Saying Yes to the Quiet Nudge
Cynthia Newman, MDiv Student
Scholarships do more than ease financial burdens—they open doors to opportunity. In this edition of CTS Connection, we are highlighting two students whose lives have been changed by scholarship support, allowing them to pursue their goals, grow as leaders, and give back to their communities. Their stories reflect the lasting impact of your generosity—and the incredible potential that still awaits.
Cynthia Newman accepted her call to ministry a long time ago. She first heard it decades ago when she was newly out of college.
“I just couldn’t see at the time how to get a Master of Divinity done,” Newman recalls. “And I didn’t have a vision for what I would do with it.”
As president of the Light of the World congregation, former chair of the board, Sunday School teacher, and inspirational speaker on topics of women’s empowerment in church communities, she was ministering. And she kept feeling the quiet nudge to do the formalized education.
“Everytime a friend graduated from CTS, they said ‘you should have been in my class,’” Newman says. “But the financial piece was a barrier, and giving up my job for this time commitment seemed impossible.”
Finally, after about 20 years of “toying around with it quietly in (her) spirit,” Newman listened to the quiet nudge. And a scholarship was critical for Newman, a financial services professional, wife, and mother, to say yes to the nudge.
“I’ve counseled women who pursued an MDiv, who look like me,” said Newman. “It left them financially challenged. But with a scholarship, there was no underlying unspoken concern.”
Now, Newman’s future in ministry is bright. She wants to create a “marketplace ministry” that empowers women in their communities.
“I’ve been teaching the Bible for years,” says Newman. “Now, with an MDiv, I can ask how we teach it in a way where women want to combine fellowship and the Bible. Black women aren’t highlighted in the Bible. We have to find ourselves in the text—and my ministry can help take theological education to the streets.”
Join us in continuing to invest in the future, one student at a time.
