.
- DurationOne-time funding, then you're on your own.
- Family CareFund the ministry, forget the minister.
- PrayerAdded to a newsletter list.
- ProcessOpaque, committee-driven, and rubric-based.
- Vacation FundNot a consideration.
- After PartnershipOver when the money runs out.
- RelationshipPersonal care and coaching calls every month.
- Duration3-year commitment with ongoing relationship after.
- Family CareCare for you, your spouse, and your kids.
- PrayerPrayed for by name, every month, by a dedicated team.
- ProcessTransparent and relational from start to finish.
- Vacation Fund$5,000/year set aside for your family to take vacation.
- After PartnershipThe relationship continues. You're family.
Step by Step
How the Church Plant Grant Process Works
From application to partnership and beyond — here is every step of the journey.
Applications Open
Our application window is open August 1-31 each year. If you're a pastor or planter in the US and our partnership criteria feel like a fit, we want to hear from you.
Initial Review
Once the application window has closed, applications are evaluated for alignment with our beliefs, values, and partnership criteria.
Deeper Discovery
If your application resonates, we invite you and your spouse into a deeper questionnaire. We want to understand you — not just your ministry, but your marriage and your family.
Personal Conversation
A phone or video call to discuss the application and get to know you and your spouse more personally.
Prayerful Discernment
The team spends dedicated time in prayer to discern which candidates to advance to the in-person assessment.
Key MomentIn-Person Assessment
Six finalists fly in to meet us face to face. We share a meal, talk about your marriage and your ministry, and spend intentional time together.
Key MomentFinal Discernment
Several weeks of prayerful consideration follow the in-person assessments.
Partnership Begins
Partners are called with the news before Thanksgiving. The three-year journey officially begins in January at our annual partner retreat.
Key MomentOngoing Partnership
Monthly coaching for you, care calls for your wife, an annual retreat, a dedicated supporter who stays close, and meaningful relationship throughout your church planting journey.
Beyond Financial Partnership
The financial partnership ends after three years, but the relationship continues. You remain part of the 23 Project family.
Partnership Criteria
Who We Partner With
Every church planting partnership we enter is a serious, three-year commitment. Here are the four things we pay closest attention to.
Firm Priorities
By God's grace, you fight to keep first things first — following Jesus, loving your family well, then leading the church entrusted to you. In that order.
Faithful Potential
You've prepared well for the calling you've been given. You carry a compelling vision, a clear strategy, and a history of getting things done.
Financially Prepared
No pastor is omni-competent. Some of you will always be more gifted preaching Numbers than presenting numbers in a spreadsheet — and that's fine. But you know your church's financial picture, you can explain it clearly, and you can talk about money without visibly sweating.
Fruitful Possibilities
You're humble about what you can do and hopeful about what God will do. We're looking for holy ambition, prayerful dependence, and a fire for the glory of Jesus.
What We Ask Up Front
Requirements to Apply
A handful of essentials we need in place before we can partner together. If you can check these five boxes, you are ready to apply.
-
01
You've Been Assessed and Approved
A reputable church planting organization has walked through an assessment with you and cleared you to plant. That groundwork tells us you have been seen, tested, and sent by people who know you well.
-
02
Your Public Launch Falls in Our Window
Your church plant's public launch date is in the United States, between September 1 of the application year and August 31 of the following year. If that is your timeline, you are in the right place.
-
03
You Resonate with Our Partnership Criteria
You have read our Types of Churches page and the theological and missional convictions described there feel like home. When we are aligned here, the rest of this relationship tends to flow naturally.
-
04
You're Open to Coaching
Coaching is part of the rhythm of our partnership, not an optional add-on. You are willing to engage with it for all three years — because we have seen what happens when planters have someone in their corner for the long haul.
-
05
You've Read and Agree to the MOU
Our Memorandum of Understanding spells out what we are committing to on both sides — prayer, funding, care, accountability. Read it, sit with it, and if you are in, we are in.
Common Questions
You Might Be Wondering
The questions pastors ask most often, grouped by where you are in the journey. If yours is not here, reach out — we would love to hear from you.
Before & During the Application
Do I qualify to apply?
The basics: you are a church planter with a public launch date in the United States between September 1 of the application year and August 31 of the following year, and you have been assessed and approved by a reputable church planting organization. Beyond that, see the five requirements above and spend a few minutes with our Types of Churches page to make sure we are a fit.
Can I submit the application for a friend or fellow planter?
We love that you want to help a friend — but the lead planter has to submit the application themselves. The questions are designed to learn about them, not about the person helping. Pass along the link and encourage them to apply.
How long does the application take?
About 30 minutes once you have gathered your thoughts. Do not rush it — we read every answer carefully, and honest answers tend to serve you better than strategic ones.
When does the application window open?
Applications are open August 1 through August 31 each year. We do not accept early or late submissions, so pick a quiet evening in August and sit down to write.
What happens after I submit?
You will get a confirmation email from us letting you know your application arrived. From there, our process moves through three phases — Applicant, Candidate, and Recipient — and you will hear from us clearly at every step.
When will I know if I have been selected?
Every applicant hears from us. Partners are notified before Thanksgiving, and the journey begins shortly after.
If You're Selected
Will the grant go to me or to my church?
Funds are distributed to your church, not to you personally. That keeps the grant set up cleanly as a 501(c)(3)-to-501(c)(3) gift.
What do you expect from me in return?
The full picture is in our Memorandum of Understanding. The short version: you will participate in coaching, show up for our annual retreat, pray for your cohort, and let us know how we can be praying for you.
Can my family attend the annual retreat with me?
Your spouse is encouraged to join you for the retreat. Babies 6 months and younger are welcome to come too.
Are there restrictions on how I use the grant money?
The funds are intended to ease the financial pressure of planting — ministry operations, salary support, launch costs, and the coaching and care components of our partnership. We trust you to steward it well for the mission God has called you to.
I still have questions. Who can I talk to?
We would love to hear from you. Head over to our contact page and drop us a note — we respond to every message personally.
The care that I have received, that my wife has received through 23 Project has been a gift to us. It has helped us in the early days of church planting through the ups and downs just to keep on being faithful to serve Jesus. The coaching, the financial support, and the prayer support has been monumental. We feel this wave of prayer from the army of people praying for us. We are so grateful to be a part of 23 Project.
Called to Plant? We'd Love to Hear From You.
Applications open every August. Whether you're ready to apply or just beginning to explore, we are here and would welcome the chance to learn about your calling.