God calls us to be in ministry with children, and every United Methodist church in Minnesota is urged to develop a long-term partnership with a school in its community.

The conference’s Mission Promotion Team is launching a grant program that will provide funding to individual congregations to help them develop such partnerships.

Click here to download the grant application. Applications are due July 31. Applications must include a detailed description of the way(s) in which the church will support the school and a description of the school district policy about religious education.

There are children in all Minnesota communities who lack food, school supplies, winter clothes, books, and/or positive role models. After assessing needs that exist in their communities, churches can apply for funding to help them form an ongoing relationship with a school.

There are many possibilities for partnerships. A few of them include supplying backpacks, clothing, or weekend meals; tutoring or mentoring students; opening up the church to school gatherings; offering parenting, ESL, or literacy classes; and praying for teachers and students. (Watch this video for inspiration and to learn about the multi-faceted partnership that Oakwood United Methodist Church in New Ulm developed with its local elementary school.)

Thirty percent of this year’s Love Offering for missions is being used to support these grants for church-school partnerships. The Love Offering is collected annually within Minnesota United Methodist churches and delivered to annual conference session (although remittances continue to come in throughout the remainder of the calendar year).

How can your church share God’s love with the children in your community? Explore that question, and apply for a grant!