WS Chronicle

In an effort to make college more affordable, The Women of Purpose Ministry of Greater Church established the Joyce McCarter Scholarship.  On Saturday, June 23 a gala was held at the Double Tree hotel in Winston-Salem to celebrate the six scholarship recipients.

The purpose of the scholarship is to empower both current and aspiring female college students with the resources to fund their dream of becoming a college graduate, according to the church.

Joyce McCarter led the Women of Purpose Ministry for over two decades, but decided to step down in 2017.  The mantle was then passed to Dr. Kendra Davis, who urged the board to create the scholarship in honor of McCarter.

“In honor of her [McCarter] to keep her legacy going, I thought it would be a great way to allow her legacy to live by instituting a scholarship in her name,” said Davis. 

In total, the ministry gave away six scholarships to young women either entering college or already enrolled in a college.  There were two scholarships given to women already in college and four given away to those who will enter this fall.  All totaled the ministry awarded $4,550 in scholarships during the gala.

“We actually advertised the scholarship by posting it on social media and we sent it to the high schools in Forsyth County,” Davis said.

Davis has been a member of Greater Church since she was a college student.  She says it was the life changing work of co- pastor Joyce McCarter and the Women of Purpose Ministry that nurtured and cultivated the seed of greatness inside of her.

“I came to then Cleveland Avenue Christian Church, as a college student, and Joyce McCarter had a program for college students on Friday nights to provide and environment to have fun while also being safe,” she said.  “Some 20 years later, I am still at the ministry but I am in more of a leadership capacity.”

“One of the major things she has done for me personally is that she created an environment for women like myself who are in ministry to utilize our voice or ministry gifts.  In ministry it is somewhat like a good old boys club and in some ministries women are not allowed to lead, but under co-pastor McCarter’s leadership, she created an environment where women could come from all over and feel empowered.”

Going forward, she said, she would like to find additional sponsors that would allow the ministry to award even larger scholarship amounts to the young ladies. 

“I would like to give every young lady $1,000, so the more resources we have, the more money we could give away,” she said.  “And if we want to think big, possibly have corporate sponsors underwrite this effort by paying a full semester of tuition, because $1,000 doesn’t really go that far.”