Announcing the Rising Voices Initiative

November 27, 2023

The Emmanuel Gospel Center, in partnership with the Fellowship of Haitian Evangelical Pastors of New England, is excited to report that we have received a grant of $1,249,841 from Lilly Endowment Inc. to help establish the Rising Voices Initiative.

The Haitian church community in New England is in a critical season. The Rising Voices Initiative is a five-year program that will equip both senior and emerging Haitian pastors in New England be more compelling preachers who are theologically grounded, culturally contextualized, and better able to deliver messages that are more appealing and effective for their entire congregations including multiple generations and people with different lived experiences (including recent immigrants and second-generation Haitian Americans). The Rising Voices Initiative’s long-term impact on the quality of preaching at Haitian churches in New England will lead to more engaged congregations, deeper spiritual growth, a stronger sense of community and mission for the churches, and the advancement of the Kingdom of God in the Haitian community.

“The Rising Voices Initiative presents a major opportunity to strengthen the prophetic voices of senior and emerging leaders in the Haitian community at this critical time,” said Rev. Varnel Antoine, coordinator of the Fellowship of Haitian Evangelical Pastors of New England and project director for the Rising Voices Initiative. “I am excited that the Fellowship is partnering with the Emmanuel Gospel Center in this important work and am grateful for the generous investment of the Lilly Endowment in our community.”

The Rising Voices Initiative is being funded through Lilly Endowment’s Compelling Preaching Initiative. The aim of the Compelling Preaching Initiative is to foster and support preaching that inspires, encourages, and guides people to come to know and love God and to live out their Christian faith more fully.

The Emmanuel Gospel Center (in partnership with the Fellowship of Haitian Evangelical Pastors of New England) is one of 81 organizations receiving grants through this competitive round of the Compelling Preaching Initiative. Reflecting the diversity of Christianity in the United States, the organizations are affiliated with mainline Protestant, evangelical, Catholic, Orthodox, Anabaptist and Pentecostal faith communities. Many of the organizations are rooted in the Black Church and in Hispanic and Asian American-Christian traditions.

“Throughout history, preachers often have needed to adapt their preaching practices to engage new generations of hearers more effectively,” said Christopher L. Coble, Lilly Endowment’s vice president for religion. “We are pleased that the organizations receiving grants in this initiative will help pastors and others in ministry engage in the kinds of preaching needed today to ensure that the gospel message is heard and accessible for all audiences.”

Lilly Endowment launched the Compelling Preaching Initiative in 2022 because of its interest in supporting projects that help to nurture the religious lives of individuals and families and foster the growth and vitality of Christian congregations in the United States.

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 diverse religious traditions by supporting fair and accurate portrayals of the role religion plays in the United States and across the globe.