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By Elliott Wright
May 9, 2019 | ATLANTA

One hundred six students from 31 countries will receive study grants totaling $585,817 for the 2019-20 academic year from the United Methodist General Board of Global Ministries. Forty-one are new scholarship recipients. 

At Candler School of Theology, Emory University in Atlanta, this stained glass cross is a prominent feature of the Wesley Teaching Chapel. PHOTO: KATHLEEN BARRY, UMNS.

The mission agency annually awards stipends for graduate and undergraduate study in the denomination’s four areas of focus: leadership development, congregational development, ministry with the poor and global health. Multiyear support helps students complete study programs and assume productive professional roles in church and society.

For next year, the agency is awarding 25 leadership grants totaling $95,680.00; 51 for congregational development, $310,990; 11 for ministry with the poor, $61,562.00 and 20 for global health, $117,585.00.

New scholars include:

  • Batbold Erdenbat, from Mongolia, will study languages at Khuree University there. Erdenbat is a young man raised in the Chingeltei United Methodist Church in Ulaanbaatar, a part of the Mongolia Mission Initiative. He is a basketball enthusiast who began his education through Vacation Bible School.
  • Leah Wandera, originally from Kenya, is pursuing a master’s degree in specialized ministry at Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University, in Dallas, Texas. Wandera, a commissioned deaconess, anticipates her ministry will relate to women and girls.
  • Joao Filimone Sambo, from Mozambique, is studying for a Ph.D. degree in practical theology at the University of Pretoria in South Africa, with the hope of teaching. He received his basic degree in theology from Candler School of Theology, Emory University, in Atlanta.
  • Sarah Bless Sanchez, from the Philippines, is a candidate for a doctorate in clinical psychology at the University of Santo Tomas, in Manila. Sanchez looks forward to a career in counseling and teaching; she grew up in The United Methodist Church.

Scholarship funds come from a variety of sources, including the churchwide World Communion Sunday Offering, endowments and the agency’s general budget. More scholarships are granted in the congregational development category because there are more designated endowments for that area of study.

The 2019-20 study grants were approved by Global Ministries’ directors at their semiannual meeting in mid-April.

Wright is the information consultant for Global Ministries.

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