Dan Kramer, pastor at Peace in Jesus Vietnamese, Boise, Idaho, says a recent $250,000 grant from the Board for Home Missions toward purchasing a new church home is an answer to prayers. When he told a member of his leadership group about the grant, his member quietly replied, "Good. Well, I prayed every night for it."

Peace in Jesus Vietnamese ministry was one of six mission congregations that received grants in June to help with purchasing land or constructing a worship facility. Home Missions received a one-time $1 million grant from the WELS Church Extension Fund in February for this purpose. The grant was to help "kick-start" mission congregations in areas that have shown potential to get into their own worship facility sooner than is typically the case.

It's not surprising Peace in Jesus members are especially appreciative of the grant. In August 2010 the congregation was displaced from the storefront it had been renting due to a fire next door. After moving from place to place the first month, the congregation found a space to lease, but the area is small and parking is extremely limited.

Although the congregation has had some difficulties, ministry is continuing. In June, two adults and a child were baptized, and three youth were confirmed. And Kramer says that though congregation members are struggling financially (20 percent are unemployed), stewardship especially in use of time and abilities has blossomed.

Kramer says that the fire was a powerful experience for the congregation, one that brought them together. "It strips you down to the essence, what is truly necessary—Christians, the Word, Baptism, and the Lord's Supper," he says. "The process is not fun to go through, but it's powerful. We give all glory to God for bringing us from surviving to thriving."

Now, with this grant, the 68-member congregation is looking for an existing building to purchase. Kramer says the congregation wants to have an education wing and fellowship area as well as a two hundred-seat sanctuary. The grant will go toward the purchase of the property as well as any renovations.

According to Kramer, having a permanent location will add credibility to the congregation. "To have a permanent church—a place where they can see that we're not fly by night, that we have established that connection to the community—that's quite significant," he says. "That fosters trust not only with individuals but with the community in general."

Other congregations receiving grants include Amazing Love, New Lenox, Ill.; Spirit of Life, Caledonia, Mich.; Christ, Denver, Colo.; Trinity, Woodbridge, Va.; and a new mission in Moncks Corner, S.C.

Read about how this grant will help the ministry at Amazing Love, New Lenox, Ill., at www.wels.net/missions.