Church Planting Grant Program

The Orthodox Church in America administers the Church Planting Grant Program through its Department of Evangelization. The program has operated since the early 1990s and has supported mission communities seeking to establish and strengthen Orthodox Christian witness throughout North America. Over more than thirty-five years, the program has assisted missions in developing into established parish communities. The Department, together with diocesan and departmental partners, reviewed and updated portions of the program in 2025 and 2026 to address current conditions in mission development, clergy support, and parish growth. The stated purpose is not only to establish missions, but to help them become healthy and self-sustaining parish communities. The grant provides partial support for the salary and benefits package of a full-time mission priest over a three-year period. Eligible grant expenses are restricted to the priest's compensation package and must include contributions to the Orthodox Church in America's pension plan. Funding declines over the three years. In Year 1, the grant pays 50 percent of the priest package, subject to an OCA contribution cap of $60,000. In Year 2, it pays 40 percent, capped at $48,000. In Year 3, it pays 25 percent, capped at $30,000. Applicants must state the total clergy compensation package they are prepared to provide, including salary, benefits, and mandatory pension contributions, after which the requested grant amount is calculated using the applicable percentage. Funding for January through December 2027 is the initial period covered by this application, with continuing support in 2028 and 2029 offered provisionally if the grant qualifications continue to be met. Applicants must be Orthodox Church in America mission communities and must prepare the application in consultation with their local Dean and with the blessing of their Diocesan Bishop. Written blessing from the Diocesan Bishop is required before the Department of Evangelization may consider an application. Applying missions are expected to have standardized bylaws and must submit their governing documents. The grant-funded priest is expected to devote himself fully to ministry in the mission. Limited outside employment may be permitted in appropriate circumstances, but it must be fully disclosed and must not materially interfere with full-time priestly ministry. The priest must also participate in mentoring with a Department of Evangelization representative and with a local diocesan priest approved by both the Diocesan Bishop and the Department. Monthly reporting is required during participation. The application collects information concerning the mission's contact information, membership and attendance, administrative status, facilities, clergy, finances, assets, and liabilities. Administrative questions address annual meetings, legal incorporation, bylaws, the federal EIN, insurance, mission council membership, choir participation, church school, adult education, and other clergy or readers serving the mission. Applicants must describe their worship facilities and assets, provide their website, and disclose any outside employment of the mission priest together with an explanation of how it will not interfere with full-time ministry. Financial information includes monthly income, clergy compensation and benefits, housing, pension, insurance, facilities expenses, diocesan assessments, assets, mortgage balances, loans, and other liabilities. Required supporting materials include applicable annual meeting reports, articles of incorporation, mission bylaws, a copy of the federal EIN documentation, two years of financial summaries covering budgets, income, and expenses, and the current operating budget and balance sheet. Applicants must also submit, on mission letterhead, a one-page summary of the mission's history, recent growth, and overall health, including metrical data. Photographs of the current worship space are requested with the facilities description. The application requires signatures from the mission priest and mission warden or president and a hierarchical blessing signed by the Diocesan Hierarch. The mission should first consult with its local Dean and obtain the Diocesan Bishop's blessing to apply. The completed application must then be submitted to the Diocesan Bishop for review and written endorsement. After that endorsement is received, the complete application and all required attachments must be submitted in PDF format to the Department of Evangelization at jpatterson@oca.org. The deadline is September 15, 2026. Applications that remain incomplete, unresolved, or lacking required documentation after that deadline are considered late and may be removed from consideration. The Department of Evangelization reviews applications and makes funding recommendations to the Metropolitan Council. The Metropolitan Council acts on those recommendations, and approved applications are then submitted to the Holy Synod of Bishops for final approval at its Fall Session. Applicants are ordinarily notified of funding decisions in November or early December. Approved grants become effective January 1 of the following year and operate on a calendar-year basis, making the initial performance period for this application January through December 2027. Grant funding may be suspended or terminated when the approved term ends without further authorization, when the mission or priest fails to comply with program requirements, when the Diocesan Bishop withdraws support or requests termination, when available program funds are insufficient, or when the mission, parish, or priest ceases to remain in good standing with the Orthodox Church in America or fails to follow its governing documents, policies, Statute, or canonical discipline. The contact named on the application is Archpriest Justin Patterson, and completed materials are directed to jpatterson@oca.org.

Secure the Diocesan Bishop's written blessing and endorsement before Department review; submit every required attachment in PDF format by September 15 because unresolved or incomplete applications may be removed from consideration; ensure the proposed clergy package includes mandatory OCA pension contributions; disclose any outside employment fully and explain why it will not interfere with full-time ministry; provide standardized bylaws, governing documents, current financial information, and evidence of mission history, growth, and health.