BRIEF: Whitworth awarded $1 million grant to fund Ekklesia Project, new Office for Church Engagement

Whitworth University has been awarded a $1 million grant from the Lilly Endowment to fund a new comprehensive church engagement initiative called The Ekklesia Project. The grant proposal, written by Dean of Spiritual Life Terry McGonigal, Professor of Theology Jerry Sittser, and President Beck A. Taylor, will fund current and new initiatives to better connect Whitworth to the needs of churches and congregations throughout the western U.S. The Ekklesia Project will be administered by the new Office for Church Engagement, and  McGonigal will transition from his current role as dean of spiritual life to lead the office as its first director. A search for a new dean of spiritual life will begin in January, according to a press release.

The goal of The Ekklesia Project is to enlarge and develop Whitworth’s ability to function as a catalyst, center and resource for conversation, vision-casting, planning and programming. The project seeks to assist churches and other Christian organizations in the region as they discern how they can be the church and do ministry in the cultural setting of the Pacific Northwest in the 21st century. Both The Ekklesia Project and the new Office for Church Engagement are consistent with the university’s Whitworth 2021 goal to position Whitworth as a valued resource to the church and society.

In addition to administering The Ekklesia Project, the new Office for Church Engagement will pursue opportunities to develop and deepen partnerships with Presbyterian denominations, and with other expressions of the global church, and will also look to expand local and regional ministries. Additionally, the office will work with churches to assess needs in the local community and to develop strategies and programs to meet those needs, according to the release.

The grant will help the university defer costs for the Office for Church Engagement over the next few years, as revenue opportunities establish the office as a self-funding effort.

Planning for the office’s infrastructure will begin in the spring; McGonigal anticipates an energetic launch by summer 2014. The grant will provide for a director, assistant director, and additional staff to manage the new office. The grant will also help establish an advisory committee on local and regional church ministry.