The Rev. Robert Gibbs, a retired United Methodist Church administrator, built on his father’s legacy as a way of building on another: the development of future Christian ministers at Bethune-Cookman University.
Gibbs’ recent $200,000 gift will provide scholarships to B-CU students, particularly those majoring in religious studies or holding ministerial ambitions.
Bethune-Cookman has ties to the UMC dating to its founder, Mary McLeod Bethune, a Methodist who worked to desegregate the church as far back as the 1930s.
Gibbs − of Tallahassee − explained that his gift follows a more modest scholarship set up by his father, the Rev. McCoy Gibbs, about 20 years ago.
McCoy Gibbs, who died at age 100 in 2021, was a longtime United Methodist Church pastor, including at Morrison UMC in Leesburg. He served as a B-CU trustee for 26 years and was awarded an honorary doctorate from the school, while Robert Gibbs served on the B-CU board for about 12 years.
B-CU President Albert Mosley, who is an ordained Methodist minister himself, points to Gibbs’ endowment as an important way to inspire the next generation of faith leaders.
“This remarkable gift exemplifies the kind of visionary leadership we hope to see from our United Methodist clergy family,” Mosley said. “Rev. Gibbs has set a powerful example of how fellow clergy can make a lasting impact on theological education and student success.”
Mosley − who started as B-CU’s president on July 7 − is hoping the gift is the first of many dominos to fall.
“I invite my United Methodist clergy colleagues and laypersons to consider how they, too, can invest in the future of ministry through Bethune-Cookman University,” he said in the news release. “Whether through endowed scholarships, annual giving or planned gifts, every contribution helps ensure that B-CU continues to prepare servant leaders who will strengthen our churches and communities.”
Chris Newcomb, chair of the School of Religion at Bethune-Cookman, described the program as small but with two tracks: one for undergraduates and a master of arts program in Christian ministry.
Under the B-CU religious studies programs, students examine diverse religious traditions as well as philosophy and Christian ministry, including philosophical reasoning, ethics, and theology. There is skill-building, including critical thinking and challenging assumptions.
“And we really focus, especially at this undergrad level, on identifying common core values within all of these philosophies and religions and trying to establish common platforms for social action,” Newcomb said.
Graduates sometimes go to law school or seminary, with careers in law, social work, community organizing and military chaplaincy, Newcomb said.
Newcomb expressed gratitude for the “transformative and life-changing” Gibbs gift.
“That’s amazing to me,” he said. “It reflects a commitment to the importance of religious studies within a healthy society.”
Gibbs and his father also shared a desire to encourage young people to consider the career that meant so much to them.
“With my dad and myself both being United Methodist pastors,” he said, “we’re, you know, just concerned with clergy leadership in the church. And they don’t have to be Methodist. It could be any denomination. I know that it’s so important at an undergraduate level; that’s when many young men and women are making those decisions and feeling that call.”
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Retired United Methodist Church minister’s gift to B-CU will fund scholarships
Reporting by Mark Harper, Daytona Beach News-Journal / The Daytona Beach News-Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
