Dr. Jennifer Moe Named Post-Doctoral Fellow with Garrett-Evangelical Young Adult Initiative

In conjunction with the Holy Partnerships: Creating a Culture Shift Toward the Valuing of Young Adults in Congregations initiative at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, Dr. Jennifer Moe (G-ETS 2019) has been named postdoctoral fellow in addition to her role as associate director of the Young Adult Initiative. This postdoctoral fellowship and the Young Adult Initiative at Garrett-Evangelical were made possible through a $1.25 million renewal grant received in December 2021 from the Lilly Endowment Inc.

Moe will serve an integral part in sharing the findings of Garrett-Evangelical’s first five years of the Young Adult Initiative by co-teaching with Dr. Reginald Blount on the religious and spiritual lives of young adults, creating a course related to young women and contemporary Christianity, and working with faith leaders to establish co-curricular learning experiences that share the valuable research gained during the first iteration of the Young Adult Initiative.

“I am very excited for the opportunities this fellowship provides to share our findings with a wide audience. Young adults are not the future of the church, they are the church, and I am thrilled to be part of an initiative and teaching fellowship that centers on that message,” said Moe.

A Garrett-Evangelical doctor of philosophy in Christian education graduate (2019), Moe holds a master of arts in Christian formation and ministry from Wheaton College (2009) and a bachelor of arts in psychology from the University of Wisconsin (1996). Moe’s research interests include the ways in which young women and girls are taught to be “good Christian women” in a variety of Christian religious subcultures; young adults in the United States and their faith practices, including how they are connected (or not) to faith communities; and the growing movement of ex-evangelical Christians in the United States and elsewhere.

The Lilly Endowment’s Young Adult Initiative aims to help congregations develop and strengthen congregational ministries that build relationships with young adults, nurture their religious lives, and foster their engagement with religious communities. Holy Yearnings, Holy Listening, Holy Partnerships was Garrett-Evangelical’s first iteration of the Young Adult Initiative, having received a $1.5 million grant to pursue this work in 2016. The initiative will continue for an additional four years with a renewal grant of $1.25 million for Holy Partnerships: Creating a Culture Shift Toward the Valuing of Young Adults in Congregations. To learn more, go to garrett.edu/youngadultinitiative.

Lilly Endowment Inc. is an Indianapolis-based private philanthropic foundation created in 1937 by three members of the Lilly family – J.K. Lilly Sr. and sons J.K. Jr. and Eli – through gifts of stock in their pharmaceutical business, Eli Lilly & Company. The Endowment exists to support the causes of religion, education and community development. Lilly Endowment’s religion grant-making is designed to deepen and enrich the religious lives of American Christians. It does this largely through initiatives to enhance and sustain the quality of ministry in American congregations and parishes. More information can be found at www.lillyendowment.org.