Memphis Theological Seminary (MTS) has received a $1 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. to support Passing on the Faith, a new program designed to help Christian parents and caregivers strengthen the ways they practice faith with their children.
With a $50,000 planning grant from Lilly Endowment to begin this work, MTS focused on listening and learning from parents and church leaders in relation to best practices for passing on the faith in this time when COVID has disrupted traditional forms of Christian education within churches. These sessions have led to the development of approaches to support parents and caregivers in their educational efforts in cooperation with pastors, youth ministry staff, and other congregational volunteer leaders. With this full grant from Lilly Endowment, those practices can now be implemented and evaluated across a variety of churches within the Memphis area.
MTS is one of 22 organizations that recently received implementation grants in an invitational round of Lilly Endowment’s Christian Parenting Initiative. Currently, Lilly Endowment is inviting eligible organizations to seek funding through an open and competitive round of the initiative.
Rev. Dr. Jody Hill, MTS President, says, “The award of this grant will enable us to expand the important work being done at the seminary and open new avenues for Christian education, service, and leadership in our community. We are grateful for continued Lilly Endowment support for our efforts to prepare leaders for Christian ministry in the Church and the world.”