Purpose: The purpose of the Tri-Area New Work and Small Church Fund is to award grants to new works and small churches to use in the purchasing, constructing, improving, expanding, or equipping of facilities to be used in their ministry.
Trustees: It is the responsibility of the Tri-Area New Work and Small Church Fund Trustees to manage the fund in such a way as to maximize the possibility of helping churches with their needs. The Trustees will report to the Tri-Area Executive Board what amount of money is available for awarding grants prior to each of their quarterly meetings.
The Trustees will consist of three individuals, with one coming from the Tucumcari area, one from the Clovis area, and one from the Portales area of the Tri-Area Baptist Association. Membership shall be on a rotating basis, with a regular term of three years with no member serving for more than two consecutive terms. A regular annual term of service as a Trustee will be from April through the following March. Replacements shall be recruited and approved by a vote of the Tri-Area Executive Board for either a regular term or to fill an unexpired term.
One of the three trustees shall serve as the chair for all meetings. The chair shall be recruited and approved by a vote of the Tri-Area Executive Board.
Tri-Area Executive Board: It is the responsibility of the Tri-Area Executive Board to award appropriate grants to worthy new works and small churches that apply. They will also recruit and approve all new trustees, filling regular terms by their first meeting of the year. They will also recruit and approve the chair for the Trustees by their first meeting of the year. They will recruit and approve anyone to fill an unexpired term at any regular quarterly meeting.
Grant Recipients: Recipients of a grant from this fund will be new works or small churches in New Mexico. New works are considered to be churches that are five years old or less. Small churches are considered to be congregations with 75 or fewer average in worship attendance based on the most recent Annual Church Profile report.
All Tri-Area Baptist Association member recipients must be in financial cooperation with the Tri-Area Baptist Association, the Baptist Convention of New Mexico and the Southern Baptist Convention; and be in doctrinal agreement with the Baptist Faith and Message 2000 (see application). All other recipients must be in financial cooperation with their own Association, the Baptist Convention of New Mexico and the Southern Baptist Convention; and be in doctrinal agreement with the Baptist Faith and Message 2000 (see application).
Order of Consideration: New works within the Tri-Area and small churches associated with Tri-Area Baptist Association will be given priority consideration when awarding grants. New works within the Tri-Area will be given priority consideration over small churches within the Tri-Area. Any applicants in New Mexico not associated with Tri-Area Baptist Association will be considered. Of these applicants, new work will be considered before small churches.
Grant Amounts: The amount of money awarded will not exceed the amount requested by the church in their application. It will be an amount that the Executive Board deems prudent given such factors as the number of other applicants, the amount of money available, and how much the church has raised through other means.
Application Process: Applications are considered as they are received. Once received, the applicant will be notified of the Tri-Area Executive Boards’ decision within a month of the application date.
Click HERE to download an application in English.
Click HERE to download an application in Spanish.
