The CCR received a $1.5 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. in 2018, becoming one of 13 “Innovation Hubs” in the US and Canada to join the Endowment’s Called to Lives of Meaning and Purpose initiative. Life is Calling was launched in the fall of 2018 and has worked with 45 churches and ministries representing 15 faith traditions. These congregations and ministries formed learning communities examining the intersection of Christian calling with a life of meaning and purpose.

Participating organizations created leadership teams comprising of the pastor and 3-5 layleaders of their congregation. Leadership teams met monthly to study and research calling, meaning, and purpose as it applies to their congregants and the communal church calling. Leadership teams met with the full cohort 2-3 times annually and the pastors participated in a monthly clergy peer group.

They engaged in a church-wide processes of discernment and created their own initiatives to further explore calling and serve their local communities. Some of these initiatives include: respite care for caregivers of individuals with memory loss, partnership with a local school to provide after-school tutoring and literacy classes, and a retreat series on calling that includes all five generations of church members to more deeply explore how calling can change throughout one’s life, numerous community resourcing programs were developed, and developing church-wide bible studies on Christian calling and vocation.

Through Life is Calling, the Center worked alongside 45 congregations awarding a total of $807,000 in congregational grants.