Ministry Grants

Jane and the late Royce Reynolds shared a lifelong Christian faith with a particular passion for growing Methodist churches. The Greensboro couple created the Royce and Jane Reynolds Ministry Fund of the United Methodist Foundation of Western North Carolina in 1998 with a clear mandate often articulated by Royce: “We have one purpose – to make disciples for Christ.”

The grants from this fund support disciple-making on an extraordinary level. Our gratitude for Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds cannot be overstated. We continue to be inspired by their commitment to evangelism. Below, discover the stories of recent Reynolds-supported ministries:
 

 
Camp in the City

Camp in the City in Salisbury welcomed elementary-age children for a weeklong day camp filled with sports, recreation, arts, Bible study, and worship. It was co-led by staff from Mount Shepherd Retreat Center who stayed in our old parsonage. Congregation members provided home-cooked dinners in the evenings, helping to build a strong sense of community.
 

 
Saints Home Community Garden

Food unites and binds people. Through a community garden, Saints Home UMC in Winston-Salem reached the community with 400+ pounds of vegetables every month from June to December, totaling 2,800 pounds. A neighbor who had struggled with alcohol addiction joined the church and became instrumental in helping build an irrigation system. A sense of renewal among the 130-year-old congregation has led to worship attendance increasing from 37 to 52. We have had 12 baptisms and five adult new members from other denominations. This project is not only an achievement, but a testament to the five loaves and three fishes.

 
Common Table

A ministry of St. Stephen UMC in Charlotte puts on monthly dinner events in local restaurants and breweries. With a welcoming, “non-church campus” environment, the idea is to reach people who rarely or never attend church; have lost trust in organized religion; have experienced pain or trauma in a past church experience; and/or who want to be part of a community that prioritizes relationships over dogma.

We reached our attendance goals (18 people in the first six months; 24 after a year). One-third to half of attendees are people of color. Typical ages are mid-20s to late-30s (with several repeat guests age 50+). Five of our participants had previously disengaged with faith. Another four spoke of wandering for long periods but not finding what they needed to grow and engage their faith. They have found it in the Common Table.

The United Methodist Foundation is fortunate to have received a number of undesignated bequests through the years that have enabled us to create the UMF Ministry Fund. This fund was created to financially support ministries that help The Western North Carolina Conference of The United Methodist Church fulfill its mission.

Distributions from the UMF Ministry Fund are directed by the Foundation’s board of directors.