Glory Scholarship Fund
Designed for students with a financial need who live by moral Christian principles. The student is recommended by a college president, high school principal or counselor, pastor.
In twenty two years, our church has given over $468,000 in scholarship funds aiding hundreds of students to further their education. The scholarships are presented at the Annual Banquet.
We believe these students will be the moral leaders who will demonstrate the leadership and character this country needs and is looking for.
The Glory Scholarship Program was officially started in 1985. We have been blessed with awarding over $468,000 to students with a financial need that live by moral Christian principles.
The students are selected by participating college presidents, a high school principal or counselor, a church Pastor, or someone on our Scholarship Committee. We give this information reverently, not to bring any glory to ourselves, nor to condemn in any manner. We know that if every church would give one scholarship per year to their Christian students, we wouldn't need the federal government or a state lottery to fund scholarships. Our monies come from an annual Scholarship Awards Banquet, donations, and several ago we started The Glory Celebrity Golf Tournament.
We have been blessed with some dynamic keynote Banquet Speakers each year: Governor Joe Frank Harris was our initial Banquet speaker; St. Sen. Nathan Dean, along with other key Legislators, and Pastors took part in this event. Other speakers included: First Lady Elizabeth Harris, Gov. Zell Miller, then Lt. Governor; Speaker Tom Murphy, GA House of Rep; Judge Dorothy Beasley, GA Court of Appeals; Steve Bartkowski, former quarterback of the Atlanta Falcons; Rev. Danny May, Pennsylvania State Overseer, Church of God; Eldrin Bell, former Chief of Police in Atlanta; Gov. Roy Barnes, then St. Repres., and Ray Goff, former head Football Coach, Univ. of Georgia; Mayor Marguerite Cline; St Rep. Calvin Smyre, Chairman of the Rules Committee; and Randy Thompson, Thompson Honda of Cartersville,- Chairman of the Board Cartersville Chamber,Actor Tom Clark.
Six years ago, we started an Inspirational Night preceding the banquet for all essay presentations. The winner receives an additional scholarship. Several years ago, we started the Mary E. Beavers/Bethel Wheeler Scholarship Award. We have a local Scholarship Committee and an Atlanta Scholarship Committee that meets three times from January until the banquet in May/June.
The event started was with a Pastor's Appreciation. In our small rural Baptist Church, we would always have the Pastor an Appreciation on his Anniversary, and the proceeds were given to the Pastor just to say "Thank you," for another year. As a Pastor, this would be a time to get the wife a new dress or the kids something new. It was a special event at our church, the New Hope Baptist Church. The previous years celebrations was held at the Chapel Hill Harvester Church, where Archbishop Earl Paulk is the Pastor. The event was arranged by Sharalee Lucas, the wife of the All-American Basketball Star, Jerry Lucas, and a member of the Chapel Hill Harvester Church. She was also a co-host on the 700 Club with Dr. Pat Roberson. She was instrumental in getting the 700 Club to come to the GA State Capitol to do a testimony on me. I didn't know that having a black Baptist Pastor as an Executive Assistant to the Governor of GA was something rare in the Christian community. During a later conversation, she stated, "Why don't you have your Pastor's Appreciation at the Chapel Hill Harvester Church, and we will have a gala affair?" Gov. & Mrs. Joe Frank Harris were the Keynote Speakers; Ben Kinchlow and his assistant came in from the 700 Club. Many key legislators and pastors from across the State blessed us with their presence. Archbishop Earl Paulk at the Chapel Hill Harvester Church, hosted us so graciously. My Daddy, Robert Beavers, brought his cooker in from Cartersville, and we had hot, grilled T-Bone steaks, so tender you could cut them with plastic forks. The singers were anointed. The speakers were dynamic. Yes, it was a gala, heavenly affair.