Mission Support Grants Transform Lives Across Our Synod
Every Sunday when you place your offering in the plate or set up your automatic giving, a portion of those gifts travels beyond your congregation's walls through your mission support to the Grand Canyon Synod. This support creates ripples of God's love that reach into communities across Arizona, Nevada, and Southern Utah in ways you might never imagine.
In 2025, your collective generosity enabled the Grand Canyon Synod to award $108,900 in grants to 19 ministries across all eight conferences, touching lives from urban Phoenix to the red rocks of Sedona to the bright lights of Las Vegas. Through mission support, congregations can fund transformative ministries that would be impossible for any single church to support alone.
In downtown Phoenix, the aroma of burning sage fills Grace Lutheran Church's fellowship hall every Monday night. Thanks to synod grant support, the Native American Urban Ministry hosts Talking Circles where about 50 Indigenous people gather – elders, young adults, children, people directly off the reservation, from prison, or currently living in addiction treatment centers, as well as urban Natives who've called Phoenix home for years.
"Native American Urban Ministry provides a safe and loving environment for Indigenous people to build community, to share stories, celebrate milestones," shares Vicar Wanda Frenchman. In this sacred space, cultural traditions are embraced while the gospel message of Jesus' love is shared, creating healing between the church and Indigenous communities. Through continued synod funding, Native American Urban Ministry also provides essential services, distributing clothing, shoes, toiletries, blankets, and housewares to Indigenous people in need.
Your gifts also brought joy back to Sedona, where Christ Lutheran Church received a grant to reboot their Summer Day Camp after a COVID hiatus. Pastor Julie Gerrish watched children in grades K-5 discover Bible stories through games, songs, and yes, literal seed planting. One camper's excitement was infectious: "This is the first thing I've ever planted!" A teenage volunteer who remembered the camp from 2019 eagerly asked, "Will there be camp next year?" When assured it would continue, she replied, "I'll be there."
Your mission support also enables powerful moments of unity and justice. Given the geographical distance across our synod, Grand Canyon Synod grants made it possible to host regional Martin Luther King Jr. commemorative worship services at both Holy Spirit Lutheran Church in Las Vegas and King of Glory Lutheran Church in Tempe.
In Las Vegas, five congregations worshiped together with more than 75 attendees reflecting on justice and compassion through an inspiring message from Rev. Ender Austin III.
In the Phoenix Metro area, more than ten congregations and their choirs gathered at King of Glory for vibrant worship with a message from Rev. Yehiel Curry, Bishop of the Metro-Chicago Synod and our new Presiding Bishop Elect of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
Attendees at both locations found it deeply meaningful "to experience gospel music not as a performance or token gesture, but as the heart of the entire service." These gatherings became sacred spaces for remembrance, re-commitment, and renewal, serving as powerful witnesses to unity and the ongoing call to justice rooted in the Gospel.
These stories represent just a glimpse of how your faithful giving multiplies across our synod.
As we look ahead to 2026, $175,000 in Grand Canyon Synod Grant funds are available for distribution through our formal grant application process. Your continued mission support ensures that next year, more stories of transformation, healing, and gospel proclamation will emerge from communities across our synod.
When your congregation gives Mission Support, you're not just supporting your local ministry – you're planting seeds of hope that bloom in talking circles, summer camps, unifying worship services, and countless other ministries throughout the Grand Canyon Synod. Thank you for being part of God's abundant generosity.
One in Christ,
Rev. Dan Potaznick, CFRE
P.S. For more information visit www.gcsynod.org/grants
