By Christi Mays
Even though Joshua Bailey loved UMHB with everything in him, due to finances, he was on the fence about returning his senior year.
Despite his family helping him pay for college his first three years, Joshua still had to take out a few student loans to pay the rest, and he didn’t want to add more to that balance. The longer he went to UMHB, the closer he drew to the Lord, and from a Biblical perspective, he felt the Lord telling him to avoid additional debt.
“I’ve read it my whole life in the Bible that the ‘borrower is slave to the lender.’ If you don’t have the money to pay for it now, then you shouldn’t do it.”
He prayed, “Lord, how am I going to be able to attend the university this last year?” Then, in an unexpected blessing, he got a phone call about three scholarships he received, which he had not even applied for.
“It was such a big thing this year of God providing for me and saying, ‘finish your degree.’”
Joshua walked across the graduation stage in May to receive his degree in small business and entrepreneurship. With an ambitious mind and a heart for the Lord, he has big plans to use his natural entrepreneurial skills to “make the world a better place” by equipping the homeless with life skills and teaching them about Jesus.
“That’s my purpose in life, and that’s what we’re here to do—let more people know the name of Jesus Christ. I think there’s no purpose in anything if He’s not at the core of it.”
With the help of the money he received from scholarships to finish his last year of college, Joshua is thankful to donors who gave selflessly and said their gifts were “life-changing” for him.
“You have changed my life and helped spread the Gospel of Jesus through your generosity. This was a huge faith-builder for me, and I can’t express my gratitude in words. I am truly so thankful.”
