Illustration by Andre Da Loba

The In Trust Center for Theological Schools has received a $1.35 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. to help fund coordination of its Pathways for Tomorrow Initiative.

The In Trust Center will work with the Association of Theological Schools (ATS) during the next five years to coordinate the initiative. The three-phase initiative is designed to help theological schools prioritize and respond to their most pressing challenges as they work to prepare pastoral leaders for Christian congregations.

ATS and the In Trust Center will partner to provide resources and research, and they will convene the grantees to provide a learning community to help encourage innovation and collaboration.

“Theological schools have long played a pivotal role in preparing pastoral leaders for churches,” said Christopher L. Coble, Lilly Endowment’s vice president for religion.

“Through the Pathways Initiative, theological schools will take deliberate steps to address the challenges they have identified in ways that make the most sense to them. We believe that their efforts are critical to ensuring that Christian congregations continue to have a steady stream of pastoral leaders who are well-prepared to lead the churches of tomorrow.”

The In Trust Center coordination grant comes as part of the second phase of the initiative during which the Lilly Endowment announced additional grants to 84 ATS-accredited schools. The grants range from $500,000 to $1 million, and the schools that received them reflect the broad spectrum of Christian traditions in North America.

Read more at lillyendowment.org