Board of Ministerial Education

Gary Shows, President
Kendall Moore, Vice President
Ruthie Courtney, Secretary

The Board of Ministerial Education provided $330,990 in direct ministerial aid to 200 undergraduate ministerial students on the Blue Mountain College, Mississippi College, and William Carey University campuses during the 2006-2007 academic year. These students are interviewed by Board members, recommended by their pastors, and qualified through the Board of Ministerial Education’s application process in order to receive this assistance. All students who receive ministerial aid have made a public commitment to Southern Baptist ministry through their local church, home, or foreign missions. Forty-seven of these students graduated this year. The Mississippi Baptist Convention has invested a total of $234,810 in these graduates, averaging $4,996 per student over a twenty-seven month enrollment period.

The Board of Ministerial Education also administers six scholarship funds which are in trust with the Mississippi Baptist Foundation. Annual scholarship awards are made to deserving ministerial students from the interest on these funds. The Board added a total of $40,300 this year to the principal of five of these scholarships to increase the income generated by them.

One of the privileges of membership on the Board of Ministerial Education is the opportunity to personally interview the ministerial students who apply for assistance. The Board often receives letters from these students expressing appreciation for the financial assistance provided. We received this letter from one student earlier this year… “Thank you so much for blessing me with a monthly ministerial aid check. It has enabled me to minister more efficiently and pay my bills. I work at a small country church and am not paid. You have been a tremendous blessing to me and you will never know this side of Heaven how many lives you have touched.”

Approximately 94.4% of the Board of Ministerial Education’s annual budget goes to meet student needs. We thank the Mississippi Baptist Convention for the privilege of serving these students through the Board of Ministerial Education.

Information from the 2007 Book of Reports

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