Wheaton, IL — Christianity Today has received a grant of $5 million from Lilly Endowment Inc.’s National Storytelling Initiative on Christian Faith and Life. The grant will support Christianity Today’s Next Generation Storytelling Project through 2028 as part of the ministry’s Next Gen Initiative, one of three strategic initiatives of the nonprofit ministry’s One Kingdom Campaign.
The purpose of the One Kingdom Campaign is to equip Christianity Today to reach younger, more diverse, and more global audiences with a capacious biblical vision of what it means to follow Jesus Christ in our time. The Next Gen Initiative is the portion of the One Kingdom Campaign vision that invests in next-generation storytellers and expands the ministry’s work into new media.
Nicole Martin, Christianity Today’s Chief Operating Officer, says the grant is transformational: “Storytelling is the language of the next generation. It’s also the heartbeat of our mission here at CT. This grant will help us incubate the stories that matter most to younger people and accelerate our core mission. The initiative is not just about us; it’s about helping everyone in our reach know and love the ultimate story of God’s redeeming grace through Jesus Christ.”
CT’s President and CEO, Timothy Dalrymple, adds, “Lilly Endowment was founded by a Christian family in Indiana that believed in the importance of thriving churches. It has been a generous friend to countless Christian ministries, including hundreds of evangelical churches and nonprofits, for decades. When they first approached us about the National Storytelling Initiative, we were delighted. Telling the stories of the church, and reflecting on those stories together, is central to our calling. This grant will enable us to expand our storytelling efforts by and for the next generation.”
Christianity Today received its first gift from Lilly Endowment in 1965 and numerous gifts in the 1970s and 1990s. More recently, in 2016, it received a grant for the development of technology and fundraising infrastructure, called “Creating a Future for Christian Thought Journalism.” Lilly Endowment also supported the production of resources to encourage and support preachers and pastors through sub-brands such as Preaching Today and Church Salary.
The aim of Lilly Endowment’s National Initiative on Christian Faith and Life is to help organizations identify, produce and share with a wide variety of audiences compelling stories that portray the vibrancy and hope of Christian faith and life. Christianity Today is one of 12 organizations from evangelical, Mainline Protestant, and Catholic backgrounds to receive grants through the invitational round of the initiative. Other recipients include media organizations, denominational judicatories, church networks, publishers, educational institutions, congregations, and marketplace ministries. With the completion of the invitational round, Lilly Endowment has opened a competitive round for funding in the same program.
Dalrymple adds, “This storytelling initiative recognizes the importance of lifting up examples of Christian faith that is lived out in beautiful, faithful, self-sacrificial ways. Since this is core to the CT community, and since Lilly Endowment has always been an outstanding partner and always respected our faith commitments and editorial independence, we are thrilled to be a part of this program. We look forward to bringing forward more events, more multimedia projects, and more next-generation Christian storytellers as a result of this initiative in 2025 and beyond.”
About Lilly Endowment Inc.
Lilly Endowment Inc. is an Indianapolis-based private philanthropic 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. Although the gifts of stock remain a 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 founders’ hometown, Indianapolis, and home state, Indiana. A primary aim of its grantmaking in religion is to deepen the religious lives of Christians, principally by supporting efforts that enhance congregational vitality and strengthen the leadership of Christian communities. The Endowment values the broad diversity of Christian traditions and endeavors to support them in a wide variety of contexts. The Endowment also seeks to foster public understanding about religion by encouraging fair, accurate and balanced portrayals of the positive and negative effects of religion on the world and lifting up the contributions that people of all faiths make to our greater civic well-being.
About Christianity Today
Reaching 40 million people across the world annually through a variety of acclaimed and award-winning digital and print media, Christianity Today elevates the stories and ideas of the kingdom of God with a vision of a Church more faithful to Christ and the world more drawn to him. Learn about the next season of ministry for CT through its One Kingdom Campaign at www.seekthekingdom.com.
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