FPI Regional Gathering Grant Information
October 25, 2024

FPI Regional Grant Information

The Friends Preaching Initiative at Barclay College believes in the importance of empowering Preachers in Friends Churches to effectively proclaim the Gospel of Jesus. We would like to encourage Friends leaders to sponsor an FPI Regional Gathering on the topic of preaching. We believe that Regional Gatherings can build integral relationships and provide powerful resources and training, and we want to help remove some of the financial barriers that might prevent them from happening.  The FPI Regional Gathering Grant is available to Yearly Meetings/Regions/Organizations for this type of gathering.

This event will be an opportunity for active preachers in the evangelical Friends church to:

1. Receive new tools, resources, and training in the area of preaching

2. Gather with other like-minded preachers

3. Explore the uniqueness of Friends’ preaching

Eligibility & Criteria:

  1. Yearly Meetings, Regions, or other organizations within the evangelical Friends movement may apply as long as they are compatible with and respectful towards EFC-NA Christ-centered beliefs (https://efc-international.org/statement-of-faith/).
  2. These grant funds need to be used during the calendar year applied for, unless exceptions have been made.
  3. Groups may only apply for one grant per year, but may apply in multiple years.
  4. Grants are awarded on a first-come, first-served basis.
  5. These grant funds should be used primarily for training and equipping purposes. Other event expenses may be included, but should be minimal or paid through other income sources. These grant funds should not be used for capital improvement projects. 
  6. Applications should include information about the type of training, equipping, or resource being provided with this grant money.
  7. Grants will be awarded up to $5,000 per organization per year.

Grant Application Process:

#1 – Submit this Application.

#2 – Download this Budget Template

#3 – Use the Budget Template and submit your own Project Budget to: katy.moran@barclaycollege.edu

#4 – The FPI Advisory Board will review Applications & Budgets and award grants on a first-come, first-served basis. Each Yearly Meeting/Region may apply for up to $5,000. These mini-grants are available yearly and are limited. Yearly Meetings/Regions/Organizations may receive only one FPI Regional Gathering Grant per year, but may apply in additional years if needed.

Additional comments or questions can be directed to: 

Katy Moran, FPI Program Director katy.moran@barclaycollege.edu

Your grant application will not be complete until you have completed this form and have emailed your Project Budget to the FPI Director.

 

 

 

 

ABOUT

Jeff Blackburn has been proclaiming Christ for over 43 years. He served Friends congregations in Indiana and Kansas. His most recent pastoral assignment was with Greensburg Mennonite Church, Greensburg, Kansas, where he enjoyed nearly 30 years of ministry before being called to coordinate the Friends Preaching Initiative in 2024. He works with aspiring preachers and ministry students on campus, often preaches in churches in the region. He developed three new courses for a preaching certificate offered through Barclay College, and he created a preaching lab for Barclay students to work on their communication skills.

Jeff grew up in small-town Indiana, attending Quaker Haven Camp every summer before counseling and directing camps. He is a graduate of Barclay College and Huntington University. He wrote for Adult Friend and The Fruit of the Vine (Barclay Press, Newberg, Oregon) for many years. Jeff enjoys music and singing, although he can’t read music very well. He continues to serve as the moderator for local schools’ spelling bees.

Jeff has written one book, Light at the End of the Funnel (Amazon, 2017) recounting the experience of surviving an EF5 tornado that devastated his town in 2007. He and his wife live in Greensburg where they are near enough to play with their grandchildren on a regular basis. The Lord put it in his heart to help train the next wave of preachers and to encourage active ministers to “Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke, and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction” (2 Timothy 4:2).