A Bible, carefully wrapped and preserved for future generations, is laid in the foundation of every business, building and home Eddie and Judy Cobb have built from the ground up. After a prayer is said, the Bible is placed within the threshold’s foundation as concrete is poured over top.
That simple act of placing a Bible in every doorway, symbolizes how the Cobbs have lived out their Christian faith; being true to the Word of God as the literal foundation of their lives. It’s the rock on which they live, how they worship and how they give.
As lifelong residents of Montgomery, Alabama and faithful members of Frazer Church, a Free Methodist Church, for 45 years, the Cobbs have been staunch supporters of Faulkner University and its mission for many decades.
They believe in the mission and work of Faulkner and have given back to the university in many ways over the years. When the call came to support Faulkner’s Bible majors through the Dr. Jack Zorn Scholarship fund, the Cobbs contributed a substantial donation in order to train young men to be Christian ministers.
The Zorn Scholarship is named in honor of Faulkner alumnus and Lads to Leaders founder, Dr. Jack Zorn. Faulkner University began awarding full tuition Zorn Scholarships to traditional undergraduate Bible majors in the fall 2022 semester and students who receive it are known as Zorn Scholars.
Additionally, anonymous donors have issued a second matching gift challenge of up to $130,000 in order to bless Jack Zorn Scholarship recipients who are studying the Bible at Faulkner for free. It is toward this challenge that the Cobbs provided a donation and encourages others to do the same. Gifts can be made at give.faulkner.edu.
“Giving to the Zorn Scholarship was a no-brainer for us,” Judy said. “If we don’t preserve the word of God for the coming generation, they will have no hope. What a blessing it is that we have a Christian university like Faulkner in our community where we can support the Dr. Zorn Scholarship. Just as the Lord has blessed us beyond measure, we want to give back to the next generation through this ministry effort. I can’t imagine living in this world, as hard as it is without the guidance of the Lord – not on our watch. At least we tried to do our part by giving back.”
Eddie and Judy Cobb have been successful business owners with ABS Business Systems of Montgomery, Inc. for 20 years. Walking through the offices on Faulkner’s campus, you’ll come across copier machines in every building brandishing their bright, red and blue logo. Thirty-five years ago, when Eddie was just starting out in the copier business, he knew he wanted to give back to Christian education. Their business at the time had 60 extra machines that they wanted to donate to Faulkner and those were the Cobbs’ first steps in a decades-long relationship with the university.
Eddie was introduced to Faulkner’s business manager then, Jim Spratlin, who was greatly appreciative of the donation and for the perfect timing of the donation as well. Since then, not only has the business relationship grown between Faulkner and ABS Business Systems of Montgomery, Inc., who still outfits and maintains copier services for the university, but the personal relationships between Eddie and Judy Cobb and those at the university have grown as well.
“We consider the services we offer our customers as a mission field and that’s where Faulkner comes in,” Judy said. “They have been instrumental in our success and we consider Faulkner our family. We have met some wonderful people that have helped us grow in our faith and who have come alongside us personally praying for us during hard times that have helped us through. They are loving and caring people who work at Faulkner.”
“We’ve made mistakes and we’ve messed up, but when the end of the story that God has written for us is finished, and the last chapter is closed, I want Him smiling on our story,” Judy said. “And we are so thankful that Faulkner is in our story.”
To learn more about the Dr. Jack Zorn Scholarship, visit https://www.faulkner.edu/zorn/. Give now at give.faulkner.edu.