Applications are now open for the 2023 Australian Union Conference (AUC) Women in Pastoral Ministry Scholarship Fund.
The AUC established the Women in Pastoral Ministry Scholarship Fund (WiPM) to provide financial assistance to female ministry and theology students enrolled at Avondale University and Mamarapha College.
There is a limited number of scholarships available for up to four years of full-time equivalent study for the Bachelor of Ministry and Theology Degree (BMinTh) and the Advanced Diploma of Indigenous Pastoral Ministry (AdvDipIPM) and up to two years of full-time study for the Master of Ministry (MMin) students.
“This year we awarded five scholarships and were blessed to hear the stories of all the women that had applied. God is indeed calling women into pastoral ministry and it’s a privilege that we can support them in their studies through the AUC scholarship,” said AUC associate ministerial secretary and director of Sabbath school and stewardship Pastor Lyndelle Peterson.
The WiPM Scholarship has affirmed and encouraged women from around Australia to undertake theological training, allowing them to be equipped for pastoral ministry in the local church.
Hadassah Leibke, a first-year Bachelor of Theology/Ministry student, explained, “receiving the Women in Pastoral Ministry Scholarship was the perfect answer from God to say I was in the right place at the right time. It has given me the chance to discover how God wants me to serve Him and given me a glimpse of His true calling for me.”
“As an inaugural recipient of the AUC woman’s scholarship it has been an affirmation of my call to ministry and recognition of how God gifts all for His work,” said Natasha Sua, Bachelor of Theology/Ministry graduate.
“It has relieved the stress of financial worries and helped in focusing my efforts on study and ministry. The mentor attached with the scholarship has really added value, advice, and supportive prayer.”
“I love that my mentor was able to feed into the specific needs of a women in ministry. It has been such a blessing and it will also be for the next recipients,” she added.
For more information about the WiPM Scholarship and to apply, please visit aucministerial.org/wipmscholarship/. Applications close on January 31, 2023.
