In honor of Trustee Emeritus Mr. John Van Voorhis and his many years of service to the Seminary, the Board of Trustees voted in May 2018 to establish the John & Mildred Van Voorhis Endowed Scholarship to fund full-tuition need-based scholarships for full-time resident Divinity students.
Preliminary Background
After 24 years of service as an active Board member, Ruling Elder Mr. John Van Voorhis has graciously joined Dr. George W. Knight III and Pastor Randy Riddle as an Emeritus Trustee. Mr. Van Voorhis has been one of the Seminary’s strongest proponents for many years, serving on the Board since 1994 in several capacities. He has served as both Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Board for over two decades. He has also consistently and sacrificially served on the Administrative Committee of the Board, which is responsible for recommending strategy and personnel-related decisions to the Board as a whole.
Mr. Van Voorhis is the first graduate of Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary’s Master of Ministry for Ruling Elders (MMRE) program, and he currently serves on the Session of Covenant Community Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Taylors, SC. However, his history of Presbyterian churchmanship and involvement in Christian education goes back 57 years, to 1961.
John & Mildred “Millie” Van Voorhis
Reflecting on his vast and varied experienced as a Presbyterian churchman, Mr. Van Voorhis testifies, “I have found, to no one’s surprise, that no denomination is perfect, but it has been a great joy to serve in Christ’s Kingdom for 57 years as an elder, and for 25 years on the Board of Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary.”
When asked for a statement of reflection on his time of service to the Seminary, Mr. Van Voorhis warmly recalled,
“It has been a tremendous blessing and encouragement to me to sit under the instruction of Dr. Morton Smith and other good men, and then to become a part of a Board which has been fully committed to the Reformed faith since Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary had its onset. As I leave my active participation on the Board, I am greatly encouraged by the godliness and quality of my fellow Board members, in whose hands I feel confident of God’s continued blessing in future years.”
For more information about Mr. Van Voorhis, his family, and his service to both Church and Seminary, please click here.
Purpose
In honor of Mr. Van Voorhis’s many years of service to the Seminary, the Board of Trustees voted to establish the John & Mildred Van Voorhis Endowed Scholarship to fund full-tuition need-based scholarships for full-time resident Divinity students.
Plan
This endowed scholarship fund will provide need-based full-tuition scholarships to full-time resident students in the Divinity (MDiv or BD) program. All students who have completed their first year of study will be considered.
Upon being awarded the scholarship, recipients must maintain full-time status through to the completion of their degree, remain in residence as long as they receive the scholarship, and hold membership in a Reformed or Presbyterian congregation.
Partnership
To support the John & Mildred Van Voorhis Endowed Scholarship Fund, please either make your contribution through the form below, send a gift to GPTS, PO Box 690, Taylors, SC 29687, or call the Seminary’s Advancement Office at 864.322.2717. For more information about the scholarship and/or the fund, please contact advancement@gpts.edu or call the Seminary’s Advancement Office at 864.322.2717.
