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Called Together

Four individuals with the four themes of Called Together

Education and Formation

  • Transformational Leadership Academy

    The Transformational Leadership Academy (TLA) began in 2017 as a Synod project designed to support lay education.  It has now developed into one of our two primary engines for supporting Synod Authorized Ministers (SAMs).  Through coursework around Biblical themes, Church History, Lutheran Doctrine, and Lutheran Worship and Liturgy, lay people are equipped to lead congregations as a SAM.  Through retreats that focus on preaching, pastoral care, and spiritual practices, lay people are encouraged on their journey and allowed to practice their skills in safe environments of learning and trust.  Each SAM also has a mentor who is a pastor or deacon that supports them in the work that they do.

    While the current TLA model has been effective, the Synod needs to be able to respond more nimbly to the needs of a growing diverse student group who cannot all travel to Indianapolis for a full day class.  We need to engage individualized learning plans and developmental activities to augment the learning that is occurring for these individuals.  

     

  • TEEM (Theological Education for Emerging Ministries) Scholarships

    The Indiana-Kentucky Synod has partnered with Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary (PLTS) in Berkeley, California for the past    seven years as a host site for TEEM classes.  TEEM students serve a congregation full-time, while coming to Indianapolis in October, February, and June for a week-long intensive of courses taught by seminary professors and practical theologians.  Rev. Dr. Moses Penumaka from PLTS works alongside Rev. Dan Forehand to facilitate these courses.  At the end of seven sessions (two years and a quarter), that includes Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) and an internship, these students are then ordained as a pastor.  This portion of Called Together ensures that any SAM who senses God’s calling towards ordination will be able to receive a scholarship to support their TEEM coursework in conjunction with their work in Candidacy.

     

  • Lay Leader Workshops

    There is a need for lay education around a variety of topics – council leadership, stewardship, evangelism, church finance, youth education, governance, and more.  Called Together allows us to host training sessions and cohorts around these various topics so that people can gather digitally to foster connections and learn from one another about these important roles.  The gift of gathering together and sharing our stories is important as we consider our shared work of ministry that can seem very isolating for congregations that do not have other communities nearby.

     

  • Continuing Education for Rostered Ministers

    Our current rostered ministers are experiencing new challenges that they do not feel adequately prepared for.  Just like lay leaders and SAMs, they need more education for an ever-changing world.  This portion of the Called Together project includes the ability for pastors/deacons to receive additional funding from the Synod for continuing education.  We require congregations to give their rostered ministers funds for continuing education but know that some of these new horizons (multi-lingual, shared ministry, bivocational) require funds beyond what a congregation can give.  In turn, we hope to develop individuals who can support others by what they have learned. 

     

  • Resource Library

    In our listening as we proposed this project, we heard that congregations cannot afford Sunday School, confirmation, and adult education curriculum.  With this project, we plan to develop a resource library that will allow us to share resources with congregations across the Synod.  Through our partnership with Augsburg Fortress, the publishing arm of the ELCA, we have access to numerous resources for people of all ages and interest areas.  Congregations, as well, can share these materials with one another or engage in study and learning together.  We would also intend to work with Augsburg Fortress around a licensing agreement for their online content, so that every congregation in the Synod might have access to their “Sparkhouse Digital” curriculum, which is available online through a subscription. By curating these basic resources and ensuring access to all congregations, we can help in the education and formation of the entire Synod
     

Communication and Connection

  • Revamped Database
  • Database Manager Position
  • Expanded Communicator -Storyteller Position
  • Website Improvements

Reimagining Conferences

  • Regional Gatherings
  • Conference Coordinators

Called Together Endowment

  • Development of an Endowment for sustainability
  • Fundraising and Promotional Costs

Called Together

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Jan. 5, 2026

The Indiana-Kentucky Synod will expand leadership education, strengthen communication across its congregations, and establish long-term financial support for ministry through an $800,000 grant from Lilly Endowment Inc.

The grant will fund Called Together, a multi-year initiative focused on leadership formation, synod-wide connection, conference renewal, and endowment development. 

The program includes four primary areas of work:

·       Education and Formation of Pastors, Synod Authorized Ministers, and Lay Leaders

·       Communication and Connection between the Synod Office, our 168 congregations, and rostered ministers

·       Reimagining our Ten Conferences and seeing new ways to be church together

·       Establishing the Called Together Endowment to enable this work to continue into the future.

“This grant from the Lilly Endowment Inc. is transformational to our ministry in the Indiana-Kentucky Synod,” says Bishop Timothy Graham.  He continues: “Through these four callings, we can work together to imagine a future where our congregations, lay leaders, rostered ministers, and synod as a whole comes together to share the love of Jesus in our communities.”

Called Together is supported through Lilly Endowment’s Hoosier Churches Initiative, which is designed to strengthen the capacity of denominational organizations and church networks in Indiana so they can help congregations thrive and contribute to community well-being. The Indiana-Kentucky Synod is one of 37 organizations receiving funding through the initiative.

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 about 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.

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