The mission of Science for the Church is to strengthen the church by engaging science. Science for the Church exists to change the posture of the church, pastors, and individuals Christians as they relate to science and scientists. Our vision is of a day when churches embrace science as a means for spiritual growth. We admit that some today posit science against faith, but we actually want churches to read both the book of Scripture and the book of nature as sources to understand God and creation.
The STEAM (Science and Theology for Emerging Adult Ministries) project funded and launched twenty-eight unique initiatives throughout the United States. From 2016-19, these ministries integrated Christian faith and mainstream and reached thousands of emerging adults.
SEYA sought to understand the place of science and faith in the lives of 18-30 year olds, particularly how their attitudes form and how they change. In 2014-15, the SEYA team taught and engaged informal discussions on the integration of science and religion with 638 emerging adults. We then surveyed 122 participants in New York City, Menlo Park, and Chico, CA. Subsequently, I conducted hour-long qualitative interviews with forty-three college students and post-college emerging adults about how they relate science and religion.
Scientists in Congregations was a $2 million grant program, funded by the John Templeton Foundation, created to catalyze the dialogue of theology and science in local congregations. In 2011, grants lasted twenty-four to thirty months were awarded to thirty-seven congregations in the United States (representing twenty-five states), as well as one in Canada and one in France.