The Graduate School of Theology received a $1 million grant from the Lilly Endowment Inc. to support the growth of the Ministry Residency Program.

ACU is one of 58 theological schools whose grant was approved as part of the latest series of Lily’s Pathway for Tomorrow Initiative, which launched in 2020.

In an article published by the Lily Endowment Inc., Christopher L. Coble, the Endowment’s vice president for religion, said, “These schools are paying close attention to the challenges churches are facing  today and will face in the foreseeable future. The grants will help these schools engage in wide-ranging, innovative efforts to adapt their educational programs and build their financial capacities so they can better prepare pastors and lay ministers to effectively lead the congregations they will serve in the future.”

The Ministry Residency program began in the Spring of 2023. The program takes masters of divinity students in the seminary and places them in a congregation, partnered with a mentor. Students in the program receive full scholarship coverage and a small cost-of-living stipend.

Dr. Mason Lee, interim dean of the Graduate School of Theology (GST), said data shows that five years out from seminary training, ministers are at risk of experiencing burn out. The Ministry Residency Program is the GST’s way of addressing the long term question of minister flourishing.

The support of donors has made the Ministry Residency Program possible thus far.

“They love ACU, they love the university, and they’re also just deeply committed to seeing ministers flourish and thrive, because they’re in churches where they see the value of good ministers,” Lee said.

The Lilly Grant is a transformational opportunity for the program. Lee said some of the funds will go towards providing more scholarships so that the GST can host a larger model of theological education. The GST will hire staff to support the growing infrastructure of the program. The grant funds will also be used to extend and strengthen existing relationships between seminaries, ministers, and churches.

“The grant is really going to let us do all of that at once rather than thinking about, okay, over ten years, how do we do all of this? It’s like, well now we can do all of it because of the generosity of the Lily Grant,” Lee said.

Lee said the GST has never received anything like this before. The have received two of Lilly’s $50,000 grants, but haven’t had luck with the larger ones. The Pathways for Tomorrow Initiative lined up perfectly for the GST. The grant money will be implemented over a period of 5 years.

“I believe really strongly in this program. And I think ministers and churches believe really strongly in it. We’re already seeing a lot of excitement about it. And this grant is going to hit the gas pedal,” Lee said.