RICHMOND, Va. — The Virginia Baptist Foundation has awarded grants totaling $20,000 to four Virginia Baptist ministry partners, according to Ronald C. Hall, president and CEO of the Foundation.
“This ministry is made possible through the Christian stewardship of others,” said Hall. “We remain both humbled and indebted to them for their example of faith and giving.”
The following ministries were named as 2011 grant recipients:
• The Blue Ridge Baptist Association for the purpose of helping to defray the cost of the BRBA’s 2011 Impact Virginia ministry efforts. Blue Ridge association is a fellowship of about 22 churches in Carroll, Floyd, and Patrick counties.
• Bluefield College for the purpose of helping to defray the cost of the college’s 2011 Impact Virginia ministry efforts in Mercer and Tazewell counties.
• The James River Baptist Association for the purpose of helping to defray the cost of the JRBA’s 2011 Impact Virginia ministry efforts. James River association is a fellowship of about 21 churches in Buckingham and Cumberland counties.
• The Shiloh Baptist Association for the purpose of helping to defray the cost of the SBA’s 2011 Impact Virginia ministry efforts in the Culpeper community. The Shiloh association is a fellowship of about 30 churches in Culpeper, Madison and Rappahannock counties.
In addition to these grant dollars, the Foundation designated a distribution of $21,000 from the John Burford Watson Charitable Trust of Bedford, Va., for the following purposes:
• To the Nazareth Evangelical Seminary in Israel for scholarships for students returning to minister in the Sudan.
• To Bob & Celia Munson working with special needs children and their families in the Philippines.
• To the Ghana Baptist Convention for a unique evangelical strategy of purchasing 1,000 nets to combat malaria in the northern region (a partnership with the Beale Memorial Baptist Church in Tappahannock, Va.).
• To the Haiti Baptist Convention to aid in the recovery efforts following the January 2010 earthquake.
• To the Obed Day Center in Romania for a new preschool program to eradicate illiteracy and improve educational opportunities for gypsy children.
“The grant program has been made possible by the generosity of Virginia Baptists who dedicated both their lives and their resources to the Lord’s work,” said E. Stuart Crow, chair of the Foundation’s board of trustees. “These grants provide funds to ministries in Virginia and around the world. We at the Foundation take seriously our charge to manage and disburse these entrusted funds and we give thanks and praise to God for this opportunity.”
Grant applications for 2012 will be available on the Foundation’s website (www.vbfinc.org) in November 2011.