2025 Annual report

Here are a few notable items from 2025:

  • The Ordination Team is working with 23 pastors in both Tier 1 and Tier 2 ordination.  Of these pastors, 10 have a guide team walking with them in their continuing education.  We have a total of 37 pastors in the UMV.  Ordination simply means “trust”, trust that our pastors, although not perfect and not the solution to everything in the church, are able, called and willing to love and lead like our Savior.

  • The Covenant Keepers Team (CKT) took extensive training in conflict management techniques with VitalChurch over a period of 6 months.  They worked with numerous churches to assist with conflict.  They refined the 5 year review process and completed the Alliance’s first ever 5 year review with Emmanuel Reformed Church in Morrison, IL.

  • We awarded our first Sabbatical Grant to New Life Community Church, Coralville, IA as they planned for Pastor Thomas’ sabbatical a year before his time of rest in mid-2026.  Grants (up to $5K each) are for churches that need assistance in caring for their pastors and offering a sabbatical when the time comes.

  • Our second Annual Meeting in June 2025 at Cedar Hills Community Church in Cedar Rapids, IA with over 90 participants!  We also hosted an Evangelism Workshop with the Dinner Church Collective.

  • Awarded over $34,000 in Church Creativity Grants (up to $5K each) in 2025 to help churches in developing strategy and focusing on community outreach and spreading the gospel.

  • Our first ever Pastor’s Retreat in September of 2025 to beautiful Guttenberg, IA on the Mississippi River.  Our time was led by Thrive Coaching Network’s Pastor Jeff Allen.

  • Network Leader Ron Fischer visited over 20 churches throughout the network and the board agreed to support Alliance churches in Florida to develop a future network.

  • The website offerings were expanded to include various resources for our churches.  Pastor Thomas Cellilli and the Ordination Team also wrote a series of articles on the Alliance creeds and confessions to help our churches better understand the foundations of reformed theology.

Financially, here is an overview:

  • Income: $127,621

  • Expenses: $144,398K

    • Communities (Evangelism Training & CC Grants): $48K

    • Leaders (CKT, OT, Leadership Devel., Sabbatical grant): $48K

    • Disciples (Cluster meetings and Continuing Ed): $1.5K

    • Ministries (Annual Meeting, travel and supplies): $7.5K

    • Operations (staff, contingency, legal and professional fees): $39.6K

The board is committed to infusing funds to churches where they need support. We believe in the principle of "pooling" funds to support churches who find themselves in difficult situations today to make them strong again in the future so that together, we will be able to support churches who may not find themselves as strong as they are today.

In addition, the board is committed to spending the funds that churches give us for the kingdom in His churches and they believe that He will meet our needs.  We began the year with $94.6K in the bank and we ended 2025 with $80.1K.  We dove into our savings to award grants (over $40K) and the Lord filled our coffers again to continue to support churches.