Clarence and Roger Bowman
Legacy of Faith and Service: The Enduring Impact of Clarence and Roger Bowman
Rev. Clarence Bowman and his brother, Dr. Roger Bowman, faithfully served within the African American church and the Church of the Nazarene for decades. Their influence is easy to find from West Virginia to California, reaching through multiple Bible colleges like Nazarene Bible College and through local congregations they built up and expanded in communities where they lived. Nazarene Bible College is pleased to announce the formation of an endowment fund in their honor, The Clarence and Roger Bowman Legacy Scholarship.
The Legacy
Clarence’s son, Ed Bowman, remembers his father working as a pastor and college professor while also washing trucks for the local bakery – a display of his total dedication to ministry. Clarence defined this dedication as freedom, saying, “Holiness means freedom; freedom from a love for and an attraction to things that cannot bring satisfaction and fulfillment.”
“I remember from my youngest years,” says Roger’s daughter Suzanne Williams, “hearing [my father] say, ‘Your walk talks and your talk walks, but your walk talks further than your talk walks.’ His walk still talks in this scholarship to support people coming into ministry, his great passion.”
The Men
Clarence Bowman (1920–2010) devoted his life to preaching, teaching, and forming leaders within the African American church and the Church of the Nazarene. He prepared for ministry at Nyack College and Gordon College before beginning a 49-year career marked by extraordinary diligence, deep compassion, and unwavering faith. Rev. Bowman served as a pastor, church planter, and educator across several states, including influential roles at Mullen Bible Training School in North Carolina, the Nazarene Training Institute in West Virginia, and ultimately Nazarene Bible College (NBC) in Colorado Springs, Colorado. At NBC, he taught, preached, and recruited students for 23 years before his retirement in 1993. His ministry shaped generations of pastors — many of whom became leaders in predominantly African American congregations — and earned him recognition as a “bridge builder” within the denomination. Rev. Bowman’s legacy was further honored through the establishment of the Rogers Cunningham Bowman Center for Change, Inc., located in Franklin, Tennessee.
Roger E. Bowman (1931-2025) devoted more than sixty-five years to full-time Christian ministry marked by deep faith, distinguished leadership, and a lifelong commitment to serving and advancing ministry within the African American church and the Church of the Nazarene. Raised in a devout Christian home in Oberlin, Ohio, he accepted Christ at age seven and later trained for ministry at Nyack Missionary College, where he experienced a defining moment of spiritual surrender under the preaching of Dr. A.W. Tozer. After joining the Church of the Nazarene in 1960, Dr. Bowman served congregations in Mississippi and California, planted two churches, and became the first African American district superintendent in the denomination. His leadership extended to Nazarene Bible College as a professor and board member, as well as to multiple denominational committees and educational institutions. An author and respected mentor, Dr. Bowman consistently embodied his conviction that God’s mission includes all people regardless of color, culture, or circumstance. His legacy continues to influence future generations of ministry leaders.
The Scholarship
Nazarene Bible College is pleased to announce the formation of an endowment fund, The Clarence and Roger Bowman Legacy Scholarship. The son of Rev. Clarence Bowman and the daughter of Dr. Roger Bowman have partnered with NBC to honor their fathers’ legacies. Together, they secured a $5,000 matching gift and extended invitations to support the new endowed scholarship by mailing appeals to extended family members as well as congregations which had been impacted by their father’s ministries. This scholarship is established to equip the next generation of pastors who feel called to Christian ministry in diverse and under-resourced contexts which would honor the lives and ministries of the two brothers.
The Clarence and Roger Bowman Legacy Scholarship will be awarded to a student enrolled in the Bachelor of Arts or Associate of Arts programs at Nazarene Bible College, with preference for those pursuing ministerial preparation programs leading to service as a pastor in the Church of the Nazarene, and those who demonstrate a clear sense of calling to ministry in culturally diverse settings and show evidence of a commitment to ministry within under-resourced or underserved communities.
Such churches have opportunities for many kinds of ministry in their communities – for example food pantries, job counseling services, computer training. “This is what the church is meant to be,” Ed contends, “to have a vision of what the church’s larger ministry might be.” This is why the Bowman family hopes to support future generations of ministers in the Church of the Nazarene who are called to serve in under-resourced communities.
To contribute to The Clarence and Roger Bowman Legacy Scholarship fund, visit nbc.edu/give/donate and select “Bowman Legacy Scholarship” under Donation Type. The first $5,000 will be matched by a generous anonymous donor!