BATON ROUGE— Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church held its annual Scholarship Sunday and celebrated graduates by awarding scholarships to members heading to college.

Pastor Fred Jeff Smith said the scholarship awards were started in 1976 by his father Rev. Charles T. Smith. He said the church gave away $2,000 in its first year. Since then, funds have grown. The church gave away more than $60,000 in its Sunday service.

Smith said the scholarships serve the local community and are an investment in the future generation.

“We’re building people to go out into the broader community and make positive contributions, not just for themselves but for their families and the entirety of the community,” Smith said.

Mother and son Christina and Caleb Davis are past recipients of the scholarship. Christina was awarded $5,000 in 1995, and Caleb received $8,000 in 2023.

Both say it’s an honor to be a part of the ongoing legacy and see it help others.

“Just to see the number of children still receiving and it's growing and growing and then the amount of money that they give away every year - it's a blessing," Christina said.

2025 scholarship recipient McKenzi Haynes was speechless after hearing her name called for an $8,000 award.

“My heart was racing, everybody started cheering for me. I looked at my mom, she started tearing up," Haynes said. "It was just a good feeling."

Haynes said not only does this scholarship lift financial burdens, but she’s also being backed by a place that helped raise her.

“I was born and raised in this church, so I feel like I have a lot of support here, and it’s heartwarming to me,” she said.

Smith said scholarship funds are raised by the congregation and not third parties.

“It speaks to the concern that the church has for our young people and for the larger community that Shiloh makes this commitment every year,” Smith said.

Smith said he hopes the scholarship continues to grow and help more graduates within their church.