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Stephen Lewis

Rev. Stephen Lewis Named National Director of Calling Congregations,

Launches Leadership Academy for Young Pastors

As part of expanded leadership role, Lewis will direct national movement and head a new
pilot program – Project Rising Sun – for
African-American, Hispanic and other young pastors of color

ATLANTA, April 7, 2009 – Rev. Stephen Lewis has been named national director of The
Fund for Theological Education’s (FTE) Calling Congregations initiative, an ecumenical
movement to equip congregations and church-related organizations to play a leading role in the
vocational discernment of young men and women and increase the number of gifted young
people considering ordained ministry as a profession.
A Baptist minister with a business background, Lewis will also direct Project Rising Sun, a
leadership academy he created to develop and support gifted young pastors from African-
American, Hispanic and other racial/ethnic groups. Both initiatives are funded by Lilly Endowment
Inc.
Lewis graduated from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in 1993, earning a
degree in business administration with a concentration in banking and finance. After graduation,
he worked for Moody’s Investors’ Service as a business analyst, followed by a move to Bank of
America where he was a banking officer and relationship manager in corporate contracts and
procurement.
A native of Charlotte, Lewis discerned his call to ministry as a member of Friendship
Missionary Baptist Church in August 1997. He left the corporate world to pursue his calling at
Duke University Divinity School, where he earned a Master of Divinity in June 2000. At Duke, he
served as advisor to the President’s Council on Black Student Affairs and as President of the
Black Seminarians’ Union.
In 2008, as a regional director for FTE’s Calling Congregations, Lewis recognized the
growing challenges facing young pastors and their need to develop leadership skills for serving
diverse congregations and communities. He founded Project Rising Sun, a two-year leadership
program which offers leadership retreats, participation in regional networks of pastoral leaders
and peer support groups, funds for prototype programs that meet professional and local needs,
and leadership coaching and assessment. The inaugural Project Rising Sun leadership academy
will convene April 26 in Morganton, North Carolina.
Prior to joining FTE, Lewis was a training manager for the Institute for Church
Administration & Management, where he focused on developing business and administrative
capacities among clergy and lay leaders. He also served as a teaching assistant for the Black
Church Studies Department of Candler School of Theology at Emory University and as assistant
pastor of Trinity Tabernacle Baptist Church in Atlanta.
“Stephen Lewis brings management gifts and experience along with creative
entrepreneurial skills to this cause of developing future church leaders,” said Dr. Trace Haythorn,
FTE President. “Every community needs strong churches and every church needs strong leaders.
Calling Congregations and Project Rising Sun help meet that need, and we’re fortunate to have
Rev. Lewis’ creativity and energy at the forefront of these initiatives.”
FTE is a leading ecumenical advocate for excellence and diversity in pastoral ministry and
theological scholarship. It supports the next generation of leaders among pastors and scholars,
annually providing more than $1.5 million in fellowships and support to gifted young people from
all denominations and racial/ethnic backgrounds.
For more information about FTE, visit www.thefund.org.