December 16, 2024
This grant will fund the “Thriving Faith Initiative: Nurturing Children through Worship and Prayer,” designed to nurture children and families impacted by disability.
Thanks to a $1.25M Lilly Endowment Grant, Wheaton College’s Center for Faith and Disability will launch a five-year Thriving Faith Initiative in the spring of 2025, to be spearheaded by Dr. Thomas Boehm, founder and director of the Center. Wheaton College is one of 91 organizations receiving funding through the latest round of the initiative.
“This grant will help the Center fulfill its mission, moving us toward a world in which every child, including those with disabilities, will have a thriving faith within a thriving family and faith community,” said Boehm, who also serves as the Chair of Wheaton’s Department of Education. “We hope to cultivate a sustainable culture change in churches throughout the country, eventually expanding to include diverse denominations and countries worldwide.”
Funded by a grant to Wheaton College through Lilly Endowment’s Nurturing Children Through Worship and Prayer Initiative, this project’s goals include enhancing worship and prayer accessibility and inclusivity, particularly for children with disabilities; elevating the voices of those affected by disability; equipping pastors and ministry leaders to develop inclusive worship practices for all ages; and sharing best practices through a growing network of leaders.
To achieve these goals, the Thriving Faith Initiative will employ the Center for Faith and Disability’s “Convocation Framework,” a comprehensive approach designed to equip churches with the tools and resources necessary to promote inclusivity in worship. The framework includes three main components: convocation events, consortium networks, and faith and disability summits.
Convocation events are the starting points for individuals and families to gather and share their stories with church leaders, helping them better understand and fulfill their commitment to equip all people—with or without disabilities—for every good work in response to God’s calling.
The Faith and Disability Consortium Network will be composed of experts on inclusive worship and prayer, faith leaders, and members of congregations that have completed a Convocation or plan to host one in the future. The network will foster biblical, normative, and transformative engagement with not only disability issues, but people with disabilities, across academic, social, and church environments.
Finally, through Faith and Disability Summits, participants of Convocations and other relevant stakeholders will gather to reflect and share experiences, insight, and understanding gained throughout the Convocation journey.
“Congregational worship and prayer play a critical role in the spiritual growth of children and offer settings for children to acquire the language of faith, learn their faith traditions, and experience the love of God as part of a supportive community,” said Christopher L. Coble, Lilly Endowment’s vice president for religion. “These programs funded through the Nurturing Children Through Worship and Prayer Initiative will help congregations give greater attention to children and how they can more intentionally nurture the faith of children, as well as adults, through worship and prayer.”
About Wheaton College Center for Faith and Disability
Founded five years ago, the Center for Faith and Disability at Wheaton College exists to reflect God’s heart and purpose for people impacted by disability. The work of the Center involves equipping congregations and schools to embrace a culture of inclusion and belonging that honors God and all those who bear his image.
About Lilly Endowment Inc.
Lilly Endowment Inc. is a 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. While those gifts remain the 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 hometown, Indianapolis, and home state, Indiana. The principal aim of the Endowment’s religion grantmaking is to deepen and enrich the lives of Christians in the United States, primarily by seeking out and supporting efforts that enhance the vitality of congregations and strengthen the pastoral and lay leadership of Christian communities. The Endowment also seeks to improve public understanding of diverse religious traditions by supporting fair and accurate portrayals of the role religion plays in the United States and across the globe.