Virginia Theological Seminary (VTS) has been awarded a $5 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. to help revitalize faith by sharing personal narratives. The grant, which is the largest in the Seminary’s history, is funded through Lilly Endowment’s National Storytelling Initiative on Christian Faith and Life.
The funding will support Stories of Hope and Renewal, a five-year collaboration between VTS’ Lifelong Learning department, Future of Faith, and denominational leaders from The Episcopal Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). The project aims to help Christians present authentic, contextual witness, countering incomplete public narratives that portray Christianity as dying, scandal-ridden, or irrelevant.
Building on the data-supported conviction that people are transformed by seeing themselves reflected in trustworthy spiritual stories told by relatable narrators, the initiative will collect narratives about how people have come to know and love God through local faith communities. These stories will be shared at local festivals and through an online repository, a book, social media, and a podcast developed for a spiritually open audience to help inspire others to seek a relationship with God.
A key part of VTS’ role in the project will be creating resources to equip institutional leaders with the theological and practical tools they need to harness stories for public witness and Christian formation. These efforts aim to help leaders understand both how and why storytelling is central to the Christian life.
The Rev. Kyle Oliver, EdD, project director for Stories of Hope and Renewal, said: “Stories change us. They help us see ourselves reflected in someone else’s struggles, hopes, and encounters with grace. Faith leaders from every tradition need to listen and speak in new ways. Now is an ideal time for the Church to focus on how ordinary people and communities describe their encounters with God in Christ. I’m delighted that our Lifelong Learning team and their partners are devoting themselves to these urgent questions of evangelistic and Christian formation.”
“Our work at Future of Faith has uncovered thousands of everyday stories about people whose lives have been shaped in meaningful ways by their faith communities. These stories have stayed hidden for too long, even though they strengthen neighbors’ bonds, encourage curiosity about faith, and reveal the vitality inside local communities,” said Josh Packard, co-founder, Future of Faith. “This collaborative, ecumenical project creates the infrastructure to make those stories visible at both the local and national levels and we couldn’t be more proud to be involved.”
VTS is one of 60 organizations from across the United States that have received grants through the initiative since 2024. The groups include media organizations, denominational judicatories, church networks, publishers, educational institutions, congregations and other nonprofit charitable organizations.
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.