Princeton Seminary Gets $1M Grant For Innovative Leadership Model

Princeton NJ

16 December, 2021

9:41 AM

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PRINCETON, NJ — Princeton Theological Seminary has received a $1 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. to support the institution in preparing pastoral leaders to address today's most pressing issues, the institution announced. The initiative, called "The Isaiah Partnership: Pastors Leading Innovation," will test two models of leadership formation that promote innovation and change through congregations. These models will inform how Princeton Seminary prepares students in degree and non-degree programs to lead innovation in their communities by engaging laypersons in congregations. The Isaiah Partnership is being funded through Lilly Endowment's Pathways for Tomorrow Initiative. Princeton Theological Seminary is one of 84 theological schools that are receiving a total of more than $82 million in grants through the second phase of the Pathways initiative. "This project will foster collaboration between the theological scholarship and habits of discipleship that bind us to our past and enable us to embrace our future. The Isaiah Partnership offers the opportunity to develop new educational strategies for tomorrow's congregational leaders, equipping them to be agents of change," said M. Craig Barnes, president of Princeton Seminary. The Seminary will directly collaborate with The Changemaker Church Movement and The Glean Network. "To mobilize the imagination of Christian leaders — laypersons, faculty, and pastors — is to draw from a deep theological well that testifies to a God who is making all things new. We are immensely excited to work with congregations and faculty members on The Isaiah Partnership, to both serve the pastoral leaders of today and shape how we form those to come," Rev. Abigail Rusert, director of program design and the Institute for Youth Ministry at Princeton Seminary and The Isaiah Partnership's project leader, said in a statement. The 84 theological schools represent evangelical, mainline Protestant, nondenominational, Pentecostal, Roman Catholic, and Black church and historic peace church traditions. Many schools also serve students and pastors from Black, Latino, Korean American, Chinese American, and recent immigrant Christian communities. "Theological schools have long played a pivotal role in preparing pastoral leaders for churches," said Christopher L. Coble, the Endowment's vice president for religion. "Today, these schools find themselves in a period of rapid and profound change. Through the Pathways Initiative, theological schools will take deliberate steps to address the challenges they have identified in ways that make the most sense to them. We believe that their efforts are critical to ensuring that Christian congregations continue to have a steady stream of pastoral leaders who are well-prepared to lead the churches of tomorrow." The grant will fund a full-time program coordinator position, for which a search is currently open. Click here for details. Thank you for reading. Have a correction or news tip? Email [email protected] Get breaking news alerts on your phone with our app. Download here. Sign up to get Patch emails so you don't miss out on local and statewide news