Mission Yearbook: Changing the culture of Christian formation

Gesturing towards a table filled with an impressive, ecumenical panel of Lilly Endowment grantees, the Rev. Neema Cyrus-Franklin told the roomful of educators they were in for a treat.

“The people we will be hearing from have the potential to significantly contribute to Christian formation and how we develop programs,” said Cyrus-Franklin, project coordinator with the Lilly Endowment-funded Around the Table initiative for the Interim Unified Agency of the PC(USA). “We have so much to learn from all of the grant recipients and their research.”

For the well-attended recent workshop at the Association of Partners in Christian Education (APCE) 2025 Annual Event, which Cyrus-Franklin facilitated, 10 grantees were invited to outline the unique features and benefits of their respective initiatives.

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In introducing the speakers, Cyrus-Franklin —who, as project coordinator with the Around the Table, was herself a panelist — began with an encouraging announcement concerning the Lilly Endowment’s commitment “to deepen and enrich the religious lives of Christians in the United States, principally by supporting efforts that enhance the vitality of congregations.”

Through the Nurturing Children Through Worship and Prayer Initiative and the Christian Parenting and Caregiving Initiative, she shared with the group, Lilly Endowment has made a total of 223 grants to organizations throughout the country.

As the speakers took to the podium one by one — in lightning-fast fashion — the group’s interest only appeared to increase with each successive project summary.

The diverse projects addressed were:

• The Age to Age Initiative, located at Capital University in Columbus, Ohio, was presented by its director, Dr. Kris Bjorke. The project was designed to equip faith communities with accessible, culturally competent resources that strengthen the faith of young people.
• Around the Table, introduced by Cyrus-Franklin, serves to come alongside parents, caregivers, churches and worshiping communities to provide skills, opportunities for connection and relationship building, and the resources needed to enhance and prioritize sharing faith in households.
• The Benediction Project aims to equip children and parents to recognize the sacred in all facets of life, utilizing stories of the Christian tradition. In speaking to the initiative, Stephen Ingram Sr., director of Resource Development, explained that it is housed at the Center for Youth Ministry Training.
• Big Faith Resources, which Co-Director Michelle Junkin administers, seeks to develop innovative resources that equip churches for an ever-changing neurodiverse landscape.
• For the project titled Child of Blessing: Growing Faith in Worship, Kelly Abraham, executive director of the Presbyterian Association of Musicians — the organization which received the grant — was on hand to outline its seven cyclical phases, each designed to engage children in meaningful and inclusive worship experiences.
• Font & Faith was represented by the Rev. Dr. Rebecca L. “Becky” Davis, Sarah Belk Gambrell Professor of Christian Education and director of the Center for Excellence in Christian Education on the Charlotte campus of Union Presbyterian Seminary. Font & Faith aims to partner with congregations and parents through the Lilly Endowment-funded initiative to fulfill baptismal vows by nurturing children’s faith through worship and prayer.
• Project director Brittany Sky spoke to the group about the GenOn Christian Parenting Project, which “seeks to build relationships between family members, as well as between families and churches, so all people are loved, cared for and belong.”
• Shine Everywhere, as presented by Shana Peachey Boshart, project facilitator, “is a community of congregations and families who discover and practice the everyday habits that grow faith in children.”
• Columbia Theological Seminary received its grant from Lilly Endowment to help establish Wonder of Worship, an initiative to prepare Christian leaders in the seminary’s degree programs and support partnering congregations in engaging children in corporate worship and thereby nurture their faith. Dr. Kathy Dawson, project director, walked attendees through the project’s goals.
• The final panelist, the Rev. David Maxwell, vice president for the Presbyterian Publishing Corporation (PPC), presented the PPC’s Worship for the Whole People of God initiative. As he explained, the project will develop resources that support children’s full participation in worship and foster lifelong prayer practices for sustaining faith.

Emily Enders Odom, Associate Director of Mission Communications, Interim Unified Agency (Click here to read original PNS story)

Let us join in prayer for:

Wilson Kennedy, Associate Director, Special Offerings, Administrative Services Group (A Corp)
Joshua Kerr, Ministry Relations Officer, Presbyterian Foundation 

Let us pray:

Gracious Lord, you alone are the head of the church. We praise you that your Holy Spirit is alive and moving throughout the body. We thank you for the love given and the gifts shared in our congregations and their communities. May we always give you glory and honor in all we do. Amen.