After working alongside Servant, the team at IWU saw the transformation of an ambitious vision into an executable, sustainable, and fully funded initiative. A $10 million grant was awarded by the Lilly Endowment through the Pathways for Tomorrow initiative, recognizing the strength of the overall vision, partnerships, sustainability strategy, and implementation plan.
The result is VIA (Vocational Integrated & Adaptive) Journeys: a personalized ministry formation ecosystem where Christian leaders can find the people, resources, opportunities, and support they need throughout every stage of their calling, from prospective student to seasoned minister. A leader discerning a call to ministry can find mentors and pathways forward. A pastor navigating burnout can be connected with trusted support. A seasoned leader preparing for succession can be equipped to pass on wisdom and develop the next generation.
Key milestones so far:
“Together, we’re building an ecosystem where AI helps leaders discover the right resources, relationships, and opportunities while keeping human formation at the center.” — Dr. Yamil Acevedo
As one of the nation’s leading providers of online Christian education, serving over 12,000 students, Indiana Wesleyan University (IWU) and Wesley Seminary live and breathe innovation. Recently, Executive Vice President of Wesley Seminary Dr. Yamil Acevedo recognized an alarming problem: current seminary models were not built for the evolving needs of pastors.
Education has shifted toward personalized, adaptive learning models, and leaders at Wesley Seminary and IWU believed ministry formation needed to evolve alongside it.
“The question is no longer whether AI will influence theological education and ministry formation,” said Dr. Acevedo. “It already is. The real question is who will shape its future. At Wesley Seminary, we believe Christian institutions have both an opportunity and a responsibility to ensure these technologies reflect Christian values, elevate human relationships, promote wisdom rather than mere information, and strengthen—not replace—the role of mentors, pastors, and ministry communities.”
Over a three-month engagement, Servant partnered with Dr. Acevedo to develop a comprehensive plan to bring VIA Journeys to life. What began as an exploration of an AI learning tool evolved into a full initiative design and platform roadmap.
The first step was refining the vision: aligning multiple stakeholders, defining a theory of change and governance model, establishing an ethical AI framework, and shaping the product architecture, five-year plan, and sustainability model that would anchor everything to follow.
With the vision defined, Servant supported Wesley Seminary in building the case for funding. That meant rallying written support from more than 30 ministry, church, denominational, and educational partners, formalizing 15 MOUs, and structuring 5 subgrant initiatives.
“One of the moments that stands out most was sitting in a room filled with ministry leaders, tech experts, researchers, and educators and having generative and engaging conversations filled with excitement about the VIA,” remarked Dr. Acevedo. “We had whiteboards covered with ideas, diagrams connecting ministry challenges across generations, and conversations about what Christian leadership formation could look like years from now. What impressed me about Servant was their ability to facilitate and translate those big conversations into concrete plans, priorities, and pathways. They helped us move from dreaming about the future to designing it.”
With strategy and funding in place, Servant established a clear timeline to move from plan to product. In February, the team defined the platform requirements. By April, the VIA Journeys platform build had begun. And by the fall, a pilot cohort of ministry leaders will experience VIA Journeys for themselves.
“The planning phase was exciting because we were imagining what could be possible,” Dr. Acevedo reflected. “But the build phase is exciting because ministry leaders will soon experience it firsthand. We now have the opportunity to turn a compelling vision into a living ecosystem—one driven by AI and humans—that serves real people navigating real ministry challenges across all seasons of ministry.”
“Many organizations have ideas. Few successfully move from concept to strategy, from strategy to funding, and from funding to implementation. Servant helped us bridge those gaps. Together, we built the strategic framework, partnership ecosystem, technology roadmap, sustainability model, and grant narrative that enabled VIA Journeys to move from aspiration to reality.”
— Dr. Yamil Acevedo, Executive Vice President of Wesley Seminary
