Preministerial Scholars Program

Samford University's Preministerial Scholars program exists to equip young ministers for personal, spiritual, and professional excellence in ministry leadership. Biblical and Religious Studies majors who are accepted into Preministerial Scholars receive and engage in the following:

A $3,000 stipend that can be used to help fund ministry opportunities like:
Mission trips
Ministry conferences
Ministry internships
Three ministry internships with on-site mentoring and personal mentoring with the Preministerial Scholars Coordinator. This experience has consistently received superior reviews by students. The internships are customized to the student’s current ministry interests. In addition to semester-long internships, students can choose one summer ministry experience. We have participated with nearly 200 ministry and mission sites in Birmingham and across the world. Students benefit with extensive internship experience as they pursue post-graduation ministry positions.
Participation in two Cadres led by Dr. James Barnette and the Biblical and Religious Studies faculty. The Fall Semester Cadre is for first-time Preministerial Scholars, and the Spring Cadre is open to all Preministerial Scholars and covers areas of spiritual growth in ministry. Students receive convocation credit for attending the Cadres.

All application materials and recommendations are due no later than December 1. Decisions of the Biblical and Religious Studies Department are final.

Eligibility

Prospective Students

Prospective students are encouraged to apply to the program.

Sense of calling

Applicants must have a sense of calling to full-time ministry in one of the following church-related vocations: senior pastor, associate pastor, church administrator, minister of education, age group minister, music and worship minister, career missionary, hospital chaplain, campus minister, pastoral/family counselor, seminary/religion professor, bivocational senior pastor, church-related social worker, justice ministry, church-related nonprofits, or Christian media/journalism.

Biblical and Religious Studies major

Applicants must commit to a Biblical and Religious Studies major.

Requirements for admission

Applicants must meet all requirements for admission to Samford University and must be admitted at the time of any official announcement of award.

Leadership

Applicants must demonstrate leadership inclination or capacity, energy, industry and self-reliance in extracurricular activities.

Highest moral standards

Applicants must represent the highest moral and ethical standards and principles.

Timeline

December 1, 2019

Completed application materials and recommendations deadline

March, 2020

Preministerial Scholars announced

May 1, 2020

Preministerial Scholars confirmation deadline

Application

To apply for scholarships, you must have an online Samford account. If you've started your Samford/Common App admission application, you can apply for scholarships using the same login information. If you haven't started an admission application, please log in as a new user.

Apply

Internships

Preministerial Internships

Preministerial students participate in 3 internships. Internships involve regular hours of service in a local church, church-related mission organization, church related non-profit, or through the Samford Sunday preaching program. Students also have the option of doing internships during the summer. Students gain experience in ministry settings that are customized to expose them to their areas of interest.

Mentor Introduction

One of the unique characteristics of the Preministerial Internship is the commitment of the mentors to invest in the student intern’s life. The mentor relationship is the key to the success of the program. Through the evaluations and mentor feedback, it is apparent that the mentors often benefit as much as the student. Mentors agree to spend at least thirty minutes a week with the intern. This time is set aside weekly for ministry evaluation, planning, relationship building, and spiritual formation.

Become a Partner

Samford University seeks out new Preministerial Mentoring Partners each semester. If you are interested in becoming a mentor, please download the Mentor Application and return to Preministerial Scholars at Samford University. Students are paired in ministry settings of their interest. We cannot guarantee we will have an intern to fill each request we receive. However, we do have new interns seeking placements each semester.