CRCNA Receives Nearly $1 Million Grant to Launch Thriving Together Program

The Christian Reformed Church in North America has received a $998,990 grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. to help establish its Thriving Together program.

The program is part of the Lilly Endowment’s Thriving in Ministry initiative, which supports a variety of religious organizations across the United States as they create or strengthen programs to help pastors build relationships with experienced clergy who can serve as mentors and guide them through key leadership challenges in congregational ministry.

“We are very grateful for this grant. It will help us to grow and strengthen leadership initiatives that are already in place as well as to move into new areas,” said Steven Timmermans, executive director of the CRCNA.

“Wise leaders who are able to face and guide people through the challenges the church faces today are crucial,” he said. “The future depends on those who gain the skills and develop the vision to help churches make healthy choices in order to continue sharing the gospel message in increasingly complex contexts.”

Lilly Endowment Inc. is making nearly $70 million in grants to some 78 organizations through the Thriving in Ministry initiative.

The overall purpose of the CRC’s Thriving Together program is to create a stronger, more vital culture of mentoring around three undersupported, almost "invisible” pastoral transition moments: beginning ministry in a second call, discerning remaining options late in one’s career, and privately wrestling with the question “Should I stay or go?”

Through gatherings, resourcing, assessments, and developing mentoring relationships, Thriving Together crystallizes a trajectory already begun in the Christian Reformed Church in North America, sharpening the focus on pastoral relationships.

Thriving in Ministry builds on recent studies that have examined the importance of colleagues and mentors who help pastors face and overcome common professional and personal challenges. The CRCNA has been involved in these studies, which include research from the Flourishing in Ministry project, directed by Matt Bloom at the University of Notre Dame and funded by Lilly Endowment Inc.

“The idea is for seasoned leaders to build relationships with, and to train, younger leaders and to use many of the resources we already have in place to enhance this process,” said Timmermans.

Relationally robust, this strategy fits well within the mission of Pastor Church Resources, the ministry of the CRCNA that serves pastors, churches, and classes as they seek to promote healthy relationships, encourage one another in ministry, and discern next steps in seasons of growth, transition, or challenge.

The CRCNA is one of 78 organizations located in 29 states that is taking part in the initiative. The organizations reflect diverse Christian traditions: mainline and evangelical Protestant, Roman Catholic, and Orthodox.

Thriving in Ministry is part of Lilly Endowment’s grantmaking to strengthen pastoral leadership in Christian congregations in the United States. This has been a grantmaking priority at Lilly Endowment for nearly 25 years.

“Leading a congregation today is multifaceted and exceptionally demanding,” said Christopher L. Coble, Lilly Endowment’s vice president for religion. “When pastors have opportunities to build meaningful relationships with experienced colleagues, they are able to negotiate the challenges of ministry, and their leadership thrives.

“These promising programs, including the CRCNA’s new Thriving Together program, will help pastors develop these kinds of relationships, especially when they are in the midst of significant professional transitions.”

Lilly Endowment Inc. is an Indianapolis-based private philanthropic foundation created in 1937 by three members of the Lilly family — J.K. Lilly, Sr., and 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, the Endowment 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.

The Endowment maintains a special commitment to its hometown, Indianapolis, and its home state, Indiana. Its grantmaking in religion focuses on supporting efforts to strengthen the leadership and vitality of Christian congregations throughout the country and to increase the public’s understanding of the role of religion in public life.