Recapping 2024

We recently completed a wonderful 2024, in which your legacy gifts enabled us to distribute $270,730 in grants, a nearly 60% increase from 2023.

We issued grants in 2024 across the following five categories:

• BLCTC staff development (26%): For example, in 2024 the foundation provided a grant to send Children, Youth and Family staff to accompany Pastor Heather Roth Johnson to the ELCA Network Extravaganza to connect and learn AND support Pastor Heather as she led a workshop on intergenerational worship. 

• Important and unplanned church buildings and equipment expenses (11%): In 2024, this included a grant to repurpose the library on the Minnetonka campus into an AV-equipped multi-purpose room to better serve the needs of the BLCTC community. 

• Innovative new church programs and projects (16%): This includes the grants for the organ and hand chimes. 

• Financial support for seminary students (15%): In 2023, we provided grants totaling $40,000 supporting five students. 

• Outreach support for non-profits in our community (32%). From My Very Own Bed in Minneapolis to the ERIPOTO safe house for girls in Tanzania, Bethlehem Grants benefit both our local and broader communities of concern.