Grenoble East Church

Welcome to the fundraising page for the ST. BERNARD CHAPEL PURCHASE PROJECT of the Grenoble East Church. If you are ready to contribute now with no need for additional information, please click on one of the GIVE options on the right-hand side of this page (computer) or scroll down (mobile). If you would like more details about our project, please continue reading!  

Connecting the HILL to the HOOD! 

The Grenoble East Church was launched on the edge of the University of Grenoble campus in connection with a vibrant student ministry called the FEU. A significant percentage of our members hold graduate level degrees and doctorates, and our relational networks are made up primarily of people like us. But we have become increasingly aware of the gospel’s gravitational pull toward populations situated outside of what we might call a “campus comfort zone.” Yes, our Lord has referred to his Church as a “city on a hill” (Mt. 5:14). But his intent was never that we would camp out on the hill. His missionary mandate includes a call to shine in the darker, lower, harder, dryer spaces that we would naturally prefer to avoid.

Recently, a door was unexpectedly opened to us for the possible purchase of a Catholic chapel known as “St. Bernard,” situated in the heart of what folks in our township would refer to as “the hood” (if they spoke American English).We believe that this opportunity is about much more than just having our own meeting space (and the freedom to hold services on Sunday mornings for the first time in our 7-year history as a church). We increasingly suspect that our Lord is inviting us to TRUST him as he leads us into unfamiliar and inhospitable territory where our members will be challenged and stretched, and where a new set of neighbors (the majority of whom trace their ethnic roots to former French colonies in Africa) will be exposed to gospel light and love. 

One of the first big TRUST steps for us as a church involves funding the purchase of the St. Bernard chapel. At the outset of 2025, we are inviting our members to journey well outside of their comfort zones with regard to their own financial participation in this project. And we are confident that, by our Lord’s grace, many of our members will joyfully respond to this invitation. This being said, although the asking price for this property is reasonable, it is well beyond the reach of our modest means as a church. We will undoubtedly need a significant level of assistance from gospel partners around the world who will themselves be challenged and stretched as our Lord calls them into the unfamiliar territory, at least for some, of sacrificial giving. 

Our fundraising goal for this project is $417,000 (€400,000).

We are inviting donors to commit to supporting this project at various levels over the course of the next 6 months so that we may reach our goal by the end of June 2025. Below we outline a possible pathway: 

• 1 donor commitment of $17,000 
• 10 donor commitments of $10,000 
• 20 donor commitments of $5,000
• 40 donor commitments of $2,500
• 50 donor commitments of $1000 
• 100 donor commitments of $500  

We invite you to prayerfully consider partnering with us as we seek to answer what seems to be our Lord’s call into a challenging corner of his harvest field in the city of Grenoble. If this is indeed his hand at work, we trust that he will provide the means for us to connect the HILL to the HOOD, for his expanding glory and for our eternal good.