Matthew 28:19-20, “Go therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
This is the church’s great commission. This happens in local churches where discipleship occurs in the context of the diversity and unity of the body dynamic. To disciple nations, there must be churches to do that work.
The purpose of the 3535 Foundation’s church-planting efforts is to provide financial support to local churches that need assistance in their church-planting work. The Foundation itself does not plant churches. Rather, church planting is undertaken, led, and carried out by local churches. The 3535 Foundation supports these efforts as opportunities arise.
Church planting is the work of a local church to establish a new church where there is a clear need. Only local churches seeking to establish a new work may apply for funds. The Foundation does not recognize church planters who operate independently of a sending church.
Funds will be distributed to church plants once they are constituted and able to receive them. Until then, all funds will be sent to the sending church and distributed at its discretion.
Requests for church-planting funds will be considered only if they meet the requirements below.
We are no longer accepting applications for 2026.
The deadline for 2027 applications is July 1, 2026. Applications submitted after July 1 will be considered for the following year.
Before submitting an application for church-planting funds, applicants must read John Cotton’s The Keys of the Kingdom and Benjamin Keach’s The Glory of a True Church.
Applicants must also submit an explanation of how the proposed church plant will embody the ecclesiology of the London Baptist Confession of 1689.
A local church requesting funds must submit a detailed plan and proposal for planting a church in a specific area. A thorough plan should include:
The proposal must also include a five-year plan outlining the steps for planting the church. This should address practical matters such as meeting location, outreach and advertising, evangelism plans, and a clear strategy for discipleship through the ordinary means of grace.
Once the 3535 Foundation board has received all required information, the request will be considered at a regularly scheduled board meeting.
Year 0: Church Planter Funding:
In the year before the gathering and constituting of the church plant, there is an option for an application of funds to assist in providing for the needs of the church planter in that interim period. This funding goes through the sending church before the church plant is constituted. The application process is the same, and the Church planter and sending church will need to provide quarterly reports describing the progress or setbacks in the church plant. The annual re-application process will decide a move to support a constituted church. (See below).
Each year, a new funding application must be sent that includes updates on the church plant, the proposed budget for the year, and the progress of the work. A request for funds that accurately depicts the church’s needs after other support and local churches’ projected giving are considered must be included in the application.
© 2026 3535 Foundation.
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