What is Pathways for Tomorrow?

The Pathways for Tomorrow Initiative, funded by Lilly Endowment Inc., includes three phases to help theological schools in North America as they work to prepare pastoral leaders for Christian congregations. In the first phase, the Endowment awarded up to $50,000 to 234 schools. In the second phase, the Endowment awarded 106 schools accredited by the Association of Theological Schools (ATS) grants, ranging from $500,000 to $1 million. In the third phase, 16 schools were awarded grants ranging from $5 million to $8 million.

The In Trust Center was awarded a grant from the Lilly Endowment to fund coordination work with the ATS. Our goal is to support the resource needs of grantees throughout the life of the initiative. Together, ATS and the In Trust Center partner to provide resources and research and create and foster learning communities to help encourage innovation and collaboration. 

Read more, including a list of grantees and an FAQ, at lillyendowment.org

To connect with the In Trust Center and ask how we can help, click here to email us. 

ATS, the Association of Theological Schools (ATS) coordinates the grant. Visit the ATS website here. To contact Jo Ann Deasy, the ATS director for the Pathways coordination program, click here.

Below, you'll find a list of curated resources.

Resources


News about the Pathways Initiative

There are several big themes in the 105 proposals that were awarded grants in phase two of the Pathways Initiative. You can find out more here in this story in In Trust magazine

See an overview of the Pathways Initiative and the goals of the program in this magazine piece.

The Winter 2023 issue features an overview of every Pathways Phase 3 grant.

A Phase 2 grant provides a way that a Roman Catholic school is training lay Latino ministers for the Church. It's in the Spring 2023 magazine.

PODCAST

The In Trust Center's Good Governance podcast provides interviews with leaders in theological education and is a good way to keep up with the Pathways Initiative. You can find recent episodes on:

An overview and update on themes and trends in the Pathways Initiative. Go to Episode 40 in which Amy Kardash and Jo Ann Deasy discuss details with Matt Hufman.

The CHANGE Initiative is a program funded in Phase 3 designed to help interested schools better focus on mission by providing business services. It's in Episode 43.


About the In Trust Center's role

In Trust Center President Amy Kardash discusses the work of the In Trust Center and outlines how it will help in the Pathways initiative in this video from January 2022:

 

 


Storytelling for grantees

Matt Hufman, vice president for communications of the In Trust Center, provides a framework to give grantees a way to tell their story to anyone, including students, faculty, denominational officials, and donors. Watch the video, from March 2022, here:

 


Sustainability for Schools

David Rowe, an AGB Consulting group leader and coach of the In Trust Center's Wise Stewards Initiative, led a series of webinars on sustainability for theological institutions.  Watch the on-demand webinars here. 


For more

You can find more webinars including on change management and institutional transformation here.

 

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