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Church of the Nazarene USA/Canada Region

Compass Initiative

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Local Church Grants

Opportunity to Bless

Many pastors carry heavy educational debt from preparation for ministry, they have little to no savings, or they simply live paycheck to paycheck. Yours may be one of them.

Fortunately, pastors who are in the COMPASS Journey or COMPASS Quest programs for financial literacy and well-being training are eligible to receive a matching grant. The purpose of this grant is to pay down their personal or student debt or to contribute to their Nazarene 403(b) retirement account.

The local church has a unique opportunity to bless their pastor by participating in this COMPASS matching grant. The COMPASS Initiative will match whatever the local church raises or allocates for their pastor’s base grant, beyond their normal compensation, up to $5,000 for the COMPASS Journey and up to $1,000 for the COMPASS Quest!

Resources

Churches may raise funds or allocate funds from the church budget. The following resources are available to assist the local church in raising funds for the pastor’s base grant.

Fundraising Ideas
Pastor Appreciation Love Offering
14 Days of Appreciation
Grant Process

Important Things to Remember

  1. The COMPASS Initiative will send a check for the matching portion of the grant directly to the local church, after the pastor has completed the COMPASS program. The local church is responsible to disburse both the base grant and the matching grants.
  2. The church’s base grant may be disbursed at any time during the pastor’s COMPASS program.
  3. All funds raised for the pastor’s grant (including the COMPASS match) are exempt from denominational allocation calculations. They should be handled as point-to-point giving.
  4. Grants may only be used for the pastor’s debt reduction or 403(b) retirement savings. Funds may be applied to either or both.
  5. In the U.S.: Grant funds used for retirement savings must be deposited by the church into the pastor’s Nazarene Fidelity 403(b) account as an additional employer contribution.
  6. In Canada: Grant funds used for retirement savings are disbursed to the pastor for deposit into their RRSP account.
  7. All grant funds that are used for debt reduction will be considered regular taxable income for the pastor, and must be included on the pastor’s income tax forms.
  8. All grant funds that are used for retirement savings are considered non-taxable income, and must be included on the pastor’s income tax forms.