Rev. Dr. Trace Haythorn FTE President Welcome. At FTE, our mission is to raise gifted young leaders for the church and the academy. We offer help for their journey, and we seek partners who share a commitment to excellence and diversity in the next generation of pastors and scholars. We invite you to join us in service to God's church and world.

FTE is a leading ecumenical advocate for excellence and diversity in Christian ministry and theological scholarship. Our work supports the next generation of leaders among pastors and scholars. We provide fellowships and a network of support to gifted young people from all denominations and racial/ethnic backgrounds—encouraging those with gifts for leadership to consider vocations in ministry and teaching and nurturing them in their exploration and study.

We also help congregations and denominations find ways to nurture young men and women for ministry and teaching. The goal? To strengthen Christian ministry by strengthening the quality of its leadership.

The Fund was created in 1954, when leading educators, clergy and philanthropists joined together out of concern that the quality of those entering the ministry had declined and that the best and brightest students were choosing other careers. They believed this trend could lead to a crisis of leadership that would impact congregations and denominations across North America—and they set out to do something about it.

Over the past 50 years, FTE has awarded nearly 6,000 fellowships: recipients include some of today's leading pastors, scholars and teachers, serving churches, theological schools and communities nationwide.