The 17th annual Heritage Golf Classic held August 24 at Big Spring Country Club raised more than $220,000 to help pay tuition for students at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and Boyce College.
Generous donors sponsored 108 golfers who played to raise money that is deposited directly into the Southern Fund and are deployed to underwrite the tuition costs of the students of Southern Seminary and Boyce College.
“It means a lot that we can have golf played to the glory of God,” President R. Albert Mohler Jr. said. “It will make a difference on the mission field and in the pulpits of our churches and places we will never go, places we’ll never see. That is absolutely glorious. What a great way to spend a day.”
Over the years this tournament has become legendary among local donors, seminary faculty, and the student body. This year was especially significant as thousands of students were welcomed back to campus for the fall 2020 semester.
“Nothing says ‘welcome back to campus’ more to our student body than, a week into class, 108 golfers and $220,000 being poured into the Southern Fund to help underwrite their tuition rates,” said Edward Heinze, vice president of institutional advancement at SBTS.
“On top of that, we had a brilliant day of weather, and a partner in Big Spring Country Club that we couldn’t ask for a better relationship with. They are delighted to serve us in this tournament and we are delighted to be on their property. It was a magnificent day in every sense of the word, especially so because we weren’t even certain a few months ago we’d even be able to have it.”
The highlight of the day came during the closing ceremony when a $5,000 scholarship in the name of Rick Bordas was given to Alex Morgan, a second-year master of divinity student at SBTS. Morgan and his wife, Danielle, moved to Louisville in 2019 to prepare for work in East Asia or another location in the 10-40 window. They served a one-year stint in East Asia prior to coming to SBTS.
Rick Bordas was a longtime friend of Southern Seminary who had a passion for seeing students theologically trained to take the gospel to local churches and to international mission fields. Upon his death in 2013, his family established a scholarship fund in his name to give his passion for the gospel an ongoing influence here at Southern.
“There are three parties at work in this gospel partnership,” Heinze said. “The Bordas Fund provides the scholarship, Southern Seminary provides the students and faculty, and the Lord develops pastors or missionaries to advance his kingdom. You cannot underestimate the blessing this scholarship is to the recipients each year. Today’s award marks $30,000 in scholarship awards since the fund’s inception.”