Lexington Theological Seminary’s request for a three-year, $500,000 scaling grant for the Lilly Endowment Inc. (LEI) Thriving Congregations Initiative (TCI) has been approved.
LTS will partner with Disciples Home Missions of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) (DHM) to expand the research that began with the 2019 Thriving Congregations grant. The scaling grant will help LTS deepen its connection to congregations to learn from them what the church of the future needs in its leaders.
The initial grant allowed LTS to work with 29 congregations to learn what traits are present in a thriving church. In this model, a team of clergy and laity in local congregations spent time in education, reflection, and action to foster a spirit of shared leadership. During the scaling phase, the Seminary intends to work with 50 additional congregations in 18-month-long cohorts. This shorter cycle will make the program more accessible to congregations, particularly to lay people who are often over-stressed and over-committed. The more streamlined system eliminates gaps of time between projects and workshops, which helps participants keep the focus on the work at hand.
The symbiotic relationship of congregations and the Seminary in this project means both congregations and the Seminary benefit from this work. Partnering with DHM will be mutually beneficial to both organizations as they seek to minister to the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) denomination at large. DHM brings an extensive network of congregations, workshop facilitators, and partners to the already-established Thriving Congregations work happening at LTS. Together, these institutions have the opportunity to provide meaningful resources to the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).
“This is a brand-new endeavor for us,” said Rev. Dr. Erin C. Cash, Project Director of the Thriving Congregations initiative at LTS. “Scaling grants require a partnership, so we asked DHM if they wanted to work with us. It was a natural choice to choose DHM because they work with congregations. They had seen our work and admired it and wanted to be part of it.”
“We are delighted with this news as it deepens our partnership with Disciples Home Missions, who agreed to be a substantive partner in the TCI work going forward,” said LTS President. Dr. Charisse Gillett. “Kudos to Rev. Dr. Cash and Rev. Dr. Chris Dorsey, DHM President, for their vision for expanding our partnership to serve more congregations and enhance our impact on the whole church. I am grateful for this meaningful partnership with DHM.”
“I’m confident the church will benefit greatly from the wonderful program LTS has pioneered,” said Rev. Dorsey. “I am looking forward to the work we will do together.”
“This partnership will allow us to take the work that we’ve done thus far and offer it to the larger church,” said Rev. Cash. “We look forward to more churches participating in Thriving Congregations. When we give them these tools we have developed, they really take off.”