NPU's $8M Grant Aims to Revitalize Pastoral Leadership

CHICAGO, IL – January 13, 2026 – North Park University (NPU) has received a landmark $8,184,203 grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. to fortify the future of pastoral leadership within the Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC). The funding, directed to the university’s North Park Theological Seminary (NPTS), will launch ‘One Covenant Community,’ an ambitious collaborative project designed to create a comprehensive pathway for church leaders from vocational discernment through lifelong professional support.

This grant is one of 45 awarded in a highly competitive round of Lilly Endowment’s Pathways for Tomorrow Initiative, a program that supports theological schools across the United States and Canada as they navigate significant contemporary challenges. The initiative seeks to empower institutions to prepare a new generation of leaders for Christian communities.

A Strategic Response to Sector-Wide Challenges

The substantial investment arrives at a critical juncture for theological education. Across North America, seminaries have been grappling with a confluence of pressures, most notably a steady decline in enrollment for traditional pastoral degree programs. Data from the Association of Theological Schools (ATS) reveals a persistent downward trend in Master of Divinity (MDiv) enrollment, the primary degree for pastoral ministry, which has been falling for over a decade. This decline is a key factor in growing concerns over clergy shortages in many denominations.

Lilly Endowment’s Pathways for Tomorrow Initiative, which has committed over $700 million to 163 theological schools since its launch in 2021, represents a concerted effort to address these systemic issues head-on. Rather than simply providing operational funds, the initiative encourages theological schools to innovate, collaborate, and build sustainable models for the future. The grant to North Park is a prime example of this strategy, funding a large-scale, collaborative endeavor that extends far beyond the seminary’s walls.

The project aims to tackle the entire leadership pipeline, from helping individuals first discern a call to ministry to providing robust continuing education and support systems that sustain them throughout their careers. This holistic approach recognizes that the challenges facing today's clergy are not just academic but also financial, spiritual, and relational.

Inside 'One Covenant Community': A Collaborative Blueprint

At the heart of the $8.18 million grant is the ‘One Covenant Community’ project, a groundbreaking model of denominational cooperation. The initiative will unite nearly every major entity involved in leadership development within the Evangelical Covenant Church. This includes all 11 of the ECC’s regional conferences, which oversee congregations from Alaska to the East Coast, ensuring the project’s efforts are both nationally coordinated and locally implemented.

The network of partners is extensive and diverse, reflecting a comprehensive strategy to serve a wide range of communities. Key collaborators include:
* Centro Hispano de Estudios Teológicos (CHET): An institution providing theological training for Hispanic leaders, ensuring the project is culturally and linguistically relevant to one of the fastest-growing segments of the church.
* Alaska Christian College: A partner focused on empowering Alaska Natives through higher education, highlighting a commitment to contextualized ministry in unique cultural settings.
* Serve Clergy and the Association of Covenant Spiritual Directors: Organizations dedicated to the professional and spiritual well-being of active clergy, addressing the critical need for lifelong support and burnout prevention.
* The Mosaic Commission: An ECC body focused on diversity and inclusion, which will help ensure the leadership pipeline is accessible and supportive for people of all backgrounds.

By linking these disparate organizations with North Park Theological Seminary, the project aims to create a seamless ecosystem of support. This network will strengthen vocational discernment programs, enhance theological education delivery, streamline the credentialing process, and foster a stronger sense of identity and belonging among leaders across the entire denomination.

Building on a Foundation of Trust and Innovation

North Park University and its seminary were well-positioned to lead such a complex initiative. The institution has a long-standing relationship with Lilly Endowment and a proven track record of managing significant grants effectively. In 2021, NPTS received a $1 million grant from the same Pathways for Tomorrow Initiative to launch its ‘One Thriving Seminary’ project. That earlier effort focused on strengthening the seminary internally by resourcing diverse student populations, enhancing faculty development, and improving financial models.

The success of that initial project likely served as a proof of concept, demonstrating the seminary's capacity for strategic planning and execution. Furthermore, a 2017 grant from Lilly Endowment enabled NPU to develop specialized financial and management curriculum for pastors, leveraging the expertise of its School of Business and Nonprofit Management.

Accredited by both the Higher Learning Commission and the Association of Theological Schools, NPTS has a reputation for providing a holistic education that balances academic rigor with spiritual formation and contextual learning. Its mission to foster "compassionate dialogue" and "spiritual health" aligns directly with the goals of the ‘One Covenant Community’ project, which seeks to cultivate resilient and adaptive leaders. This history of "traditioned innovation" and successful partnership with its parent denomination made the seminary a natural choice for a grant of this magnitude.

The Future of Theological Philanthropy

The grant to North Park signifies a broader trend in religious philanthropy, particularly in the strategy employed by major funders like Lilly Endowment. Instead of focusing solely on individual institutions, the Endowment is increasingly investing in collaborative networks and ecosystems designed to create widespread, lasting change. This approach acknowledges that the challenges facing modern faith communities are too complex for any single seminary or organization to solve alone.

By funding the ‘One Covenant Community,’ the Endowment is not just supporting a seminary; it is investing in the vitality of an entire denomination's leadership infrastructure. This model of large-scale, collaborative funding could serve as a blueprint for other denominations and philanthropic organizations seeking to address similar challenges in pastoral recruitment, training, and retention.

The project’s emphasis on the full lifecycle of a minister—from initial calling to ongoing support—also reflects a deeper understanding of what is required to sustain healthy leadership in the 21st century. As theological education continues to evolve, this integrated, network-based approach may prove essential for cultivating the resilient, well-equipped, and deeply supported leaders that congregations need.