Participants in an LWF-supported youth project in El Salvador. Photo: Salvadoran Lutheran Church
Churches invited to sign up for workshops on project design by 6 October 2024
(LWI) - The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) has added a training component to the application process for long-term projects starting in 2026. The 8 January 2025 deadline for member churches to submit proposals is preceded by online training workshops in project design and writing.
Workshops covering all aspects of design and application writing will be conducted in English, French and Spanish. Interested churches should register by 6 October 2024 and provide names of up to three participants each, specializing in project design, coordination, or finances.
The LWF reminds churches that ongoing projects set to end in 2025 will not be automatically renewed and encourages them to apply for a second-phase funding, which will extend to 2028 at the latest. The January deadline applies to all new and continuing project applications.
In a letter to the churches, Rev. Dr Sivin Kit, director of the LWF Department for Theology Mission and Justice commends churches for undertaking “mustard seed” projects “that have made a difference in the lives of those we serve” over many years. He thanked them for their commitment in analyzing and identifying needs within the respective global contexts, setting realistic goals and objectives, and implementing different activities.
Participatory and effective project design starts with understanding the context and underlying root causes of injustice and suffering, and developing well planned activities to address challenges.
Ms Rebekka Meissner, LWF Program Executive for Member Church Projects.
The LWF introduced the training workshops in 2023. Based on the overall positive feedback from participants, it was decided to repeat the process, noted Ms Rebekka Meissner, LWF Program Executive for Member Church Projects. Many of them expressed appreciation for the training’s effectiveness in reinforcing familiar concepts as well as its step-by-step methodology: from goal setting to activities.
LWF member church projects address crucial needs in congregations and wider communities: theological training, health service delivery, livelihood initiatives, adaptation to climate change, women’s and youth empowerment, and many more. “Participatory and effective project design starts with understanding the context and underlying root causes of injustice and suffering, and developing well planned activities to address challenges,” Meissner said. The results should always be “people-centered projects,” she added.
