The Michigan Conference announces the recipients of the 2025 Grace in Action Ministry Innovation Awards.
JAMES DEATON
Content Editor
Just before Christmas last month, the Michigan Conference notified the 11 United Methodist congregations and affiliated ministries that they had received a grant through the Grace in Action Ministry Innovation Awards program. The total amount distributed this year was $117,000.
The annual grant program launched last year and is financed through the Ministry Innovation Fund, which was created to capture a percentage of the proceeds the Michigan Conference received from the disaffiliation process.
The purpose of this grant program, administered by the United Methodist Foundation of Michigan, a veteran partner in ministry, is to invest in faith communities that are thinking outside the box and seeking to develop collaborative, innovative ministries.
Rev. Leslee Fritz, Special Assistant to the Bishop for Mission and Budget, manages the grant program for the conference and works with the grant board. “The goal of the Grace in Action Ministry Innovation Awards program is to spur creativity and innovation, helping our local churches and ministry partners reach new people or reinvigorate existing members in new ways,” Fritz says. “Sometimes all that is needed to go from a great idea to a successful ministry is a little funding help.”
The board of six (a mix of clergy and laity), appointed by Bishop David Bard, met to review the applications following the October 15 deadline. Twenty-eight applications were submitted from all seven districts, and eleven grantees were selected.
“It wasn’t an easy task for the board,” Fritz says. “The 28 qualified applications were full of creative, innovative ideas, and the board had more that they wanted to fund than available money. Funding as many projects as possible took some negotiation and compromise, but it was a very collaborative process.”
The Michigan Conference is pleased to announce the list of faith communities for the inaugural round of the Grace in Action Ministry Innovation Awards:
Commerce UMC — $5,000
The Giggles & Grace program will better engage new parents (kids ages 0-3) with one another and with the church.Brighton: First & Whitmore Lake UMC — $4,000
Sanctuary Yoga will aim to connect with non-churchgoing and unchurched people in a less intimidating way.Flint: Hope UMC — $20,000
A Talent Development Initiative in partnership with the Flint Freedom School will be launched.The Healing Feast — $20,000
Healing feasts featuring music and art are a Fresh Expression that invite people to experience the Divine in a new way. The grant will expand programming across more locations.Howell: First UMC — $7,500
A new ministry will connect the gaming community with a faith development element; the plan is to make this idea shareable with other churches.North Branch: First UMC — $8,000
The Pedals and Prayers program is already engaging people through a bike ministry. The grant will purchase a tandem recumbent wheelchair ebike, removing a barrier to participation.Oscoda UMC — $20,000
Huron Housing Hope is an ambitious countywide effort to address homelessness in a county with no shelters.Portage: Chapel Hill UMC — $5,000
The Branch 5 Youth Initiative is a yearlong program to train up-and-coming leaders. The cohort will attend events, participate in retreats, and complete projects together.Stony Creek UMC — $20,000
The Messy Middle is a joint project with a local autism organization to provide a safe, supportive space for neurodivergent middle-school-age children to gather, learn, socialize, and grow.West Berlin UMC — $3,750
West Berlin was a church hit hard by disaffiliation. The church is committed to making a new way forward and is seeking to sponsor a monthly pop-up food pantry in various areas around the county. They believe they can revitalize through a shared mission of caring for their neighbors.White Cloud UMC — $3,750
White Cloud is another church trying to forge a new identity following disaffiliation. They will start a Tables of Grace initiative in partnership with a local restaurant to provide a free monthly meal.
In the coming months, MIconnect will share stories featuring some of these new, innovative ministries as a celebration and source of inspiration.
Conference leadership expects to have between $125,000 and $150,000 annually in the Ministry Innovation Fund to disburse, based on market performance Read this earlier news article, which discusses the final disaffiliation report and provides more details on how the Ministry Innovation Fund was created.
The Michigan Conference plans to keep the application window consistent each year so people know what to expect. It will always open on the Tuesday after Labor Day and close on October 15. For 2026, the application window opens on Tuesday, September 8.
Local churches and ministry partners can access the application through the United Methodist Foundation of Michigan’s website, on the Grants & Scholarships web page. Bookmark this page for the September 8 launch and watch for more details later this year.
Last Updated on January 26, 2026