Students at Samford University and Beeson Divinity School will benefit from three new scholarship funds recently established at the college.
South Roebuck Baptist Church, Birmingham, recently gave $25,000 to endow the Herschel H. Hobbs Scholarship for students in the department of biblical and religious studies at Samford. South Roebuck pastor Gary Fisher and church deacons presented a check to Gary Fenton, Samford advancement officer.
Hobbs, a native Alabamian, served as president of the Southern Baptist Convention and is known for his quarterly adult Sunday School commentaries. A native Alabamian, Hobbs is considered one of the great statesmen of SBC history. He served as president of the Southern Baptist Convention, preacher on the Baptist Hour and chair of the committee that prepared the 1963 Baptist Faith and Message. Hobbs is also known for the quarterly adult Sunday School commentaries he wrote for many years.
South Roebuck Baptist Church has a long history of being a strong missions-supporting congregation through giving to SBC missions and missionaries and providing funding for scholarship for student preparing for the ministry, Fenton said in a statement. The church’s gift in memory of Hobbs will be used to prepare future generations of minister to preach and proclaim the gospel, Fenton said.
Smith and Gladney honored
Beeson Divinity School announced the establishment of the Robert Smith Jr. Scholarship in honor of longtime faculty member Robert Smith Jr. for his more than 20 years at Beeson and his more than 50 years of preaching ministry.
Smith holds the Charles T. Carter Baptist Chair of Divinity at Beeson, where he teaches Christian preaching. He has preached in many Alabama Baptist churches, as well as at the annual meeting of the Alabama Baptist State Convention and the SBC Pastors Conference. This scholarship will provide significant financial assistance to outstanding applicants who are called to preaching ministry, Fenton said.
Beeson Divinity School also announced the endowment of the Robert E. Gladney Jr. Scholarship in recognition of Gladney’s ministry to Alabama Baptist churches. Gladney recently retired as executive pastor of Central Baptist Church, Decatur, having previously served similar roles at Spring Hill Baptist Church, Mobile; Dawson Memorial Baptist Church, Birmingham; and First Baptist Church, Jackson, Mississippi.
Individuals and churches may contribute to any of these scholarship funds.
To contribute to the Herschel H. Hobbs Scholarship, send gifts to: Samford University Advancement Office, Att. Gary Fenton, 800 Lakeshore Drive, Birmingham, AL 35229. Click here for more information.
To contribute to the Beeson Divinity School scholarships, send gifts to: Beeson Divinity School Advancement Office, Samford University, 800 Lakeshore Drive, Birmingham, AL 35229. Click here for more information.
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