News & Updates

Movement West Michigan has received a $576,000 grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. to help establish GrowthRings at Church and Home, a collaborative project designed to aid local congregations in the faith formation of the next generation.

The program is funded through Lilly Endowment’s Nurturing Children Through Worship and Prayer Initiative, a national initiative designed to help Christian congregations more fully and intentionally engage children in intergenerational corporate worship and prayer practices. GrowthRings at Church and Home will build collaborative learning communities in which local churches will have the opportunity to experiment with new ways to incorporate children into their worship life, as well as ways to support parents in the at-home faith development of their children. It will also coordinate with and integrate into the broader work of Movement West Michigan by facilitating workshops and learning opportunities for church staff members and other Christian leaders to equip them with the tools and resources to better support the faith formation of the next generation. This project is built on the framework of GrowthRings, a developmental model that encourages families to draw from the ways in which children ask questions in order to provide opportunities for spiritual engagement.

“We are excited to deepen our partnership with local congregations in order to serve and strengthen the faith formation of children,” said Rev. Kory Plockmeyer, executive director of Movement West Michigan. “In our work with local churches, we see a desire for collaboration and a heart for the next generation. GrowthRings at Church and Home will allow us to work through local churches to strengthen families, nurture faith, and empower parents to turn
every day interactions into opportunities for eternal impact.”

Movement West Michigan is one of 91 organizations receiving funding through the latest round of the initiative. They represent and serve congregations in a broad spectrum of Christian traditions, including Catholic, mainline Protestant, evangelical, Orthodox, Anabaptist and Pentecostal faith communities. Several organizations are rooted in Black Church and Hispanic and Asian American Christian traditions.

“Congregational worship and prayer play a critical role in the spiritual growth of children and offer settings for children to acquire the language of faith, learn their faith traditions and experience the love of God as part of a supportive community,” said Christopher L. Coble, Lilly Endowment’s vice president for religion. “These programs will help congregations give greater attention to children and how they can more intentionally nurture the faith of children, as well as adults, through worship and prayer.”

About Lilly Endowment Inc

Lilly Endowment Inc. is a 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. 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. The 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.