Beginning in 2020, Welch College will begin offering significant scholarship packages of up to $10,000 per year for new students called to preaching ministries, according to Dr. Barry Raper, Coordinator of Ministry Programs at Welch.
“We at Welch are looking for new ways to engage young men who are sensing a divine call to preaching ministry in a local church context,” Raper said. “Often there are significant financial impediments to such students to immerse themselves in educational preparation for ministry. These scholarships are intended to identify high school students who have noted potential for leadership and service to the church and give them the resources they need to fulfill God’s calling.”
The scholarships, which will be for up to $10,000 per year or $40,000 for a four year bachelor’s degree program, will be limited to new and transfer students, beginning in 2020, who are members in good standing of a Free Will Baptist church and who intend to live on campus, major in Pastoral Ministry or Youth and Family Ministry, and move toward eventual ordination. Scholarship applications will require an essay on the student’s vocational ministry goals and a recommendation from an ordained Free Will Baptist minister.
“With demographic changes in our secularizing society, there are fewer young men who are answering the call to gospel ministry,” said Welch president Matt Pinson. “Often those who have answered the call to ministry attend lower-cost community colleges and eventually fail to fulfill their goal of ministry education, or they are dissuaded completely from a ministerial vocation.”
“Welch features a tremendous program of ministry preparation that receives high marks from students and recent graduates,” Pinson continued. “Our aim is to find creative new ways to open up conversations with young men about ministry formation and how they can affordably realize their dream of training for the ministry of the Word.”
“We’re renewing our efforts to reach out to pastors, youth pastors and leaders, and laypeople who can tell us about young men in their congregation who are gifted and qualified for ministry or are sensing a divine call to preach,” Raper said. “We would love to hear from prospective students interested in more information about Welch and these new scholarships, or people interested in recommending a potential student.”
For more information, or to refer a prospective student, please contact Enrollment Services director Daniel Webster at dwebster@welch.edu.