(Nashville, TN)-The largest Black church in the Southeast has announced that it will more than double the amount of scholarships given to college students across the country. Mount Zion Baptist Church will offer $100,000 in paid scholarships to students attending any accredited college or university in the country.
Fifty (50) students will be awarded scholarships of $2,000 each. In recent years, the church awarded $40,000 annually in scholarships to qualifying students. The scholarship program began as an effort to bridge the gap for students who may be on the purge list at their college or university to ensure they were able to stay in school. Since 2005, Mount Zion has awarded more than $300,000 in college scholarships.
The increase in scholarship grants was made possible after Mount Zion recently achieved its goal of becoming a debt free ministry, thanks to the faithful commitment of the congregation and effective stewardship of the leadership, even amid a global pandemic.
“Having reached debt free status, we have heightened our focus on outreach and being an oasis of hope for our communities,” said Bishop Joseph W. Walker, III, Senior Pastor. “For the past 16 years, Mount Zion has been committed to empowering the next generation to discover and pursue their God-given purpose and continue to strive for excellence in their academics,” said Walker.
Scholarship winners will be announced during the annual College Sunday at Mount Zion’s Old Hickory Boulevard location on November 14 at 11:15 a.m. The service is open to the public and will also be live streamed on Facebook and YouTube. Since its inception, Mount Zion’s College Sunday has been a national worship service, attracting thousands of students from across the country while highlighting various aspects of collegiate life as well as awarding scholarships to deserving students. It is the marquee event of the College Ministry which is designed to bridge the gap between culture and Christianity through year-long provision of transportation to worship services, meals and on-campus faith-based programming. The theme for College Sunday 2021 is “Collide.”
“This year’s theme represents the idea of the point of change. The point where collision occurs between who you used to be and who you are becoming. It symbolizes the newness that occurs coming out of a transition,” said Bishop Walker. “Our prayer is that students everywhere will be able to achieve their greatest potential without the burden of worrying about finances or support and it is Mount Zion’s mission to help them get there.”
College Sunday 2021 will feature a performance by a special guest multiple Grammy-award winning gospel artist as well as a College Choir made of up students from across the Middle Tennessee region and more.
Scholarship application is available here. The deadline to apply is October 22, 2021. Watch the Mount Zion College Ministry 2021 Impact Scholarship Challenge video here.