ST. LOUIS (April 7, 2025) — Concordia Publishing House (CPH) has received a grant of $1.25 million dollars from Lilly Endowment Inc. to help establish the Words of Worship initiative.
The program is funded through Lilly Endowment’s Nurturing Children Through Worship and Prayer Initiative. The aim of the national initiative is to support faith-based organizations as they help children grow in faith and deepen their relationships with God.
“The Lilly Endowment’s Nurturing Children Through Worship and Prayer Initiative aligns beautifully with CPH’s long-standing mission and with key strategic priorities,” said Jonathan D. Schultz, President and CEO of CPH. “At CPH, we believe that children belong in worship—not as bystanders, but as active participants in the Divine Service, where we receive God’s gifts. Our Words of Worship initiative embraces this belief by equipping congregations and families with the tools they need to nurture children’s faith through meaningful, age-appropriate engagement in worship and prayer.
The Words of Worship initiative will equip congregations with resources and training to help young children (ages 0–8) grow in worship and prayer. The program’s central goal is to pass along the language and experience of worship to children by empowering parents, caregivers, pastors, church musicians and worship planners with proven resources and comprehensive training. Through a two-phase field test in collaboration with the Missouri and Northern Illinois Districts of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS), CPH will develop and refine worship resources and training tailored for use in the pew, at home and throughout congregational life. By engaging congregations directly in this process, we will strengthen their ministries to children and prepare a comprehensive set of tools for broader use across the LCMS. Ultimately, this initiative will help children embrace worship as their own, laying a strong foundation for lifelong faith.
“We are very grateful to have received this grant funding from Lilly Endowment,” said Rev. Dr. Jacob Corzine, Vice President of Publishing. “CPH’s Words of Worship initiative will aim to support all of our children and families as they learn to speak, pray and worship with the language of the faith. Our fervent prayer is that the music, liturgy and hymns of Lutheran Service Book will form minds and hearts for Gospel-filled, Christ-centered lives of faith and faithful confession, and it is our hope that the Words of Worship resources will enable this.”
Concordia Publishing House is one of 170 organizations funded through three rounds of the initiative, which was launched in 2022. The grants are funding efforts to help organizations that serve congregations in a broad spectrum of Christian traditions develop new and/or enhance existing programs as they design worship services and prayer practices that more intentionally and fully engage children.
Lilly Endowment Inc. is a private philanthropic 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. The 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.
