In 2009, I found myself sitting in a busy café in Nairobi, Kenya, chatting with the founder of GlobalEd Institute, Dr. Irving Whitt. At the time, I was serving as the president of Pan Africa Christian College. We discussed how students training for ministry would often knock on our doors, pleading for help to pay for their tuition expenses.
They desired to answer God’s call but struggled to afford sound biblical training.
Out of that conversation, we founded the “Timothy Fund.” Over the past 14 years, this scholarship program has financially assisted 2,450 students to become active ministers of the gospel. In 2022 alone, through your generosity, we provided 309 scholarships to students called to serve.
Being reminded of how the apostle Paul trained young Timothy to pastor the church in Ephesus, we named it the “Timothy” fund. Yet it is much more than just a scholarship; rather it is an eternal investment in advancing the kingdom of God, especially to the least reached places around the world.
In Egypt, our partner school, the Middle East Evangelical Theological Seminary (MEETS) is dedicated to fulfilling this mandate in one of the most predominantly Muslim regions worldwide. With six branches and 450 students, this Pentecostal seminary is becoming the premier equipping school for North Africa and the Middle East.
This past summer, I travelled to the capital city of Egypt, Cairo, to meet with the seminary’s leaders. With so many desiring to train for ministry, we want to help as many students with their theological training as possible.
I also visited with a Timothy Fund recipient and a dear friend of mine, Rafeek Malaty. I’ve known Rafeek since 2015 when I first saw his Timothy Fund application. I quickly realized that he was a gifted young man and a sincere follower of Jesus.
I’ve had the privilege of mentoring Rafeek over the years. Today, Rafeek is involved in a growing ministry in Egypt—reaching youth for Jesus. He’s also studying for our newly launched Graduate Certificate in Youth Ministry. I’d like him to share a bit of his story with you:
I grew up as a pastor’s kid since age eight. With my dad as my role model, I became passionate about ministry. I attended LCC International University in Lithuania, a Christian liberal arts school. I remember calling my dad at one point, saying, “I can’t afford to keep going to school.” I then discovered the Timothy Fund scholarship program. After applying and becoming a recipient, I completed my studies!
As the current youth director at my church, I minister to on average 60 teens each week with over 250 youth attending our summer camps. Recently, I’ve been seeing more young people desire to do ministry. One of the most amazing moments for me was seeing two of our youth join YWAM in Kenya—an experience that literally changed their lives.
God is doing a wonderful work in and through Rafeek and his youth group. Our hope is that some of these teens will one day train at MEETS to become pastors and missionaries to North Africa and the Middle East.
Nonetheless, Rafeek is just one example of hundreds of young people desiring to prepare for fruitful ministry. Many are still anxiously waiting for a scholarship. This is why we’re launching “More than Just a Scholarship” campaign—to provide 150 scholarships for next year.
As our valued partner, would you invest in these students so that they can reach more people for Jesus? With a donation of $600, you can fund a student’s tuition for an entire year. Or consider a monthly gift of $50 to provide a yearly scholarship.
Let’s continue advancing God’s kingdom to the least reached places around the world!
Pray for more students to train for ministry.
So many people haven’t heard about Jesus. In fact, more than 3.3 billion around the world haven’t. We need more leaders to be equipped to share the gospel.
Pray for our Bible colleges to receive more provision.
Our partner Bible colleges are doing such important work, training students for ministry. They need more resources, such as scholarships, to continue to make this happen.
Pray for North Africa and the Middle East.
Being almost entirely Muslim, this region is in desperate need of a Christian witness. We need to hear and see more of God at work in this part of the world.