About Seeds for Growth

Seeds For Growth Thumb1

Seeds for Growth supports projects aimed at church growth, reaching out to people who do not belong to an existing church, with particular emphasis on church planting.

Seeds for Growth will award grants to support:

  • Developing mission through new church communities (including church planting and funding training in Pioneering and Pioneer Ministry)
  • Developing and nurturing faith in those under the age of 40 (including engaging in intergenerational approaches to church through new worshipping communities)
  • Fostering discipleship and revitalisation within established congregations, with the aim of growing the existing congregation or developing a new worshipping community.

Seeds for Growth will prioritise the support of:

  • Developing mission through new worshipping communities and church planting
  • Engaging in intergenerational approaches to and participation in worship.

Four levels of funding

The four levels of funding can be accessed in succession. They are designed as a pathway to take you from first thoughts about mission in your context to funding long-term financially sustainable projects that reach the unchurched and/or could be described as new worshipping communities.

If you work through each stage of funding you will see that the application and reporting processes grow in complexity as the level of funding and duration of the project increases. Earlier levels can be used to discover and grow ideas that can be tested and adapted until they are ready for larger amounts of funding.

Projects can step onto the pathway at any level of funding, just describe to us your journey so far and we can help you find the right fit.

For more information about the grant types, eligibility, assessment criteria and application paperwork, see the Grants and How to Apply page.

Level 1 grants

Level 1 Grant allows you to:

  • Try out small-scale project ideas.
  • Lay the foundations for a larger project.
  • Run an event.
  • Develop people’s skills and knowledge for them to engage better in their work within the Aims of the Seeds for Growth.

Apply at any time, with no set closing date.
We aim to provide a decision within 6 weeks.

Maximum award is £1,000.

Note : You can hold more than one grant but you need to demonstrate that you have the capacity to manage the initiatives simultaneously.

Level 2 grants

Level 2 grants

  • Test out the viability of an idea e.g. a pilot to allow learning and adaption.
  • Support projects that suit year-by-year funding.
  • Train and equip your people for the journey ahead.

Level 2 Grants can also be used to deliver or arrange training that equips key people for the project ahead or helps people think missionally.

Apply at any time, with no set closing date.
We aim to provide a decision within 4-6 weeks of the date of application.

Maximum award is £10,000.

Note – You can have several consecutive (not simultaneous) Level 2 grants for a given initiative but the minimum duration of a single Level 2 grant is 6 months.  The End of Project report will need to have been accepted before a subsequent grant can be paid.

Level 3 grants

Level 3 grants

Awarded for core funding of projects that have undertaken some research and tested out their ideas.

We have recently changed our process for how we manage Level 3 applications.  We now ask for the completion of an Initial Proposal Form (IPF) available below.  Once we have received the Initial Proposal Form, we will assess it and either:

  • Move you to the next stage where a member of the team works with you to develop your full Level 3 application form
  • Get back to you with ideas for strengthening your project or recommend you consider a different level of grant

The Level 2 guidelines are helpful for filling out the Initial Proposal Form.

Maximum award is £40,000 per annum for up to 3 years, with possible additional 2 years on further application

Note – Initial Proposal Forms (IPFs) can be submitted at any time, and we would encourage you to complete them as early in the year as possible.  We will then assign a member of staff to develop your full application form for assessment by the Committee.

The Pioneer Spectrum

Seeds for Growth is supporting people to become more imaginative in their approaches to church growth.

You may find it useful to think of pioneering as a range within which people are called to different aspects. The Pioneer Spectrum was developed by the Church Mission Society as a visual representation of this range of approaches.

Pioneer Spectrum - Image used with permission of CMS.

The spectrum shows the range of pioneer ministry activities on an axis of increasing "cultural distance" from the missioner or missional team. It also shows how these activities relate to the intention of planting churches and to the concept of fresh expressions of church.

  • Replicate/Plant: trying a (revitalised) model of church in a new setting
  • Adapt: modify ideas for a local context
  • Innovate: seeking new ways to connect with people and reimagining worshipping communities together

Seeds for Growth is aimed at supporting all three of these elements.

Privacy Notice

Please review our privacy notice (click on "Grant Privacy Notice" in the drop-down menu), which outlines the way in which the Church of Scotland Office of the Assembly Trustees will use personal information provided to us in connection with awarding grants on behalf of the Church of Scotland.