McKendree University’s Campus Ministry Receives Grant from NetVUE to Develop Chaplain Intern Program

(LEBANON, Ill., April 4, 2025) – McKendree University’s campus ministry was recently awarded a two-year grant totaling in nearly $39,000 from the Network for Vocation in Undergraduate Education (NetVUE) to foster leadership for communities of faith. A program of the Council of Independent Colleges supported by Lilly Endowment Inc., NetVUE is a nationwide network of more than 300 colleges and universities formed to support and enrich vocational exploration and discernment among undergraduate students.

This grant will allow for the expansion of the university’s chaplain intern program with various faith community partners. Currently, McKendree has eight chaplain interns who serve seven communities of faith in Lebanon, Troy, Edwardsville, O’Fallon, Belleville, and others.

“There are about 150 to 200 people per community, and all of those lives are touched each week by these chaplain interns,” said the Reverend Dr. Beverly L. Wilkes-Null, McKendree’s university chaplain. “When these students come to McKendree, we try to match them to what they’re already familiar with, and they have a say in where they’d like to serve. If they aren’t local, they are invited to explore a few congregations before committing themselves to their assignment.”

These students, who devote extra time to their faith during their college career, dedicate at least 60 hours of volunteer time each semester to these local congregations. This can include volunteering at Lenten fish fries, leading praise and worship, teaching Sunday school, and more.

“Our ultimate goal is to help congregations see themselves as partners with our student interns. They learn from our interns, and our interns learn from them,” Rev. Wilkes-Null said.

In a time in which church attendance has overall declined since the pandemic, NetVUE is seeking ways to increase leadership in communities of faith. The grant given to McKendree will help students interested in religious vocations discern their purpose, grow their relationships with their communities and one another, and foster leadership with their communities of faith, all while strengthening McKendree’s ties with these communities.

For more information, please visit NetVUE at cic.edu/networks/netvue.

 

-McK-