wfn.org | Ethnic ministries receive funding from discipleship board

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG>]

March 23, 1999 News media contact: Linda Green*(615)742-5470*Nashville,
Tenn. 10-32-3371B{152}

Nashville, Tenn. (UMNS) -- Twenty-two grants totaling $169,150 have been
awarded to United Methodist-sponsored projects and organizations serving
various racial-ethnic groups.  

The United Methodist Board of Discipleship approved funding for the projects
during its March
9-13 semi-annual meeting.

The projects that received funding are:
*	Creando Conciencia Cristiana -- $6,500, an emerging church serving
the Hispanic population near Alexandria, Va., allowing children to be able
to attend church school while their parents attend worship; 
*	Hispanic Youth Organizing Convocation -- $10,000, to support the
National Hispanic Youth/Young Adults Organizing Convocation in August, and
being organized by MARCHA;
*	Grace Educational Institute -- $1,000, a program of Grace United
Methodist Church, Arlington, Texas, to offer seminars, Bible study and
informal gatherings to reinforce the doctrinal position of the United
Methodist Church, the theological stance and the church's values;
*	Raising Up a New Nation of Christian Leaders -- $2,500, a training
component for the Houston Chapter of Black Methodists for Church Renewal, to
support its leadership training efforts for clergy and lay within the Texas
Annual Conference;
*	Outreach Ministry and Leadership Training -- $7,000, a ministry of
the Glenbrook Korean United Methodist Church, Northbrook, Ill., to support a
July family retreat and a December lay leadership training event;
*	Native American Comprehensive Plan: Lay Speakers School -- $7,500,
to support the Native American Lay Speakers School, Oct. 29-31, at Lake
Junaluska, N.C.;
*	Evangelism and Faith-Sharing -- $7,000, a program of the Southeast
Asian  United Methodist Ministries in Columbus, Ohio, to support the
development of resources (in the areas of faith-sharing, evangelism and
worship) for Vietnamese and Laotian congregations and to provide
scholarships for people interested in receiving training through the Lao
School of Theology;
*	Hispanic Methodist Radio Outreach -- $18,000,  to support a
Spanish-language radio ministry in the Dallas-Fort Worth area to communicate
to the Hispanic community a Christian message of encouragement and
friendship, to promote awareness of services available to help families, and
to extend an invitation to become affiliated with a local United Methodist
church;
*	SEJ BMCR Leadership Academy -- $5,000, to help support the
Southeastern Jurisdiction BMCR's (Black Methodists for Church Renewal)
Leadership Academy, scheduled for August 2000 in Atlanta, to address the
need for laity and clergy to work as a team to strengthen the black church;
*	South Carolina Conference Leadership Academy -- $7,500, to help
support a Leadership Academy, scheduled in August, to educate laity in the
heritage, structure and doctrine of the United Methodist Church and to
develop partnerships between laity and clergy for effective witness and
ministry;
*	Pasadena United Methodist Hispanic Ministry -- $7,000, to support
the ministries of evangelism (marketing and advertising campaign), worship
(tent revival, Sunday worship services, prayer services on Friday), and
discipleship training (Sunday school, community Bible study on Wednesday) at
Dios Nos Ama Church in Pasadena, Texas;
*	OIMC-Youth '99 -- $6,000, to provide scholarships to enable Oklahoma
Indian Missionary Conference youth to attend Youth '99, July 28-Aug. 1, in
Knoxville, Tenn.;
*	Gospel Yes (Youth Empowered to Serve) -- $4,550, a program of  Dixon
Memorial United Methodist Church, Dayton, Ohio, to assist African-American
youth from seven black congregations in a 30-mile radius in learning their
call to serve in the local congregation; in assessing and using their gifts;
and to help adults find appropriate resources to use with youth;
*	Hmong Evangelism -- $12,500, a ministry of  Hamline United Methodist
Church, St. Paul, Minn., to  support its outreach and evangelism ministries
with Hmong families in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area;
*	Haitian Ministry Project -- $10,000,  a program of the Florida
Conference Haitian Committee on Ministry to provide the leaders of Haitian
congregations the tools they need to work within the United Methodist
system; to develop strong evangelism and stewardship ministries in the
Haitian congregations of Florida; and to develop materials and models that
may be shared with other Creole-speaking congregations in the United States,
Canada and Haiti;
*	Journey of Hope: Black Men and the Church -- $12,500, a project of
the North Central Jurisdiction BMCR's Task Force on the Black Family to
support leadership development in the spiritual disciplines and evangelism
for black men;
*	Mustard Seed Project -- $6,000, a ministry of Jones Memorial United
Methodist Church, Chattanooga, Tenn., which serves economically
disadvantaged Korean-American children and emphasizes the development of the
children's language, emotional and spiritual growth, and academic
achievement;
*	Gospel Chapel Children and Youth Club -- $1,000, a ministry of
Gospel Chapel United Methodist Church, Allentown, Pa., which offers training
for children and youth in personal development, spiritual development, and
in the performing and fine arts;
*	Fun Through Reading -- $5,000, to support the after-school project
of  Edgehill United Methodist Church, Nashville, Tenn., for children in
kindergarten through the eighth grade;
*	English Language Ministry Development -- $10,000, a ministry of
Glendale (Calif.) Korean United Methodist Church to develop an
English-language ministry targeted to youth and young adults;
*	Lay Leadership Training -- $18,000, a project of the National
Association of Korean American United Methodist Churches, to support a
nationwide lay leadership training event in the Korean language in July; and
*	Delta Youth Integration -- $4,600, to support an effort by several
United Methodist congregations to encourage Cambodian and other ethnic youth
to become involved in United Methodist Youth Fellowship and to attend summer
camp.

Due dates for ethnic local church concerns project proposals for
consideration by the Board of Discipleship are July 1 and Nov. 1. Priority
for grants is given to new programs or pilot projects and all grants are
awarded on a one-year basis.

For more information and criteria about Ethnic Local Church Concerns Grants,
contact Sang E. Chun, by e-mail at schun@gbod.org; by writing to P.O. Box
840, Nashville, TN 37202; or by phone at (615) 340-7050.

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