Memphis, Tennessee, November 30, 2023
The Ministry Council of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church has been awarded a grant of $600,000 from Lilly Endowment Inc. to help support ENGAGE, a new project designed to help congregations cultivate a deep spirituality and love for the surrounding community. ENGAGE helps congregations to develop measurable goals and an action plan for opportunities to produce spiritual, physical, and financial growth in the church. ENGAGE enables congregations to enhance their commitment to the surrounding community by developing meaningful ministries to witness effectively in the name of Jesus Christ. The project is being funded through Lilly Endowment’s Thriving Congregations Initiative. The aim of the initiative to encourage the flourishing of congregations by helping them deepen their relationships with God, enhance their connections with each other, and contribute to the vitality of their communities and the world.
Edith Busbee Old, Director of Ministries of the Ministry Council said, “Ministry Council staff Rev. Dr. Chris Fleming and Rev. Kristi Lounsbury, CFRE, collaborated to craft the award-winning grant proposal. Congregations that complete the ENGAGE process will better understand themselves, discerning the ministry and outreach most suited to the church’s resources and passions. With this crucial concept developed, the result is an empowered ministry with an increased understanding of the congregation’s mission, vision, and goals for the community and themselves. Churches with this knowledge can confidently identify and call a like-minded pastor creating a longer, more substantial, and fruitful relationship between the pastor, the congregation, and the community. We are so deeply encouraged by the investment that Lilly Endowment is making in our ministries and their faith in our effort to produce quality outcomes.
This is the second grant Lilly Endowment has awarded to the Ministry Council in the last few months. The first grant of $1.25 million was received in October and will help establish and support the five-year Louisa Woosley Preaching Initiative for the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. Both grants will directly support the Ministry Council’s outcomes identified in our recent strategic visioning to develop leaders, support churches, and ensure an effective Ministry Council by promoting our work to secure additional funding.”
The Ministry Council of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church is one of 105 organizations that has received grants though a competitive round of the Thriving Congregations Initiative. Reflecting a wide variety of Christian traditions, the organizations represent mainline Protestant, evangelical, Catholic, Orthodox, peace church and Pentecostal faith communities.
“Congregations play an essential role in deepening the faith of individuals and contributing to the vitality of communities,” said Christopher L. Coble, Lilly Endowment’s vice president for religion. “We hope that these programs will nurture the vibrancy and spark the creativity of congregations, helping them imagine new ways to share God’s love in their communities and across the globe.”
About Lilly Endowment Inc.
Lilly Endowment Inc. is a private foundation created in 1937 by J.K. Lilly Sr. and his sons Eli and J.K. Jr. through gifts of stock in their pharmaceutical business, Eli Lilly and Company. While those gifts remain the financial bedrock of the Endowment, it is a separate entity from the company, with a distinct governing board, staff, and location. In keeping with the founders’ wishes, the Endowment supports the causes of community development, education, and religion and maintains a special commitment to its hometown, Indianapolis, and home state, Indiana. A principal aim of the Endowment’s religion grantmaking is to deepen and enrich the lives of Christians in the United States, primarily by seeking out and supporting efforts that enhance the vitality of congregations and strengthen the pastoral and lay leadership of Christian communities. The Endowment also seeks to improve public understanding of diverse religious traditions by supporting fair and accurate portrayals of the role religion plays in the United States and across the globe.
About the Ministry Council
The Ministry Council is the Cumberland Presbyterian denomination’s ministry programming division. Together, the Ministry Council and its Ministry Teams create resources to assist individuals on their spiritual journey and congregations in their varied ministries. Resources cover a wide spectrum including Christian education, leadership development and special programs. The Ministry Council helps individuals and congregations to be actively engaged in vital missions work in the United States and around the world; assists presbyterial committees on the ministry or preparation for the ministry, individuals exploring a Call to ministry, and provides a support network for active and retired ministers. The Ministry Council publishes print and electronic media offering a place for Cumberland Presbyterians to ponder, weigh in on and affirm beliefs, concerns, and love for the denomination and for all people we’re called to serve.
Contact: Edith Busbee Old
Phone: 901.276.4572, ext. 228
Email: ebo@cumberland.org
