FAQs

Christmas for Christ is a North American Missions effort by which funds are raised at Christmas time in North American churches to sponsor missionaries and support various North American Missions ministries in the United States and Canada.

Personal Assistance:

A monthly allocation to assist the church planter with living expenses

Property Lease:

A monthly allocation used to rent/lease a facility for congregational meetings

Property Purchase:

A onetime allocation to purchase property or an existing building

Property Remodel:

A onetime allocation to renovate a building already owned by the congregation

The Christmas for Christ application is available online here. Only online applications are accepted.

Applications open October 15. Completed applications must be received by North American Missions no later than 11:59 p.m. CT on January 15. Submissions received after this deadline will not be considered.

Applicants submit a Christmas for Christ application. The application must be complete and accurate for consideration. The applicant must be a licensed minister of the United Pentecostal Church International. Further, the application must have the signatures of the District Superintendent and North American Missions Director in the district where the church is started.

The missionary may request up to $2,000 per month ($24,000 per year) for monthly allocations (Personal Assistance or Property Lease) or up to a $15,000 Property Grant for Property Purchase or Property Remodel.

A Christmas for Christ Missionary is eligible to receive up to three years of funding during their 5-year North American Missions’ status. This can be three years of monthly allocations for Personal Assistance or Property Lease. A missionary is eligible once for a onetime allocation for Property Purchase or Property Remodel during their 5-year North American Missions’ status. If they receive this onetime allocation, it will count as one of the three years of funding.

When you submit your application it will automatically be emailed to the General North American Missions office and the district officials for approvals. The application will be processed and applicant will receive an email indicating the application was received. If incomplete, the applicant will be given the opportunity to submit any missing items prior to 11:59pm CT, Jan 15.

Late applications will not be considered.

All applications require a current photo of the church planter and family. Property Purchase applications require pictures of the building or land to be purchased and a copy of the purchase contract. Property Lease applications require pictures of the building to be leased and a copy of the lease agreement.

Churches must be self-governing (daughter works are ineligible for Christmas for Christ funds) and set in order according to the current issue of the Manual of the United Pentecostal Church International. It is advisable that churches be locally incorporated.

The property is to be held in trust by the trustees for the local church, and not in an individual’s name. North American Missions funds are not invested in property in which the title of ownership is held in question. Provision should be made in the church by-laws for the trustees and their duly elected successors.

To apply for Christmas for Christ funds, the church must be affiliated with the United Pentecostal Church. Completed affiliation applications are submitted to Church Administration. Call Church Administration at 636-229-7900 for information regarding affiliation applications.

Applicant must complete required online CFC training OR have attended, in person, Launch Training. Email nam@upci.org for more information.

The applicant is required to read Article XII, Section 14 and 15, as well as Sections 1 and 2 of the North American Missions Policies of the UPCI: General Board.

The North American Missions Administrative Committee, as defined by the UPCI Manual, reviews and researches each application. Input regarding the priority of the applications is given by the District North American Missions Director for each applicant.

The North American Missions Administrative Committee meets in March. All applicants are notified of the decision by the last week of March.

You have the option of applying for assistance the following year if still on-sit and under North American Missions’ status.

If the funding is for the purchase of property, you may apply for Move the Mission funding. These grants are available from the Youth Ministries of the United Pentecostal Church. Move the Mission grants can only be used to purchase or improve real property and cannot be applied to the leased property. Move the Mission Grant applications are due August 15th. The UPCI Youth Ministries team. makes their allocations each fall during General Conference. Applicants are notified by the end of October and funds are available March 1st of the following year. Move the Mission applications are located at www.northamericanmissions.faith and open June 1st.

Personal Assistance and Property Lease allocations are made payable to the church. Monthly allocations will begin May 1st and conclude April 1st.

Onetime allocations (Property Purchase or Property Remodel) are held until your District North American Missions Director contacts North American Missions and requests the funds. Once requested, the funds are sent to your district office for distribution. Property Grant funds are available for up to two years from the date they become available.

Each month the missionary submits an online report to North American Missions and the District North American Missions Director. The report must be received in order for the next month’s allocation to be released.

A new CFC application must be submitted each year in order to receive allocation.

Please click on this link here that will direct you to webpage with additional resources.