For Grantees and Program Participants
How will this change affect those in the Thriving in Ministry, Thriving Congregations, and Ministry in Rural areas and Small Towns grant programs?
The Forum will continue Leadership Education’s work of providing support for Lilly Endowment initiatives that service congregations and pastors. The 331 organizations that have received grants in Lilly Endowment’s initiatives in Thriving Congregations, Thriving in Ministry and Ministry in Rural Areas and Small Towns will continue to receive all of the services of the coordination programs. In addition, participating organizations are invited to be key collaborators in the Forum’s efforts.
We will model many of the Forum experiences on the community created in coordination program events and services. Hosting the Coordination Programs for Thriving in Ministry, Thriving Congregations and the Ministry in Rural Areas and Small Towns Initiative provides a wonderful opportunity for Forum staff and advisors to nurture and learn alongside leaders and organizations. Their experimentation with network cultivation will directly inform the efforts of the Forum in mutually beneficial ways. Resourcing grantees in their support of leaders and congregations is in direct alignment with the Forum’s mission. The activities of the Coordination Programs provide a practical way for the Forum to develop relationships and discover and highlight resources for the church. In addition, the Coordination Program helps the Forum to continue moving toward the work of becoming a capacity-building network.
Will this change affect other program offerings, such as Reflective Leadership Grants, Capacity Building grants and Foundations of Christian Leadership?
We plan to continue offering Reflective Leadership and Capacity Building grants. Foundations of Christian Leadership will be paused as we take time to consider the future of this offering.
This transition will not directly affect current participants, grantees or project leaders. However, the organization’s materials and websites will be updated with its new name and identity.
General Questions
Why is Leadership Education changing our name?
At its founding, Leadership Education was a training center for Christian institutional leaders and did not offer grants. In recent years, our work has expanded beyond educating leaders. We discovered grants are an effective way to cultivate networks of Christian organizations, and that these networks are then able to support and nurture congregations across traditions. Rather than just being able to engage the work that is most urgent, grants give organizational leaders the gift of time to engage work that is important for the long haul.
We want a name and identity that clearly reflect both this shift in our approach and our deepened sense of mission. The name “Forum for Congregational Life” emphasizes our calling to be a connection and resource point that affirms, equips and inspires networks of Christian institutions and leaders that nurture congregational life.
What is changing and when will these changes take place?
While our name and the scale of our work is changing, our mission, values and commitment to congregations and their leaders remains unchanged. We will continue the majority of programs that were formerly under Leadership Education, but we will expand our efforts that support leaders and institutions who care about congregational vitality.
You can expect to see this identity change reflected in our materials beginning April 21, 2026. Our new email address is forum@duke.edu.
Why is this change taking place now?
The transition to the Forum is both precipitated and made possible by a generous grant of $40 million from Lilly Endowment Inc. to Duke University in December 2025. This grant provides for services between now and December 2028. In that time, we are planning to grow exponentially, particularly in our grantmaking work. More than half of the Lilly Endowment grant is designated to be regranted to other organizations, which means tripling our current grantmaking in the next three years.
With the Forum’s deepened focus on grantmaking, what are the open grant opportunities?
While much of our grantmaking is offered by invitation only, we do have one open application opportunity:
Reflective Leadership Grants: These grants provide Christian leaders and teams of leaders “balcony time” to reflect on accomplishments, broaden perspectives and discern next steps. Learn more.
What are the new activities for the Forum for Congregational life?
The new name makes explicit that our aim is to support congregations by bringing together and supporting those that support congregations. The following activities build on our previous experience in a new way or are substantially expanded:
- Telling and sharing stories of congregations and their impact on the lives of their participants and their communities across the wide diversity of contexts in the United States.
- Connecting the leaders and supporters of congregational life to each other in a “network of networks” that includes the variety of Christian traditions as well as racial and ethnic communities’ experiences and expressions of congregational life.
- Identifying and working collaboratively to address critical questions significant to the ongoing vitality of congregational life among the variety of Christian traditions and communities.
- Identifying, curating and sharing resources that encourage congregations (as well as lay and clergy leaders) in their vision, mission and life of faith.
- Strengthening the capacities of organizations that serve congregations and their leaders through grant opportunities and educational services, with special attention to those organizations whose work sparks renewal in various places and traditions.
Other Questions
What is the relationship of the Forum to individual congregations? Will there be grant opportunities for specific congregations?
The Forum aims to cultivate networks of Christian organizations — bringing together denominations, schools, non-profits and consultants — who care about congregational vitality. We do not directly consult with individual congregations, though we nurture networks that in turn support congregational work.
To that end, we offer the opportunity for leaders of groups of congregations to reflect as individuals and as teams. Reflective Leadership Grants provide Christian leaders and teams of leaders “balcony time” to reflect on accomplishments, broaden perspectives and discern next steps. Learn more.
We are also committed to telling and sharing stories of congregations across the United States, with the goal of encouraging congregations and their leaders in their work. You can learn more about this effort and submit a story about your church’s work.
Is the Forum for Congregational Life connected to a specific Christian denomination or tradition?
No. The Forum invites participation from Catholic, Evangelical, Mainline Protestant, Orthodox and Pentecostal traditions as well as those supporting Christian congregations that don’t fit neatly into these categories. We are united by Christian theology and a focus on congregational life.
The Forum is an initiative of Duke Divinity School, whose mission to engage in spiritually disciplined and academically rigorous education in service and witness to the Triune God in the midst of the church, the academy, and the world.
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