News

Simulcast concert brings in $153,000 for struggling urban churches

The Churches Helping Churches challenge announced at the beginning of May that they would continue raising funds to help struggling churches. They renewed their fundraising efforts with a simulcast concert that raised $153,000.

Pulse hosted the online benefit simulcast Friday, May 15th, featuring Lauren Daigle, Toby Mac, Kirk Franklin, For King and Country, and Benjamin Watson, among others.

This challenge to larger, more stable churches to support small churches in urban areas was launched at the beginning of April, when Justin Giboney and Joshua Crossman recognized an opportunity to help critically important churches in communities in places like New York, Chicago, Detroit, and other low-income areas. These churches play a critical role in the lives of young people, of families, and as centers of stability in urban contexts, critical to serving minority and immigrant populations.

Health issues hit the people in these urban communities harder, and it has hit their economies as well, making it more difficult for people to give to their churches at just the time when churches needed the most help.

“People who work hourly jobs, physical jobs, jobs that don’t lend themselves to telecommuting are struggling,” and so are their churches, says Crossman. He and Giboney recruited friends, national ministries, church leaders, and others who love the local church to join as well. Together, with a little administrative help from the National Christian Foundation, they issued their challenge in record time.

Since then, about $649,620.42 has been raised. Already 112 churches have received $3,000 grants through the challenge, with another 60 in process, and even more submitted for approval. Still, the need far outweighs available funds.

“Many of us believe in the importance of civic institutions and the institution of the church helping to care for the poor in their moment of need,” Crossman says. “This is that moment.”

So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.

– Galatians 6:10

Here’s how you can help

  • Invite your friends to watch the simulcast.
  • If you have an NCF Giving Fund: You can make a fund-to-fund transfer by logging into your Giving Fund, selecting “Transfer” from the blue bar at the top of the page. Be sure to include the fund name: COVID-19 Church Relief Fund, and include the fund number #3245330 
  • If you don’t have a Giving FundYou can set one up in just a few minutes.
  • If you’re a church: You can go to churchrelief.org to donate. You can also seek out networks and relationships in your own area to find a church that may need help. The Church Relief website has a set of best practices to help you partner with another church for a longer-term commitment, and you can contact them if you need help finding one.

For the sake of complete transparency for donors, every church grant received will be posted to the Churches Helping Churches website. And churches have the option of reporting back about how the money helped them.

“History will judge the American church,” Crossman says. “How did we help our brothers and sisters …?”

Read our original story here, or visit the churchrelief.org website for details.

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