Member church projects

Responding to pressing needs in congregations and communities

LWF Member Church Projects address crucial needs in congregations and wider communities, ranging from theological training to health, livelihood initiatives, adaptation to climate change, women’s and youth empowerment and much more.

Member Church Projects are an example of mutual solidarity. Through projects, the global Lutheran communion shares resources and knowledge, learns together and embraces jointly the Lutheran communion’s vision of member churches “living and working together for a just, peaceful and reconciled world."

Applications for LWF Member Church Projects

Supporting the presence and witness of churches

Long-term projects ¶
Rapid response projects ¶

The LWF supports its member churches with grants for projects that address their medium and long-term priorities and support their presence and witness as they participate in God’s holistic mission.

Projects have a maximum duration of three years, and are based on standard project methodologies and a solid approach to Planning, Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting (PMER).

The call for applications is published every year around August / September, with a deadline to submit applications in January. Communication about projects that have been approved or declined occurs in May. The approved projects are expected to start in the early months of the following year.

The LWF supports its member churches through grants for rapid response projects that address immediate and pressing needs that require timely responses.

Rapid response projects are implemented within 6 months (exceptionally 12 months) and the LWF provides financial support up to EUR 10,000.

Churches can submit applications on a rolling basis. Screening procedures are fast and applicants are informed about projects that have been approved or declined within a few weeks from the date of application.

Youth

The LWF Youth Program empowers and supports youth leaders across the communion and works with the member churches to include youth more fully in leadership as well.

This cross-cutting work is done in collaboration with partners across the LWF, and is currently coordinated primarily through the work of the following programs.

Programmatic Subsites

Leadership

Good leadership is essential to churches in order to carry out their mission and to be faithful to God’s calling. The LWF Leadership program seeks to inspire member churches to engage in continuous processes of leadership development, strengthen church sustainability through good governance and management and foster principles of inclusive communion as part of church identity.

Women’s Participation and Leadership

Standing for gender justice is essential to LWF’s identity as a communion of churches. The LWF seeks to promote the equal dignity of every person created in God’s image through the empowerment of women’s leadership

Programmatic Subsites

Diakonia and Development

Diakonia refers to the call to respond to human suffering and injustice. It is a central pillar of the holistic mission of churches in the world. The LWF Communion Office supports the member churches in different areas of their diaconal engagement for the wider community. Besides supporting churches’ own local diaconal initiatives through project support (see member church projects), the Communion Office coordinates global initiatives focusing on different themes