Samford recently received a $5 million Lilly Endowment Grant, the largest grant in the school’s history. The grant, given by Lilly Endowment Inc. and awarded to 20 organizations across the US, aims to provide resources for churches in rural areas to strengthen their congregation and leadership.
Samford has been a recipient of the Lilly Endowment Grant for multiple years, with the money being dispersed to multiple departments on campus including the Center for Congregational Resources.
Keri Burns, director of the Center for Congregational Resources, says that Samford has been a part of many Lilly Endowment initiatives and is grateful to be involved.
“Thankfully we have a positive relationship with the Endowment and when they were developing the Rural and Small-Town Initiative our Center was asked to consider applying to support the rural and small-town congregations in Alabama,” said Burns.
The money from the grant will be able to reach a multitude of churches and communities through the re-granting partners of Samford.
The Center for Congregational Resources will work with these partners to develop resources for the churches in their networks including educational and training opportunities for clergy members along with community engagement opportunities.
The money from this grant the Center for Congregational Resources will also develop an online leadership program called Equipping the Called. The goal of the program is to help Christian churches foster the spiritual formation of congregants and act as anchor institutions in their communities.
“The primary aim and objectives of the program additionally include equipping congregations to extend hospitality to their neighbors, and to function as anchor institutions that strengthen their local communities,” said Burns.
The program will address these objectives by providing training and support for church leadership, helping congregations address and respond to challenges and opportunities within their congregation and community and equipping rural churches to serve as collaborative anchor institutions in their community.
“An additional feature of the grant will involve the Center forming a hub of denominational partners as well as other colleges and universities in order to partner with and equip them to resource and support rural and small-town congregations in their respective networks,” said Burns.
There may also be future opportunities for Samford student involvement in the program based on identified needs within the churches being serviced.
The Equipping the Called Leadership Certificate Program will be developed in early 2025 and launched in fall 2025, with the first group of participants consisting of congregational leaders from the hub of denominational partners.
A second group available to other participants will be launched in fall 2027.
