Lilly Endowment Inc. recently awarded Nazarene Theological Seminary a $125,000 sustainability grant to continue its work in financial literacy for the next generation of pastors and other church leaders. 

NTS was one of more than 50 theological schools in the U.S. to receive an initial three-year grant in 2014 to implement a program to encourage seminarians to graduate with manageable (or no) educational debt. The NTS Center for Pastoral Leadership leads this program, which includes extensive counseling and educational efforts directed primarily at new students, as well as ongoing campus educational initiatives open to the entire student body and seminary faculty and staff. 

According to the U.S. Department of Education, NTS has the lowest student loan default ranking in Missouri and is tied for the lowest default rate in the nation with a zero percent default rate. This sustainability grant from Lilly Endowment will enable the Center for Pastoral Leadership to continue these initiatives and cooperate with the Church of the Nazarene's efforts to ensure financial wellness for Nazarene pastors.

--Nazarene Theological Seminary