Southern California Seminary
News release for recipients of grants in the
Pathways for Tomorrow Initiative
January 2026
Southern California Seminary has received a grant of one million dollars from Lilly Endowment Inc. to help establish the Pathways for Ministry Partnerships program.
The Pathways for Ministry Partnerships program is being funded through Lilly Endowment’s Pathways for Tomorrow Initiative, which is intended to help theological schools across the United States and Canada strengthen their educational and financial capacities to prepare and support pastoral leaders for Christian congregations both now and into the future.
As part of our strategic goals, the grant enables us to engage in unprecedented opportunities to understand the growing need for current pastors and next generation ministry leaders of African American churches. Our goal was to explore ways to create pathways for seminary level theological education and ministry formation that is substantially rooted in local church community and culture. The findings from this project, with over 185 participants representing over 30 congregations from San Diego to Oakland, provided us with the clear pathways we were looking for.
Receiving this grant brings together our long-standing mission priorities and strategic goals providing us with a tremendous opportunity to support underserved communities while developing strong reciprocal relationships with existing congregations and ministerial organizations from San Diego to the Bay area.
Southern California Seminary is one of 163 theological schools that have received grants since 2021 through the Pathways initiative. Together, the schools serve a broad spectrum of Christian traditions in the U.S. and Canada. They are affiliated with evangelical, mainline Protestant, nondenominational, Pentecostal, Orthodox, Catholic, Black church, Latino, Asian American, Indigenous and historic peace church traditions.
“Theological schools have long played a central role for most denominations and church networks in preparing and supporting pastoral leaders who guide congregations,” said Christopher L. Coble, the Endowment’s vice president for religion. “These schools are paying close attention to the challenges churches are facing today and will face in the foreseeable future. The grants will help these schools engage in wide-ranging, innovative efforts to adapt their educational programs and build their financial capacities so they can better prepare pastors and lay ministers to effectively lead the congregations they will serve in the future.”
About Lilly Endowment Inc.
Lilly Endowment Inc. is a private 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. A 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 religion and lift up in fair, accurate and balanced ways the roles that people of all faiths and various religious communities play in the United State and around the globe.