2026 CaSTLE Project Synod Grant
The Rocky Mountain Synod is a 2026 recipient of a CaSTLE Project synod grant supporting lay leader and Synodically Authorized Minister education.
CaSTLE — Country and Small Town Lived Ecclesiology — is an initiative of Wartburg Theological Seminary supported by a $7.4 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. Its work is especially focused on strengthening ministry in rural and small-town communities and equipping all the baptized to live out their faith and vocation in daily life.
Through its synod grant program, CaSTLE provides funding for leadership formation and theological education, including the development of courses, curricula, instructional resources, worship materials and other tools for lay leaders and Synodically Authorized Ministers.
Country and Small Town Lived Ecclesiology
An initiative of Wartburg Theological Seminary, reimagining rural and small-town ministry.
$20,000
The ceiling of the synod grant category in which the Rocky Mountain Synod was selected, funding SAM and lay-leader formation.
$7.4M
The Lilly Endowment Inc. grant that established CaSTLE at Wartburg Theological Seminary.
2026
The year the Rocky Mountain Synod became a CaSTLE Project synod grant recipient.
How the grant is being used
Through this support, the Rocky Mountain Synod is partnering with Excellence in Leadership to expand access to educational courses for anyone who wants to deepen their faith and understanding of ministry.
These courses are open more broadly to people seeking theological and faith formation, while also helping fulfill required training for Synodically Authorized Ministers (SAMs) in the Rocky Mountain Synod.
Resources developed through the grant can be shared with rural and small-town ministries across the synod and beyond.
Open to anyone seeking theological and faith formation, and counting toward required SAM training in the Rocky Mountain Synod.
At the heart of CaSTLE
Vibrant ministry is not measured simply by the size of a congregation or whether an ordained pastor is present, but by how people are formed and equipped to live out the Gospel in their congregations, communities, workplaces and daily lives.
Read about the CaSTLE Project's work reimagining rural and small-town ministry at thecastleproject.org.
