The John MacArthur Charitable Trust’s impact on The Master’s University in recent years has been significant. The Trust has funded key financial aid opportunities like The Master’s Global Scholarship, jumpstarted new majors such as engineering and entrepreneurship, and funded numerous campus improvements.
So, what is the MacArthur Trust and how does it operate?
The Trust was formed in 2018 to support the family of ministries associated with Dr. John MacArthur — from The Master’s University and Seminary to The Master’s Academy International and Grace Advance, among others. The goal is to serve these ministries as they, in turn, serve the church through various channels.
“The Trust seeks to uphold the legacy of Dr. MacArthur and be an encouragement to those engaged in serving our Lord around the globe,” the Trust’s website says, “including pastors, teachers, lay leaders, missionaries, training centers, church plants, college and seminary students.”
Part of the idea behind the Trust’s creation was to simplify the giving process. Instead of conversations and transactions with multiple different ministries, a donor could make a single donation to the Trust, which would then process and distribute the gift according to the current needs and projects of the ministries.
While donors may have an affinity for several organizations led by Dr. MacArthur and the work each one of them does, they may not know which ministries have pressing needs at any given time. The Trust’s board and grant process streamlines this process, providing confidence to donors that their giving is strategic to the advancement of the family of ministries.
“This was an opportunity to be a receptacle for money coming in,” says Matt MacArthur, who serves as vice-chairman on the Trust’s board. “We receive grant proposals from various ministries, and we pass it on from there. We don’t retain money. We don’t have an endowment, so to speak. It’s really a board that takes gifts in and donates them as the needs arise.”
The Trust seeks to uphold the legacy of Dr. MacArthur and be an encouragement to those engaged in serving the Lord around the globe.
The Trust seeks to always use these gifts strategically. Instead of using gifts to cover normal operating expenses, it focuses on giving gifts to organizations in order to fund specific projects that will further ministry goals.
“We meet two or three times a year and find out where the needs are, and then we distribute funds as appropriate,” Matt says. “That’s what we exist to do.”
The Trust has funded a long list of such projects at TMU in recent years.
It has helped start new academic programs, including entrepreneurial studies, interdisciplinary studies, agribusiness, and three engineering tracks. It has contributed toward property acquisitions such as the Canyon Homes and a building in Newhall that offers a sound stage and podcast studio for communication students. It helped renovate several areas of campus, including Oaks Pavilion and the Business Center.
The goal, especially with new program launches, is to kickstart projects that will ultimately be self-sustaining and even profitable.
For example, when TMU launched its mechanical, electrical, and computer engineering programs in 2021, the Trust covered the initial startup costs. But it took only three years for the Department of Engineering & Computer Science to generate a 100% return on investment. The department is now at 120 students, which represents 10% of TMU’s total undergraduate enrollment and nearly five times as many students as the department had in 2021-22.
The Trust has been instrumental in starting new majors at TMU, like mechanical, computer, and electrical engineering.
One of the Trust’s most pivotal projects with TMU is scholarship funding. The Master’s Global Scholarship, for example, is largely funded by the Trust and gives over $2 million in aid to students every year, impacting over 300 students at any given time.
The Trust’s goal with scholarships is to never let finances be the reason a qualified, eager student doesn’t attend TMU.
Onalee Miller, who graduated last semester, is just one of many students who has been able to attend TMU thanks in part to The Master’s Global Scholarship.
“TMU has been the sweetest gift from the Lord,” Miller says. “I loved that everything I was learning connected back to the truth of God’s Word. I’m studying to be a teacher, and TMU has changed how I think about that. Teaching is a ministry, and it’s another opportunity to serve others and honor the Lord.”
Onalee Miller was able to attend TMU, in part, because of The Master’s Global Scholarship, which is largely funded by the Trust.
Cedar Collins, now a senior, also credits The Master’s Global Scholarship and other financial aid opportunities with allowing him to attend TMU and be part of a cross country team that’s committed to Christ.
“I had been looking for a Christian college where I could run,” Collins says. “I talked to a bunch of coaches, but I just saw how secular all of their teams were. It was not at all appealing to me. And as I was walking through that and praying about it, one day the Lord answered my prayers when I found out about TMU.”
The Master’s Global Scholarship, largely funded by the Trust, has helped students like Cedar Collins attend TMU.
The thought of serving students in this way is what excites Matt MacArthur so much about getting to support TMU through the Trust.
“I just love seeing lives change,” he says. “This is such a critical period for young people; their worldviews are being shaped and defined. We get to give them direction and clarity. We get to teach them accurately and prepare them to go in and be tentmakers in the world. That’s exciting.”
To learn more about the MacArthur Trust, visit jmacarthurtrust.org.
Notifications
