A new bursary will make it possible for students who volunteer with Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) to receive financial help for their higher education.
Learning how to live out a life of service has come traditionally from home, church and, for some, through studies in Anabaptist colleges and universities. However, the opportunity to attend college and university is sometimes limited due to financial challenges.
One committed donor who desires to prepare leaders for the church and embraces the value of hands-on service has developed a bursary program to help students meet financial costs for their education.
The donor is providing a bursary for up to 10 students per year who serve multiple weeks with Mennonite Disaster Service and are engaged in full-time ministry studies. The bursary provides up to 85 percent tuition to either Columbia Bible College (CBC) or Canadian Mennonite University (CMU).
Recently, when working on a MDS project with a group of high school students from British Columbia, the donor, who wishes to remain anonymous, heard the students say they would consider attending CBC or CMU if finances allowed.
The donor decided that removing this potential barrier was a creative way to nudge these students towards Anabaptist education and ministry vocations. But he also wanted the support to be conditional on their significant service through MDS.
“Well, I thought we could very easily influence where they might attend,” the donor said recently. “With CBC and CMU being Anabaptist schools it became fairly obvious what needed to be done to get them to those schools.”
“It’s two-fold, one is for MDS workers to consider going to an Anabaptist school and the converse to that is people going to school becoming used to doing the compassionate work and starting a career in being compassionate towards people,” he said. “Really [service] is in response to the grace that Jesus showed us by dying for us.”
Mennonite Disaster Service supports the bursary. “We are thrilled that a committed MDS volunteer would offer such a holistic and well-rounded opportunity for young people. We are only too happy to work with our schools in making this possible!” commented Janet Plenert, director of MDS Canadian operations. “The service of these volunteers will touch many lives and nurture hope, faith and wholeness in Canada and the U.S.”
The schools are behind the concept as well. “As chair of the CMU Awards Committee, I am always looking for ways to help students pay for their education. Having this bursary, which can provide 85 percent of a student’s tuition costs, is phenomenal,” says Lois Nickel, director of enrollment at CMU in Winnipeg, Man. “MDS helps rebuild lives and homes—a mission that is consistent with CMU’s emphasis on peace and justice, and practical learning. The requirements of this bursary—volunteering and ministry-focus study—are a perfect fit for MDS and CMU.”
“Columbia students often rely on the generosity of donors who enable them to explore their calling and live out their faith in very powerful and practical ways,” affirms Melanie Olfert, director of admissions at Columbia Bible College, in Abbottsford, B.C.
“I am extremely pleased with this bursary, and am thrilled for the lives that will be shaped through the ministry they will have with MDS and Columbia Bible College. What an encouragement to see people pouring into the ministry and leadership of the next generation,” Olfert said.
Youth help build a Mennonite Disaster Service house at Mennonite World Conference assembly. A new bursary will help youth who have volunteered with MDS pay for their studies. (Photo by Dale D. Gehman for Meetinghouse)
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