Strong Rural Churches Strengthen Their Communities

W. Joseph Mann, former director of the Rural Church Program Area, discusses how The Duke Endowment is strengthening in the Carolinas.

Over the years, the church has played a pivotal role in rural communities. The United Methodist Church has deep roots in dozens of North Carolina's rural districts, where the local church is the center of weekly worship, baptisms, weddings, funerals and community events, as well as home to food pantries and centers for child and elder care.

Advancing Ministries of Service

By supporting rural United Methodist churches and their leaders, we aim to expand church outreach in regions across North Carolina. We work collaboratively with the North Carolina and Western North Carolina conferences of the United Methodist Church and Duke Divinity School to help rural churches serve their neighbors.

Through our grants for rural churches, the Endowment seeks to enrich lives in North Carolina by supporting clergy and congregations as they serve families and reach out to their communities. We also help build facilities that support community service, and help churches explore sustainable building practices that can meet spiritual needs and economic realities.

Clergy enrichment: Offer support for clergy, from mentoring early in career to providing stipends in retirement.
Connected communities: Strengthen rural communities by supporting churches as they provide leadership and services in affordable housing, child care, elder care and hunger relief.
Effective leadership: Transform and strengthen rural churches by building the leadership of clergy and laity, creating incentives for clergy retention and helping churches engage in their communities.
Healthy clergy and communities: Improve clergy health through a seven-year program of health assessments, individual coaching and peer support networks developed with Duke Divinity School. Assist churches with health ministries, including a coalition to reduce health disparities and risks, and congregational workshops on preventing strokes, diabetes and cancer.
Sustainable churches: Assist churches with technical advice and building grants to construct facilities that support community service. Explore how green, sustainable building design can meet the spiritual needs and economic realities of a congregation while modeling good environmental stewardship.
Targeted ministries: Encourage and strengthen rural church ministries and outreach programs for underserved populations and ethnic minorities.

Rural Church Grants

The Duke Endowment, like many philanthropic organizations, has experienced a decline in assets due to the recent events in the financial markets. The downturn has impacted our ability to fund new grants. Existing funding commitments will be honored; however, unless economic conditions become more favorable, we will not be accepting new applications for Rural Church grants through 2010.

We encourage you to check our site periodically for grantmaking updates. For more information contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Candidates for Grants

A United Methodist Church in North Carolina serving a community of fewer than 1,500 people. See a list of eligible churches (pdf)
The North Carolina United Methodist Conference or the Western North Carolina United Methodist Conference or their districts
Duke Divinity School

More information for grantseekers can be found on this website, and in our Application Process Guide.

Rural Church Staff

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , Director
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , Senior Administrative Assistant

Rural Church staff can be reached at (704) 376-0291.