The 20th Annual Heritage Classic Golf Tournament ended triumphantly as 108 golfers came together at Big Spring Country Club to raise $249,800 for Southern Seminary and Boyce College student tuition, August 21.

“We could not have had a better kickoff to our new academic year and the fall semester," said Vice President of Institutional Advancement Edward Heinze.

"This year, we celebrated two golfers who have played in all 20 tournaments: Dr. Tim Beougher, Professor of Missions & Evangelism, and Chip Hutchison, Content Editor of Kentucky Today. We also enjoyed celebrating a hole-in-one by one of our long-time Louisville patrons and participants, Dr. Tom Benninger. Most importantly, this year’s tournament helped the students of Southern Seminary and Boyce College prepare for service by raising close to $250,000 for the Southern Fund.”

Participants ranged in their golfing skills from amateur to experienced, but Jonah Twiddy and his family were real winners. Twiddy is a Master of Divinity student at Southern Seminary and received the $5,000 Rick Bordas scholarship.

A longtime friend of Southern Seminary, Bordas had a passion for seeing students trained to take the gospel to local churches and to international mission fields. Upon his death in 2013, his family and friends established a scholarship fund in his name.

Twiddy’s wife Leah and one-year-old daughter Dakota stood with him as he accepted the scholarship. The Twiddys plan to serve in overseas missions as church planters—fulfilling the vision of Bordas and the mission of Southern Seminary.

“Before we take God's word to others, we wanted to know it better ourselves,” Twiddy said. “The Lord introduced Southern Seminary to us as a place where we could pursue that leading while preparing to be sent out. Southern has been exactly what we hoped it would be. Our knowledge of God and his Word is growing daily, and we regularly stop to thank God for all of the rich blessings He has brought into our lives during this season."

President R. Albert Mohler Jr. thanked the participants for their commitment to the work of Southern Seminary and Boyce College.

“God is doing something absolutely remarkable at Southern Seminary and Boyce College,” Mohler said. “It will make a difference on the mission field and in the pulpits of our churches and places we will never go, places we’ll never see. That is absolutely glorious. What a great way to spend a day.”

Plans are already underway for the 21st Annual Heritage Classic Golf Tournament, with organizers hoping to build on this year's success and continue making a positive impact for the global church. As the tradition carries on, golfers and supporters eagerly anticipate the chance to once again tee off for “the purpose of gospel ministry,” Heinze said.