Anderson University Receives Compelling Preaching Initiative Grant From Lilly Endowment Inc.
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Anderson, Ind. — Anderson University and its School of Theology and Christian Ministry has received a grant of $1.25 million from Lilly Endowment Inc. to establish the Center for Compelling Preaching. The center will increase the resources and education AU provides to pastors and church leaders.
The center is being funded through Lilly Endowment’s Compelling Preaching Initiative. The aim of the initiative is to foster and support preaching that inspires, encourages and guides people to come to know and love God and to live out their Christian faith more fully.
“We are honored and humbled to receive news of this major grant from Lilly Endowment Inc.,” said President John S. Pistole. “It aligns closely with our mission statement to equip students for a life of faith and service in the church and society. This grant enables us to accomplish this more fully, impacting even more lives of those who seek to serve.”
AU is one of 81 organizations receiving grants through this competitive round of the Compelling Preaching Initiative. Reflecting the diversity of Christianity in the United States, the organizations are affiliated with mainline Protestant, evangelical, Catholic, Orthodox, Anabaptist, and Pentecostal faith communities. Many of the organizations are rooted in the Black church and in Hispanic and Asian American Christian traditions.
“The Center for Compelling Preaching at Anderson University will enable us to expand our role in resourcing and educating pastors and church leaders,” said Dr. Nathan Willowby, dean of the College of Christian Ministry, and Music, Theatre, & Dance. “The ability to launch workshops, coaching cohorts, and a research fellow program will build resources and provide meaningful education and mentoring opportunities to cultivate the skills and spiritual maturing necessary to reinvigorate compelling preaching in the present and future.”
“Throughout history, preachers often have needed to adapt their preaching practices to engage new generations of hearers more effectively,” said Christopher L. Coble, Lilly Endowment’s vice president for religion. “We are pleased that the organizations receiving grants in this initiative will help pastors and others in ministry engage in the kinds of preaching needed today to ensure that the gospel message is heard and accessible for all audiences.”
Lilly Endowment launched the Compelling Preaching Initiative in 2022 because of its interest in supporting projects that help to nurture the religious lives of individuals and families and foster the growth and vitality of Christian congregations in the United States.
Anderson University is on a mission to educate students for lives of faith and service, offering more than 60 undergraduate majors, 30 three-year degrees, 20 NCAA Division III intercollegiate sports, alongside adult and graduate programs. The private, liberal arts institution is fully accredited and recognized among top colleges for its business, computer science, cybersecurity, dance, engineering, nursing, and teacher education programs. Anderson University was established in 1917 in Anderson, Indiana, by the Church of God.