About Connect Church

The NC Rural Center Connect Church program has worked since 2018 with over 100 North Carolina churches to increase community engagement through coaching, resources, and grant assistance.

Run by the Center's Faith in Rural Communities team, Connect Church offers churches the unique opportunity to identify the assets they already have to help address current community issues.

Connect Church programmatic work is completed by church teams comprised of six to 10 church members ready to lead their church’s local missional engagement.

Alongside a Rural Center coach, church teams work through our Connect Church curriculum to help their churches:

Define and discover their own unique resources
Understand trends and opportunities in their larger community, and
Develop a strategic plan to increase impact outside church walls.

2027 Connect Church Cohort Applications Open July 1

Applications will be accepted for the 2027 North Carolina cohort of Connect Church from July 1 to July 31, 2026.

Upon program completion, churches may apply for a grant of up to $10,000 to launch a new or expanded missional engagement project. This offer, worth $25,000 in coaching and resources, is available for free thanks to generous funding from our partners.

What Connect Church Offers

Monthly coaching for a team of church leaders for one year
Directly learning from our Faith in Rural Communities team, which has worked with 100+ North Carolina churches
Networking with other cohort churches asking the same questions
A grant up to $10,000 for eligible churches to launch a new or expanded missional engagement project

2027 Cohort Program Timeline

2026

July 1 - July 31: Connect Church applications open
September-October: Site visits for selected church teams
November: Connect Church cohort notified

2027

January: Connect Church orientation event (Raleigh)
February: Monthly coaching sessions begin
March: Executive Certificate in Religious Fundraising (Raleigh)
June/July: Regional gatherings (East/West)
November: “Friendly Shark Tank” celebration gathering (Raleigh)
December: Grant applications due

Previous Connect Church Participants

Celebrating the opening of the Western Rockingham Ministry Center.

IMPACT STORY

Creating a Place Where Everyone Is Welcome

An unassuming two-story brick building with a sign above the entrance for the Western Rockingham Ministry Center sits facing downtown Madison. On one floor, a local ministry provides food, emergency utility assistance, and emergency medical supplies. On another floor, Connect Church has helped unlock a dream and a larger vision for the future of western Rockingham County.

“My big dream is to make the church a friendly, warm place where people can come and feel included and feel wanted and know the love of Jesus. A place where everyone is welcome.”
The Rev. Tracy Schumpert, Western Rockingham Ministry Center