Thrive Graduates First Class

Twenty-one women marked a milestone this spring by making up the first graduating class of Thrive, the ministry wives certificate program launched two years ago.

Thrive includes eight courses, each eight weeks long, in a rotation that assures completion of the program regardless of when the student wife enters the program. Thrive is offered online through the NOBTS and Leavell College Flex program NOLA2U as well as through the in-class, on-campus experience in New Orleans. With the recently added Thrive+ component, student wives can satisfy the International Mission Board’s spouse requirement for service overseas.

Dr. Tara Dew (president’s wife) is the director. Heather Johnson is assistant director. Visit prepareher.com for details.

Caskey and Indiana Scholarships

Six new full-tuition scholarships for ministers serving in churches affiliated with the State Convention of Baptists in Indiana (SCBI) were announced this year by NOBTS and Leavell College’s Caskey Center for Church Excellence.

“The Caskey Center is thrilled to announce the addition of Indiana to the family of states where ministers of smaller membership Southern Baptist churches may receive a full-tuition scholarship to NOBTS and Leavell College,” said Mark Tolbert, director of the Caskey Center and professor of preaching and pastoral ministry at NOBTS. “A generous gift from an anonymous donor makes this incredible opportunity possible for those serving in normal size Southern Baptist churches.”

The Caskey Center will fund two full-tuition scholarships in Indiana for NOBTS and Leavell College undergraduate and graduate students for the Fall 2022 semester. Two scholarships will be added during the subsequent two Fall semesters, bringing the total number of Indiana scholarships to six. The scholarships are available to students serving as a bivocational minister or in a smaller membership (150 or less in worship) SCBI church.

Launched in 2014 through an anonymous gift in memory of the late Rev. Steve Caskey, the center provides resources and training through scholarships, conferences and research for smaller membership churches and bivocational ministers.

To apply for the scholarship, visit www.nobts.edu/caskeycenter.