Calvin Seminary Receives Lilly Grant

January 7, 2014

Calvin Theological Seminary has received a $250,000 grant from the Lilly Endowment, Inc. to help the seminary in developing approaches and programs that address financial issues facing its students.

Calvin Seminary is one of 51 theological schools across the United States that have received grants as part of the second round of Lilly’s Theological School Initiative to Address Economic Issues Facing Future Ministers. The grants total more than $12.3 million.

The Seminary will use the grant for its three-year program proposal. In addition, a major gift of $60,000 has been received to support particularly the development of the “financial formation” curriculum proposed in the grant.

Four goal areas for Calvin Seminary were identified in the proposal:

  1. to understand its current financial situation and that of students;
  2. to provide significant “financial formation” for students;
  3. to provide vocational development services for students, and
  4. to develop new financial and scholarship resources for students whose financial needs are currently least able to meet.

“We are grateful to Lilly Endowment for this opportunity to go deep in our understanding of our particular economic challenges and then to enact sustainable programmatic solutions, under the wisdom of God's Holy Spirit," says Jinny De Jong, chief financial and operating officer at Calvin Seminary.

The initiative is aimed at encouraging seminaries to strengthen their financial and educational practices for the economic benefit of future pastors.

Recent research indicates that student educational debt in excess of $30,000 is not  uncommon for seminary graduates, and some students are graduating from seminary with loans of more than $100,000, says a Lilly press release.

“The Endowment believes that pastors are indispensable spiritual leaders and guides, and the quality of pastoral leadership is critical to the health and vitality of congregations,”
said Christopher L. Coble, the Endowment’s vice president for religion, in the press release.

“Financial hardships can make it difficult for pastors to lead their congregations effectively.”