When I became the Director of Financial Aid, one of my first projects was to become familiar with and update the scholarship records. I came across some pretty amazing stories behind many of our scholarships. One of these is the Randal Leslie Endowment Fund. In a phone conversation with Randal’s widow, Cheryl, she shared with me the “why” of this endowment. She told me when the Leslie children were small, she took care of managing the bills. One day, she called her husband to let him know that she was $40 short on their bills. They didn’t have the money to cover their bills and didn’t know how they would come up with the money. She told me that an unknown person put forty dollars in their mailbox just in time. They were overwhelmed and grateful for the gift and its timing.
It has always stuck with them that forty dollars may have been little to others but it meant so much to them. Therefore, they offer this gift to our CP and CPCA students every fall semester, as a means of encouragement while they are in seminary. This gift is a reminder of God’s timing and God’s grace. This gift doesn’t go towards tuition, it goes in the pocket of our students for gas, food or other incidentals that may come about. Today, Cheryl continues to support this endowment because of their heart for God, their love for MTS, and their love for our CP and CPCA students.
There are some exciting events related to financial leadership and ministry coming up this year. A few months ago, Faith & Money Network, an organization out of Washington D.C., reached out to Rev. Billy Vaughan, expressing their desire to share with seminarians the many biblical and practical revelations concerning money, faith and how it operates within the context of ministry and home. Because of the MTS program, Financial Leadership of Ministry (FLM), it made perfect sense for the seminary to engage in further dialogue and ultimately collaborate to create a course for our students.
In Spring 2020, the course, Financial Leadership for Ministry, will take a group of students to Germantown, MD for a week-long immersion trip that will train faith leaders regarding money in their own lives, money in the practice of ministry, money in the lives of others, and how we can work towards a world that works for everyone. If this course is of interest to you, please reach out to us and make sure to join us.
Rev. Fekecia Gunn,
Director of Financial Aid
