Overview

Sometimes people hear about the Matching Fund and think there has to be a catch — it sounds too good to be true. We've tackled some common misconceptions to give you a clear picture of how it works.

1. Are Matching Funds a type of loan or grant? Matching Funds are not considered a grant because the ongoing efforts of the Fund depend on the repayment of the money awarded to you. Matching Funds are also not a loan. Your monthly payments have no interest attached and are based on what you can afford. You are required to make a commitment to tithe 10 percent of your undesignated tithes and offerings each month. Fifty percent of that offering can be designated to any missionary or missions project of your choice, and the remaining 50 percent is paid forward into the Church Multiplication Network Matching Fund.
2. How do I know that my money won't be used for administrative costs? You can be confident that 100 percent of the funds repaid are invested in the mission field and used for future Matching Fund churches.
3. If I receive Matching Funds, will I have to follow certain rules when planting my church? When you receive Matching Funds, there are no strings attached. Our purpose is to equip, fund, and network — not tell you how to do church ministry. However, once you have replenished all of the Matching Funds you were awarded, each church multiplier commits to tithing one percent in perpetuity to help the Church Multiplication Network and AG Trust in their church planting efforts.
4. We filed a New Church Opened form, but haven't launched yet. Are we still eligible for Matching Funds? Yes. In order to qualify for Matching Funds, we require that each church plant be approved by their district office and submit a New Church Opened form. A church is classified as open once their district has filed a New Church Opened form with the General Secretary's office. Because the purpose of the Matching Funds are for the pre-launch phase of a church plant, you will not be eligible for funds if you've already had a public launch service. If you have a New Church Opened form on file and it is classified as open, this is not equivalent to a public launch.

Here are the numbers for the Church Multiplication Network Matching Fund through December 2009.

1. Church planting projects that have received CMN Matching Funds: 95
2. Personal contacts with unchurched individuals: 184,977
3. Persons baptized in water: 919
4. Persons baptized in the Spirit: 433
5. Persons who have made a confession of faith: 4,115
6. Average Number of people per church attending weekly: 72
7. Amount given to missions by Matching Funds Churches: $598,196
8. Amount paid-forward by Matching Fund Churches to start new churches: $342,911