Lilly Endowment Inc. awards grant to help LCMS pastors
MinistryFocus, LCEF and CUW collaborating on financial relief and education initiative
MinistryFocus, the Lutheran Church Extension Fund (LCEF) and the Batterman School of Business at Concordia University Wisconsin (CUW) are working in partnership to establish a Pastoral Excellence Fund (PEF). The PEF will provide pastors with both educational debt relief and personal and organizational financial education.
The effort is being funded with a $1.25 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. through its National Initiative to Address Economic Challenges Facing Pastoral Leaders. The aim of the initiative is to help ministry-serving organizations strengthen and sustain programs to the address economic challenges that hinder the ability of pastors to lead congregations effectively.
The grant was awarded to LCEF and is being administered by MinistryFocus, a Recognized Service Organization (RSO) of the Lutheran Church─Missouri Synod (LCMS). Since 2015, MinistryFocus has awarded loan repayment assistance grants totaling $810,000 to 313 rostered church workers of the LCMS. Thanks to a matching grant by LCEF, the PEF will provide loan repayment assistance grants totaling $5,000 to up to 93 pastors and their families in 2025.
Rev. Ken Krueger, the MinistryFocus President, noted, “The goals of the loan repayment assistance program have always been to help church workers focus on ministry, so that the faith of believers is strengthened and more people come to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. The matching grant by LCEF underscores its commitment to these goals and we are grateful to both LCEF and LEI for their work and contributions.”
In addition to loan repayment assistance grants, PEF participants also will be enrolled in a 10-module, self-paced, online financial education curriculum being developed by CUW. Seven of the modules will be focused on personal finances, while the remaining three will be focused on organizational finances. This curriculum is a reflection of the Batterman School’s continuing commitment to helping LCMS pastors further their personal and organizational leadership schools. At the completion curriculum, PEF participants also will attend an online closing session facilitated by LCEF’s Grace Place Wellness Ministries. The goal of this closing session is to discuss what has been learned and how financial wellness is one component of overall wellness.
Applications for the PEF will be available online at MinistryFocus.org beginning in late November and are due by December 31, 2024. Applicants will be informed of grant decisions by the end of January 2025.
For more information, please contact Rev. Ken Krueger at [email protected].
About The Batterman School of Business at Concordia University Wisconsin
The Batterman School of Business offers a complete range of business education programs and degrees including associate’s and bachelor’s degrees for undergraduate and accelerated adult students, licensures, and certifications. Graduate programs include its highly ranked Master’s of Business Administration (with 13 concentrations), Master’s in Leadership, Accountancy, Business Analytics and a Doctor of Business Administration.
Business undergraduate students also participate in the Concordia Core, a rigorous, liberal arts curriculum integrated with Lutheran distinctives.
About LCEF
Lutheran Church Extension Fund (LCEF) has served as the financial extension of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) since 1978, offering funding and resources in support of the church. LCEF investors make it possible for the organization to provide customized loans and support services to new and growing ministries as well as loans for Rostered Church Workers who dedicate their lives to sharing the Gospel.
About Lilly Endowment Inc.
Lilly Endowment Inc. is a private 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. A 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.
About MinistryFocus
MinistryFocus is an RSO that since 2015 has awarded loan repayment assistance grants totaling $810,000 to 313 rostered church workers of the LCMS. The goals of these grants are to help church workers focus on ministry, so that the faith of believers is strengthened and more people come to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.