Scott says he began “dabbling in grants,” specifically federal and state grants.

As a pilot project, they wrote six grants.

They won five.

The total was about $9 million.

For Scott, that was a major realization. These churches were able to hire staff because of the grants they received. Looking back on his 13 years as a pastor, trying to build only with tithe dollars, Scott says, “We were missing something.”

That does not mean every church should suddenly become a grant-writing machine. It means there may be partnership opportunities churches simply do not know how to access.

Scott explains that over five years, the National Grant Center has approached $400 million in fundraising.

But what seems most meaningful to him is not just the dollar amount. It is the ability to support pastors, ministries, and groups already doing good work in the community — especially when they may not know how to tap into possible government partnerships.

Steve asks Scott whether, as a pastor, he ever thought he would be writing grants professionally.

Scott’s answer is simple: no.

He reflects that when someone is in a difficult season, it may feel slow — almost like speaking to a plant and telling it to grow. But in the trenches, God may be preparing a person’s heart for what He wants them to do next.

Scott says he has now been able to help dozens and dozens of churches have more impact than he could have had as a pastor.

That is a beautiful reframe.

He served as a nonprofit leader. He served as a pastor. Now he serves “those servants.”

Steve then asks Dave a key question: What problem is City Serve solving for the local church to help it expand its impact?

Dave explains that when City Serve began, they knew the local church was in trouble “to a certain extent.” He specifically talks about smaller churches — churches of around 250 people or less, give or take.

Those churches have different needs than a large church with significant funding and many outreach programs.

City Serve’s intent was to support the local church because the local church has direct impact and direct relationships in the community.

That is one of the central ideas in this conversation:

The local church is already close to the need.

It knows the people. It understands the community. It has relationships that outside organizations may not have.

But the question becomes: how do you help smaller churches come out of isolation and collaborate with the community and with other churches?

Dave says that collaboration is key.

City Serve developed 10 initiatives, including:

• The hungry

• The oppressed

• The orphan

• The prisoner

• The vulnerable

• The widow

• The poor and jobless

• The addicted

• The unreached

• The nation of Israel

The conversation does not unpack each one in depth, but the list shows the breadth of need City Serve is thinking about.

One of City Serve’s early major actions was a program Dave calls F2F, Farmers to Families.

During COVID, Dave explains, protein, fruits, and vegetables were dying in the field because the commercial restaurant business had collapsed.

The government came to a group of organizations, one of which was led by City Serve. The government provided money, City Serve purchased boxes of food through large distributor houses, and then those boxes were distributed through churches to thousands and thousands of people.

Steve summarizes the idea: the church became the distribution network.

Dave agrees.

He says they could come up with hundreds and hundreds of distribution centers within days, while the government struggled with “that last mile.”

This is one of the strongest images in the entire episode.

The church is not just a building.

The church can become the last-mile connection between resources and people in need.

That matters because the government may have resources, but not always the relational network to get those resources directly to people quickly. Churches, however, often have local presence, trusted relationships, and people ready to serve.

Steve connects this to “needs-based evangelism,” where the church shows up in a big way and becomes relevant through practical service.

Dave agrees and adds that smaller churches were able to engage with other small churches through the program, forming relationships along the way.

As the conversation moves forward, Dave explains that Farmers to Families eventually finished, and City Serve moved on to other projects.

He then describes a shift in thinking around grants and funding.

According to Dave, large block grants had often been given to communities without clear outcomes or proof that they were working. He says the newer strategy is moving away from block grant distribution and toward contract work.

In that model, churches and local organizations have contracts with larger organizations. They perform the work, are held accountable, provide deliverables, and give feedback.

Steve asks whether City Serve is acting as that bigger organization that churches partner with.

Dave says yes.

He gives an example from Arkansas, where Governor Huckleby had spoken about reducing some Medicaid-related spending and shifting some spend to local churches to have community impact.

Dave says City Serve hopes this becomes a trend because it works. He describes City Serve’s goal as being “the tip of the spear” and helping scale this beyond Arkansas.

The key idea is accountability.

It is not only about churches receiving resources. It is about churches being ready to perform, report, and demonstrate what happened.

Steve asks Scott what kinds of innovative projects he is seeing around the country where churches are solving problems at a societal level while also expanding the Kingdom through the gospel.

