wfn.org | AAL Initiates "Openings" Grant Program

[NEWS <NEWS@ELCA.ORG>]

ELCA NEWS SERVICE

April 8, 1999

AAL INITIATES "OPENINGS" GRANT PROGRAM
99-14-082-JB

     TUCSON (ELCA) -- Aid Association for Lutherans (AAL) announced it
will allocate $488,000 in grants this year to help targeted Lutheran
congregations focus on bringing unchurched people to worship.
     The pilot program called, "Openings," is rooted in the Church
Membership Initiative (CMI), a research project conducted from 1991 to
1997.  AAL sponsored the CMI research which was conducted by the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's (ELCA) Division for Congregational
Ministries and Department for Research and Evaluation.  
     The CMI project was designed to help the Lutheran church understand
and address declines in membership.  AAL hopes Openings will result in
insights that can be shared within the church, said James S. Yagow,
director for church grants, AAL, Appleton, Wis.  Yagow spoke to the ELCA
Conference of Bishops during its recent spring meeting.
     "We are looking for projects that are innovative, creative, perhaps
risk-taking, to increase worship attendance," Yagow said.
     Funds will be granted through ELCA synods "for motivated
congregations that have potential for significant growth and are positioned
to realize this potential," according to AAL's Openings project
description.   Projects may include leadership training, congregational
assessment, public relations strategies, new ways to invite people to
worship and cross-cultural or ethnic outreach, the project description
said.
     The grant program requires the synod to be a partner with one to four
congregations.  Individual grants will range from $10,000 to $20,000, Yagow
said.
     The synod or churchwide unit must contribute at least 10 percent of
the grant request.  Congregations must contribute at least 25 percent of
the total project budget.
     Grants AAL awards the ELCA will be coordinated through the Conference
of Bishops.  Grants will also be awarded to congregations of The Lutheran
Church-Missouri Synod and Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod.
     Grant applications for "Openings" will be distributed in April 2000, Yagow
said.  Applications must be submitted by Sept. 1.  Once awarded, a project
can begin immediately.  Projects must be completed by Dec. 31, 2001.
     AAL, based in Appleton, Wis., is a fraternal benefits society of 1.7
million Lutherans for insurance, education and volunteer opportunities. 
AAL supports the work of Lutheran church bodies, educational institutions
and other Lutheran organizations.

For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://listserv.elca.org/archives/elcanews.html