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Scholarship Info

Placerita Baptist Church Christian College/University Tuition Matching Scholarship

Matching Ministry Grant Policy

Matching Ministry Grant Application Form

Purpose:

The responsibility for providing a godly education to children is biblically commanded first to the parents (Deut.4:9; 6:7-8; 11:19; Eph. 6:4). While the local church is not given explicit responsibility for educating children, it is commanded to disciple the next generation of believers for Christ’s service (II Tim. 2:2; Tit. 2:1-8), and in this sense can provide a significant support role to church families. Churches typically support the family in this regardby providing a variety of specific children’s education programs including Sunday school, youth group, Awana, and in some cases K-12 Christian schools. The goal of this education process is to produce young adults who are committed to Christ, seek to live godly lives that honor Him, and equipped to serve Him in the advancement of His kingdom.

Unfortunately, it seems all too often the case that the educational investment made in children is lost (or at least putat great risk) at the point young people transition from the high school to the college educational setting. In point of fact, all secular and many “faith-based” colleges and universities actively seek to destroy or undermine the theological beliefs of their students. Many college faculty see the loss of faith as an important part of the process of becoming a truly educated person.

It is very appropriate for a local church to encourage young people to give strong consideration to attending a college that will continue to reinforce and develop the faith and theological understanding that the church has attempted to cultivate in the student through their childhood and adolescent years. Toward that end, PBC has established a Christian College/University Tuition Matching Scholarship fund. Currently, this fund is only available to assist toward covering the cost of tuition for enrollment in baccalaureate degree programs at The Master’s College. Scholarships will be awarded on a one year basis only, and individuals must reapply in order to be considered for re-award each subsequent year.

Minimum Qualifications:

An individual must meet the following minimum criteria to be considered for possible award of scholarship funds:

  • A current member of Placerita Baptist Church in good standing.
  • Professing believer who can clearly articulate his/her testimony.
  • Actively involved member of the PBC high school youth group for a minimum of 2 years.
  • Exhibits Christian characteristics of one who “… walks worthy of God…” (I Thess. 2:12) in daily life.
  • Plan to continue his/her attendance at and involvement in PBC enrolled at TMC.
     
     

Application & Award Process:

The process for application and consideration is as follows:

1. An applicant must complete and submit the PBC scholarship application to the PBC office no later than April 15th of the spring prior to the fall semester for which the tuition support is being requested. The initial application package includes the following items:

  • The PBC scholarship application form.
  • A copy of The Master’s College application form
  • A copy of each of the required TMC application essays

    Students who have received the scholarship in previous years will be required to update the information on their initial application form, and to submit a 500 word essay focusing on how their experience at TMC has benefited them in relation to their spiritual and academic growth.

2. Once submitted, the application form will be routed to the PBC youth pastor to verify the length and extent of the applicant’s involvement in the PBC high school youth program. The youth pastor will also be asked to comment on the applicant’s qualifications to receive the scholarship, and potential for success at TMC.

3. After the April 15th application deadline, all completed application packages will be forwarded to the Ministry Tuition Matching Scholarship (MTMS) committee. This committee will be composed of three PBC lay elders, two PBC deacons, and one PBC deaconess. Committee members may not have any relatives and/or close acquaintances among the applicants being considered. The committee will evaluate all applications packages, and develop a list of recommended scholarship awards based on the qualifications of the applicants, and the amount of funding available.

4. The scholarship committee’s list of recommended awards will be forwarded to the Elder board for discussion and approval during the May Elder’s Meeting.

5. By May 20th, the scholarship committee will notify each applicant about the amount of the tuition scholarship (if any) that he/she will be awarded for that coming school year. The scholarship committee will also complete a check request form to be submitted to the church treasurer for the awarded scholarship funds.

6. The scholarship committee will complete and submit to The Master’s College the TMC Ministry Matching Grant application along with a check no later than June 1st.

Funding for the Current Fiscal Year (2008):

The Elder board will take the following steps relating to funding and awarding the MTMS fund for the 2008-09 school year:

1. The board will establish the scholarship award committee to take leadership in identifying and notifying current and entering PBC TMC students who could qualify to receive scholarship funds for the 2008-09 school year.

2. The board will examine the current year budget to identify what current year budget line items can be reduced to provide up to $10,000 to the MTMS fund.

3. The board will make a series of announcements to the congregation about the establishment of the MTMS funds, and encourage interested individuals to provide additional gifts (designated to the fund, but not to individual applicants) to help increase the fund balance.

4. The scholarship committee will coordinate with TMC’s financial aid director to identify schedule deadlines that would enable PBC students to still receive the scholarship matching funds for the 2008-09 school year.

Funding for Subsequent Fiscal Years:

The Elder board will include a discussion of the amount of PBC general fund budget to allocate each year to the MTMS fund based an evaluation of the overall financial health of the church, and the potential number of scholarship recipients. The board will also attempt to raise the visibility and importance of this scholarship to the membership on a continuing basis with a goal to encourage designated gifts from individuals in the church to increase the overall fund amount.

 
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