The Stephen Cungura Scholarship is a full SNGM scholarship towards our full Gap Year or Mission Corp residency programs.
The Stephen Cungura Scholarship was established in 2022 by SALT Next Gen Ministries to provide financial support for students from diaspora communities - particularly from refugee communities - who sense God's call on their lives to be trained and sent as gospel workers among the nations. Recipients of this scholarship have all financial costs of our Gap Year or Mission Corp program underwritten so that finances will not be a limiting factor for those who qualify.
SNGM has seen tremendous fruit in our time serving among the refugee communities of Southeast Nashville. As our students and our ministry team has faithfully served and loved their neighbors well, we have been blessed to see extraordinary growth in the faith of young men and women within the refugee community as well as countless committing their lives as followers of Christ, which often comes at a cost that as Americans will never experience. It leaves us with a great burden as we recognize the call and capability of so many of the next generation of refugees to bring the Gospel back to their own people. However, time and time again, we see the inability for these refugees to raise the funds needed to go through any of our programs.
This was certainly the case for Stephen Cungura, a young Congolese refugee, who was being discipled by members of our ministry team in Nashville. Stephen, as early as 14 years old, felt the call to be a missionary with a desire to be trained and sent back to the Congo so that he could boldly share the love of Christ with his people. Tragically, at age of 16 while practicing for his driver's license test, Stephen was shot and killed by a gang member in a case of mistaken identity in Laverne, Tennessee. Our intent is to honor God's work in Stephen, and those like him, through the Stephen Cungura Scholarship fund. Stephen was just one example of the many young men and women who SNGM has been able to see grow in both their faith as well as in their desire to bring the Gospel back to their people. As SNGM seeks to train and send the next generation to reach the nations with the Gospel, we understand that many, such as in Stephen’s case, do not have the resources to afford some of the programs that we offer.
APPLICATIONS FOR COMING FALL SEMESTER MUST BE SUBMITTED BY MAY 31
Eligibility
Applicants of the Stephen Cungura Scholarship must:
be a young man or woman between the ages of 16-26
be a member of a diaspora community, i.e., be an individual or a member of a family that is a first generation immigrant, refugee, or asylum-seeker
be a devoted follower of Jesus who desires to be trained and is willing to be sent to take the Gospel to those who need to hear it most
have applied and have been accepted into the Gap Year or Mission Corp program
be able to prove that significant financial limitations exist in order to participate in the Gap Year or Mission Corp program
We are looking for those individuals who embody Stephen’s heart for bringing the hope that is only found in Jesus to lost souls who need to know it. We are looking for participants who are known to be faithful, available, and teachable. We are looking for young men and women who recognize the impact that their story as a refugee or immigrant has and is willing to share their story with others.
