GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Our Daily Bread Ministries (ODBM) announced today it has been awarded a $1.25M grant from Lilly Endowment to support its Thriving Black Church Initiative — a multi-year, multi-state, cross-denominational effort to help Black congregations and communities not only grow but thrive. The project is being funded through Lilly Endowment’s Thriving Congregations Initiative. The initiative aims to encourage the flourishing of congregations by helping them deepen their relationships with God, enhance their connections with each other, and contribute to the vitality of their communities and the world.

The Thriving Black Church Initiative will develop and implement programs that address sustainable solutions that meet the needs of Black churches and communities for thriving in a post-COVID environment. Strategic partners for this initiative include the Global Summit, a national network of Black American churches and Christian nonprofits; African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church (AMEZ), one of the longest-standing Black Protestant denominations; the Church of God in Christ (COGIC), the largest Black global denomination; the Progressive National Baptist Convention (PNBC), an African American Baptist denomination born out of the Civil Rights Movement; and PastorServe, a national network dedicated to mentoring, coaching, and equipping pastors and church leaders. Together these strategic partners and ODBM will collaborate to design, develop, and implement community-based, multimedia programs.

“We are grateful to Lilly Endowment for such a generous expression of confidence in our important effort,” commented Dr. Matt Lucas, president and CEO of ODBM. “Through Bible engagement, spiritual formation, and discipleship, the Thriving Black Church Initiative will foster ministry relevant to the lives of Black congregants and their communities while connecting them more deeply with God.”

Global Summit founder and shepherd, Dr. Matthew Parker, stated, “It’s been my privilege to be engaged with Our Daily Bread Ministries for over a decade to provide biblical resources and programming for African American denominations, faith-based organizations, and local communities. This grant builds on the work I had the pleasure to lead as I helped ODBM build its relationships with the Black church.” 

ODBM is one of 105 organizations that has received grants through a competitive round of the Thriving Congregations Initiative. Reflecting a wide variety of Christian traditions, the organizations represent mainline Protestant, evangelical, Catholic, Orthodox, peace church, and Pentecostal faith communities.

“Congregations play an essential role in deepening the faith of individuals and contributing to the vitality of communities,” said Christopher L. Coble, Lilly Endowment’s vice president for religion. “We hope that these programs will nurture the vibrancy and spark the creativity of congregations, helping them imagine new ways to share God’s love in their communities and across the globe.”

About Lilly Endowment:
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. 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.

About Our Daily Bread Ministries:
Our Daily Bread Ministries is a global Bible engagement ministry with a staff of 700 serving in 32 offices to distribute more than 60 million resources in 58 languages throughout 150 countries. Often known for its global devotional, the ministry produces short form Bible content across print, video, audio, and digital platforms with the goal to fuel a global Bible engagement movement. For more than 85 years, the ministry’s mission has remained the same: to make the life-changing wisdom of the Bible understandable and accessible to all.

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Contact:
Londa Alderink
Our Daily Bread Ministries
616.566.4936
londa.alderink@odb.org

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Religion News Association.