ABCRM Pastoral Scholarship

ABCRM Pastoral Scholarship

Guidelines for the Church of the Master Endowment

Background

The Church of the Master closed its doors in 2008, most of its membership joining with First Baptist Church of Denver. As the church closed, it worked closely with Dr. Slayden Yarbrough, Interim Pastor, to prayerfully direct the remaining assets towards ministries that the remaining membership would feel good about and would bless the memory and the work of Church of the Master through the years. The church gave their directions for distribution of these funds to The American Baptist Foundation to administer until the funds no longer exist. It is expected that these funds will provide annual revenue for the specified projects for a number of years.

One proposal that was made and accepted by the congregation was to provide money to the region to provide significant scholarships for clergy to attend continuing education and mission experience events. The core idea was that numerous pastors do not participate in significant continuing education opportunities or participate in mission encounter trips like those sponsored by the Region’s Mission Committee because of a lack of funds. While some scholarships are available nationally, these are usually limited grants of $300 or less.

Dispersal of Funds

These funds are dispersed under the direction of a sub-committee of the Region Board made up of the following: The President of the Region, The Chair of the Ministerial Leadership Committee, The Chair of the Mission Committee, The Treasurer of the Region and The Executive Minister of the Region. Funds are awarded on a first come, first serve basis with the committee meeting by phone or other technology when Grant applications are received. Grant applications will be submitted through the Region Office and forwarded to the President of the Region, who shall chair this committee.

Grants will be made first to individual leaders for learning events of a significant nature. To be eligible to receive these grants, the applicant must be listed in the Region’s Professional Registry. There will be some expectation for individual financial contribution to the learning event as well as an expectation that the church or ministry served by the applicant contribute as well. Individual grants will be limited to a maximum amount of $2,000 or 75% of the anticipated cost of the event, whichever is the lesser amount. Written reports of the learnings from a given event and the use of the money will be required from each successful grant applicant within 60 days of the completion of the event. Recipients may be asked to share their learnings with colleagues at area or regional events. The total of grants received by any given recipient in a three year period shall not exceed $2,000. Region staff shall not be eligible for these grants.

Grants can be made secondarily to a Region Committee or Task force that is conducting a continuing education event primarily aimed at Professional Church Leaders. The grant committee will take into account the relative impact of the proposed event for the Region as a whole and other funding that may be available for the proposed project. The maximum grant for projects of this nature shall be $2,000 or 50% of the anticipated cost of the event. Total grants to projects of this kind shall not exceed 1/3 of the available funds in a given year.

ABCRM – Church of the Master Pastoral Scholarship Grant Application

Pastors Name:
Contact
Information: / Address:
Phone: / (H) / (C)
E-Mail
Church:
Moderator or
Other Contact:
Amount of
Request / Amount Applicant
Will Provide:
Amount Church
Will Provide:
Projected
Total Cost: / Percentage of Total
Cost Provided By Above:
(Please Provide Documentation of Projected Costs on Separate Sheet)
Brief Description of Event or
Continuing Education To Be Funded:
(Please Provide A More Complete Description on Separate Sheet)

ABCRM-Church of the Master Agreement

By applying for the ABCRM – Church of the Master Scholarship, I agree to utilize any funds granted specifically for the project or event described in this application. I understand that I will be expected to provide a written report of my learnings and/or experiences from the event within 60 days of completion of the event. This report will be sent to the Regional Executive Minister for distribution to the grant committee, Board and other interested individuals.

Should I be asked, I will do my best to share this experience and/or learnings with groups within the Region. I understand that there is no expectation on the part of the Region to reimburse additional expenses incurred in sharing these learnings with other groups.

I have visited with my church and have secured their agreement for my participation in the event as well as to provide financial resources for the event.

Should the significant changes to the above plan be necessary, I will contact the Executive Minister of ABCRM detailing those changes for approval prior to the event. Should the Region provide funds for this event, I understand that they are not agreeing to assume any other liability for the experience.

Pastor or Professional Church Leader / Date
Church Moderator or Other Authorized Signer / Date