Author
Timothy Adkins-Jones
Pastor and assistant professor
The Rev. Dr. Timothy Levi Adkins-Jones is the senior pastor of Bethany Baptist Church in Newark, New Jersey. He serves as part of the leadership team for the New Jersey Black Multi-Faith Alliance and Faith in New Jersey, and as a trustee for the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice. Adkins-Jones holds a Ph.D. in practical theology with a homiletics concentration from Boston University and serves as assistant professor of homiletics at Union Theological Seminary.
He continues to serve his alma mater, Amherst College, as the graduate fellow for the Hermenia T. Gardner Christian Worship Series, a bisemester worship celebration of the Black church tradition. He is the husband of Dr. Amey Victoria Adkins-Jones, and they are the parents of four.
Lilly Endowment Inc. announces Exploring Christian Practices Initiative
The Exploring Christian Practices Initiative aims to multiply opportunities and increase access to settings that help individuals from a wide variety of backgrounds explore and engage in Christian practices to address their spiritual interests and questions, find and build community with others, nourish their religious lives and grow in faith.
In this open and competitive initiative, the Endowment invites charitable organizations to submit proposals for grants of up to $2.5 million each that may be used for up to a five-year period to develop new and/or enhance existing programs that present promising strategies for advancing the aim of the initiative and provide compelling and thoughtful responses to its guiding questions. The Endowment anticipates awarding approximately 60 grants and announcing grant awards in December 2026.
The Endowment will host four virtual information sessions (February 17, 19, 24, and 25) to discuss the Exploring Christian Practices guidelines for submitting a proposal. An Interest Form and Letter of Interest are due March 25, 2026. Complete proposals are due May 18, 2026.
Learn More and register for information sessions