Calvin Theological Seminary Receives Grant from Lilly Endowment

In January of 2024, Calvin Theological Seminary received a $1,250,000 grant from the Lilly Endowment’s Thriving Congregations Initiative, which will help establish the Ancient Practices for Missional Churches Initiative of the Institute for Mission, Church, and Culture (IMCC). The Lilly Endowment’s Thriving Congregations Initiative seeks to encourage congregations by deepening their relationship with God, bolstering interpersonal connections, and contributing to the well-being of society.

The Ancient Practices for Missional Churches Initiatives, led by Dr. Cory Willson (Professor of Missiology, World Christianity, and Public Theology, and Director of the IMCC), will engage pastors and lay leaders through seminars and retreats. The seminars will empower Christians with diverse vocations and callings to serve God in their respective communities, building on Dr. Willson’s book, Work and Worship: Reconnecting Our Labor and Liturgy. The retreats offered by the Ancient Practices for Missional Churches Initiative will engage the Psalms and their connection to prayer and worship in congregational and individual worship settings.

The work of the Ancient Practices for Missional Churches Initiative builds on the core goals and mission of IMCC, which exists to help churches and organizations faithfully exegete and engage their social context, cultivate the priesthood of all believers for public witness, equip Christians to inhabit the multifaith public square as artisans of God’s shalom, and birth and nurture missional communities.

The IMCC is grateful for the generosity of the Lilly Endowment and excited for the future of the Ancient Practices for Missional Churches Initiative and its impact on the church.