Andrews University has received a grant of $6,326,735 from Lilly Endowment Inc. through its Ministry in Rural Areas and Small Towns Initiative. The aim of the initiative is to provide resources to help churches in rural areas and small towns enhance the vitality of their ministries and strengthen the leadership of the pastors and lay leaders who guide them.
Andrews University’s project has two goals: to strengthen rural and small-town pastoral leadership and to create and expand resources that address pressing rural and small-town challenges. The University will carry out these goals in a number of ways.
First, Andrews will provide mentoring in community engagement to rural and small-town pastors and their congregations. The Center for Community Change, established in 2023 by the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary at Andrews University, will work with surrounding rural and small-town congregations to engage their communities with the goal of becoming community hubs.
Second, the University will work with partner organizations to develop a comprehensive range of resources to be used by these congregations to address the needs of their communities (e.g., mental health, drug addiction, loneliness and abuse). The development of these resources will be coordinated by the Center for Community Change and the North American Division’s Adventist Learning Community (ALC), Adventist Community Services department, and Ministerial Association. The resources will then be made widely available through the ALC platform. In addition, the Center for Community Change will be incorporated into the ALC platform, integrating the resources developed with the mentoring provided by the Center.
Finally, the grant will fund projects on campus as well as at other Adventist universities. Undergraduate theology students at North American Adventist institutions such as Andrews University, Burman University, Oakwood University, Southern Adventist University and Southwestern Adventist University will receive funding to participate in rural and small-town placements during their programs of study. The grant will also provide financial backing for the International Center for Trauma Education & Care at Andrews University to help rural and small-town congregations address the causes and impact of trauma within their wider communities.
Cedric Vine, the project leader and an associate professor of New Testament at the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary, shares, “contrary to popular perception, rural and small-town communities are not hotbeds of religious fundamentalism but instead report the same levels of religious unbelief as urban communities while experiencing higher levels of social problems. Population shifts have led to the closure of many services. There are fewer shared spaces where members of the community can meet and support each other.”
He continues, “This represents a great opportunity for our churches to reimagine themselves as community hubs where support can be provided in partnership with the community. We need to undertake the hard work of reimagining how our communities might be transformed by kingdom values. I am thrilled that the Seminary at Andrews University can be part of this process and thank John Wesley Taylor V, president of Andrews University, and Jiří Moskala, dean of the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary, for their strong support and commitment to this important initiative.”
Andrews University is one of 20 organizations from across the United States receiving grants through the Lilly Endowment initiative, including colleges and universities, denominational agencies, church networks and parachurch organizations, among others.
“Our hope is that these grants will provide much needed resources and support to rural and small-town churches to help them address their challenges and enhance and extend the many ways that they serve their communities,” says Christopher L. Coble, Lilly Endowment’s vice president for religion.
Founded in 1874, Andrews University is a premier institution of higher education for the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Its main campus is in Berrien Springs, Michigan, but the University also provides instruction at colleges and universities around the world.
Lilly Endowment Inc. is an Indianapolis-based private philanthropic 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. Although the gifts of stock remain a 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 founders’ hometown, Indianapolis, and home state, Indiana. A primary aim of its grantmaking in religion is to deepen the religious lives of Christians, principally by supporting efforts that enhance congregational vitality and strengthen the leadership of Christian communities.
