The Foundation for Evangelism is a Wesleyan-tradition grant-making organization located at Lake Junaluska, North Carolina. Chartered in 1949 by Dr. Harry Denman, then the General Secretary of the Board of Evangelism of the Methodist Church, and a group of visionary laymen, it was designed to “diffuse the blessing of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Today, we carry out that vision by providing grants that can be a catalyst to equip disciples to share the Good News of Jesus Christ. We focus our grant-making in three specific areas: Raising Up Gospel Leaders, Engaging the Ministry of the Laity, and Equipping the Local Church.
The Foundation opens grant cycles each year based on the available funds. Find out more about current grant cycles at https://foundationforevangelism.org/grant-seekers.
The Foundation for Evangelism's Thriving Congregations Local Church cohort program will provide comprehensive training and resources, culminating in an opportunity to apply for our grant cycle. Participants will be guided through the process of outlining a relevant evangelism experiment, leveraging the knowledge and skills acquired during the cohort training.
Congregations attending any Local Church Cohort will adhere to the below guidelines to be eligible for the cohort grant funding cycle:
1. Congregations must belong to a Wesleyan Tradition denomination in the United States to be eligible for our Local Church Cohorts.
2. Congregations of 1-100 in church size will assemble 4-6 laity and a pastor to participate in each cohort session.
3. Congregations of 100-250 in church size will assemble 5-7 laity and a pastor to participate in each cohort session.
4. All team members from each congregation will attend every cohort session held, whether separately, or on a single screen with the rest of the team members.
5. All team members will have their cameras on and will contribute to each cohort session.
The cohort training sessions will last for about 8 weeks and begin during the first quarter of 2025. Following completion of the training, each team will develop their program and write a grant during the summer.
Grant applications will be submitted in September of 2025 and grants of $2,500 will be awarded in November of 2025.