Scott begins with Jesus’ words from John 13:35: “By this the world will know your mind by your love. One for another.”

Then he adds a simple principle: wherever Christians are showing love, there is opportunity for partnership.

The examples he gives are practical and wide-ranging.

Transitional Housing for Foster Care

Scott has written grants for transitional housing for kids transitioning out of foster care. In those cases, churches have been involved in running housing facilities.

After-School STEAM Programs

Scott also describes churches that saw schools struggling and set up STEAM programs.

These programs included science, math, and the arts.

One example he gives is a church worship team that serves during the week by running a “school of rock” in a school, teaching kids, building relationships, and helping them improve in schoolwork.

Then on the weekend, those same staff are leading worship on Sunday morning.

Scott points out the mutual benefit:

• The church can pay livable wages to its worship team

• The community receives quality musicians and educators

• Teachers receive support after already working long days

He calls it a strategic partnership.

Marriage, Family, and Fatherhood

Scott also mentions grants in the area of marriage and family.

He discusses how much of society’s infrastructure is based on marriage and family, and he connects welfare struggles to the absence of father and family structures. He mentions a fatherhood grant they recently wrote and won for a church.

Sexual Risk Avoidance Education and Violence Prevention

Scott also says there is a lot of faith-friendly opportunity in sexual risk avoidance education.

He explains that churches are already good at gathering people for midweek services, small groups, classes, and curriculum-based studies. He says this translates well to some government programs, though the language needs to change.

He also mentions violence prevention and helping people make smarter decisions.

One of Scott’s clearest points is that the church is already doing much of this work.

Churches are already on the front lines of recovery. They are already involved in many of these areas.

The challenge is language.

Scott says churches are “not speaking the right language.” He had to learn how to speak both “church” and “government” and then translate what churches are doing into language that makes sense to the people responsible for funding.

That is a fascinating and practical insight.

Sometimes the problem is not that the church is absent.

Sometimes the problem is that the church is present but not positioned in a way that potential partners understand.

Dave closes this portion by adding an important clarification about City Serve’s structure.

He explains that City Serve has domestic and international investment aspects. The grant center was spun off under Neighborhoods to the Nations, which Scott leads. There is a government relationship, and within it, the grant center is a separate 501(c)(3). Dave emphasizes that there is a firewall.

He also says Scott has been instrumental in finding grants for various churches.

But Dave highlights a key requirement: the church must be grant ready.

That means the church needs to be able to:

• Receive the grant

• Execute the grant

• Complete the reporting

• Handle the responsibility well

Dave gives an example involving a transitional housing project connected to Wendell Vincent. He describes a 120-room transitional housing project built in the parking lot of an old Montgomery Ward store through a $35 million grant.

He also explains that the Montgomery Ward store had been donated to Canyon Hills Church and became their City Serve center in Bakersfield, where they provide a variety of services. Dave calls it their main domestic hub.

Again, the theme comes back to structure.

Mission matters. Compassion matters. But execution matters too.

This episode is a strong reminder that the local church has an important role in practical community transformation.

Dave brings the perspective of business and operational leadership. Scott brings the perspective of nonprofit leadership, church planting, pastoring, and grant writing. Together, their stories show how different backgrounds can serve the same mission.

The conversation also challenges a narrow view of church impact.

Churches are not limited to Sunday services. They can be involved in:

• Food distribution

• Foster care transition housing

• After-school education

• Marriage and family programs

• Fatherhood initiatives

• Recovery work

• Violence prevention

• Community partnerships

• Government-funded service opportunities

• Collaboration with other churches

But to step into those opportunities, churches may need support. They may need translation between “church” language and “government” language. They may need operational readiness. They may need collaboration. They may need help becoming grant ready.

And that is where City Serve’s work comes into focus.

It supports the local church not by replacing it, but by helping it serve more effectively.

The most encouraging part of this conversation may be its practicality.

This is not just a call for churches to care more. Many already care deeply.

It is a call to help churches connect, collaborate, prepare, and serve in ways that expand their reach.

The local church knows its community. City Serve’s story shows what can happen when that local presence is paired with resources, structure, partnerships, and a heart to serve those who are already serving.

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