Cross Community Church officials (C3) are taking community service to a higher level.

Each month, C3 members participate in some sort of community service or outreach program. This time the stakes have been raised just a little higher.

One senior from South Point High School will receive the inaugural scholarship sponsored by the church.

There will be a scholarship committee from the high school that will select the winner and the announcement will be made on May 17 at the annual awards assembly. The scholarship will be worth $1,000.

“We wanted a unique outreach opportunity for our Easter offering and thought it would be a great opportunity to invest in the future of one of our local students,” said Megan Frasure, C3 member and liaison between the church and the school.

The primary criterion to earn the scholarship is for a student to demonstrate a desire to serve his or her community. Reaching out to the community is one of the core beliefs at C3. The only other requirement is for the student to possess a 3.0 GPA.

“Personally I am most excited that this is the first step in the process,” Frasure said. “In the future, the church hopes to expand the number of scholarships and schools to which we can offer more money.”

Students will begin receiving applications in the coming week. Along with the application, each student must submit a essay of 300 words or less describing their community involvement in ordered to be considered. The deadline will be at the end of April.

Associate Pastor Jimmy Lemon was credited for starting the scholarship program.

Lemon believes the scholarship will help the community in two ways.

“We believe this small step will help our community’s young people continue their education, which helps improve our community in a great way,” Lemon said. “We also want to encourage the next generation to be a positive force in our community.”

Cross Community Church meets at the old South Point Elementary School on Sunday mornings.