Kern Family Foundation - Office of Work and Economics in the Wesleyan Tradition

Kern Family Foundation Grant - Office of Work and Economics

Initial Award Amount: $102,500

Program Structure: Five-year relationship with anticipated ongoing annual funding

Geographic Scope: United States (Asbury Theological Seminary, Kentucky)

Focus Areas:

Integration of faith, work, and economics in Christian education

Marketplace ministry and Christian influence in society

Theological education for economic development

Moral leadership and business ethics

Wesleyan perspective on economics

Purpose: To create the "Office of Work and Economics in the Wesleyan Tradition" that advocates for faith, work, and economics as an integral framing of Christian influence in society.

Program Location: Housed jointly in the School of Theology and Formation and the E. Stanley Jones School of World Mission and Evangelism

Five Key Objectives:
1. Expand curricular and co-curricular opportunities through mentored field placements, coursework, research, and seminars
2. Produce scholarly work on marketplace topics (Wesley and economics, economic development as empowerment, moral leadership)
3. Disseminate community-based graduate-level research on religiously influenced leadership ethics
4. Create learning opportunities for parish-based clergy, marketplace leaders, and academicians
5. Develop high-impact, accessible multimedia resources

Governance: Five-member Faculty Committee and 20-member National Advisory Council

Related Initiatives:

Seedbed.com (online teaching platform with daily digital content)

Seminary Stewardship Alliance (consortium of 24 theological seminaries)

Funder Background: Kern Family Foundation (established 1999, Waukesha, Wisconsin) invests in programs promoting values, education, and innovation with focus on systemic change through broad-impact, long-term initiatives.

Award Date: May 10, 2013