Building our future, encouraging our students

Building our future, encouraging our students

Written: 10/30/2009

          While it is the General Board of Higher Education & Ministry’s mission to lead the church in recruitment, preparation, nurture, education and support of new generations Christian leaders – lay and clergy – for the work of making disciples, it is the job of local congregations to help in identifying, encouraging and supporting those future leaders.

        One way we work together is in the denomination’s special offerings – including the Student Day Offering in November – that provide the funds for scholarships and loans to promising students across the denomination.  Over the years, GBHEM has awarded approximately $4.6 million in scholarships and loans to more than 2,900 undergraduate and graduate students.  More than 400 are seminarians responding to their call to ministry.  By December 2009, that total will have grown to more than $6 million in scholarships and loans to over 3,000 undergraduate and graduate students.

        For the 2009 period, $31,800 of those funds have been awarded to promising Central Texas Conference students in the form of scholarships and loans.  The students and their encouraging congregations are:

        Aledo – Chris Butterfield and Jennifer Reed

        Alliance, Fort Worth – Emily Moses and Megan Williams

        Arborlawn, Fort Worth – David Riddile

        Arlington Heights, Fort Worth – Angela Klemm

        Church of the Good Shepherd, Arlington – Bethany Hinkle

        Epworth, Arlington – Benjamin Donaldson

        Everman – Bradley Asher

        Faith, Fort Worth – Alexander Farquhar

        Ferris Heights, Waxahachie – George Lawton

        First Breckenridge – Sara Tonne

        First Clifton – Traci Bekkelund

First Crowley – William Clark

First Grapevine – Ross Ponder

First Hillsboro – James Charles and Jillian Merkel

First Keller – Sarah Ziomek

First Mineral Wells – Christian Garcia

First Round Rock – Suraj Manikundalam

Godley – Denise Buffington

Grace, Arlington – Bennett Parsons

King Memorial, Whitney – Steven Eubank and Ashley Kaddatz

Lighthouse Fellowship, A Community of Faith – Nathaniel Briggs and Lauren Palmer

Mt. Zion, Waco – Whitney Betts and Alexis Jordan

Saginaw – Emily Owen

St. Luke, Corsicana – Rebecca Bennett

        In addition to providing financial support to undergraduates actively involved in their local church or campus ministry through such programs as the Rev. Dr. Karen Layman Gift of Hope Scholars Program, the Ethnic Minority Scholarship Fund, the HANA Scholars Program and the United Methodist Scholarship Fund, GBHEM reported it is encouraged by the increasing number of young seminarians receiving support through the Special Seminary Scholarship Program for seminarians 30 years old and under.

        Of the 400 seminarians enrolled this fall, 75 received scholarships from this endowed scholarship program, according to the report.

        How can you help create a brighter future for the church and the next generation of leaders?  Support students in your own congregation and contribute to the Special Sunday offerings that provide scholarships and loans for future students.

        Ninety percent of Student Day offerings – taken in November – go to GBHEM’s scholarship programs, while 10 percent is for student loans.  Each United Methodist-related college gets money from the offering for scholarships and each participating annual conference get 10 percent of Student Day receipts to award to their own Merit Scholars.  Only students from local churches that participate in the Student Day offering are eligible for the Merit Scholarships that are presented each June at the Central Texas Annual Conference.

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