by Annette Brill Bergstresser for Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary and available here
ELKHART, Indiana (Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary) — Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS) in Elkhart, Indiana, has received a $1,249,830 grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. to establish a program to help congregations deepen their study of the Bible with the goal of connecting more authentically with their communities.
The project is being funded through Lilly Endowment’s Thriving Congregations Initiative. The aim of the initiative is to encourage the flourishing of congregations by helping them deepen their relationships with God, enhance their connections with each other, and contribute to the vitality of their communities and the world.
The five-year project — titled “Anabaptist Thriving Congregations” — is designed to equip Mennonite congregations in the U.S. and Canada to read and interpret both the Bible and their sociocultural context for the purpose of being witnesses to the gospel in their local community. Malinda Elizabeth Berry, PhD, will serve as Grant Director for the project in her role as Director of AMBS’s Faith Formation Collaborative (FFC).
