Baptist Collegiate Ministry (BCM) is kicking off the fall semester of ministry with gospel-fueled, welcome week events on campuses across the state.
In Little Rock, the BCM kicked off the school year with a jam-packed welcome week. They started with an ice cream social, where they saw over 130 unique individuals connecting with others inside their BCM building on campus.
The next night, Little Rock BCM held its annual Baggo Bash on campus, where they saw over 250 individuals gather to connect with others and compete for prizes. Following that was their first BCM Collective service of the semester. They had 108 students gather on the Tuesday night before classes started and reported multiple responses to receive Jesus.
Little Rock BCM Campus Minister Matt Stubbs said the following Tuesday was even larger with 133 total students gathered and two more individuals responding to surrender their lives to Jesus.
Stubbs called campus ministry “the most strategic mission field on the planet.”
“College students from all around the state, the country, and globe are being brought to the campus for what they believe to be their ‘purpose.’ They will try and find their purpose in a sport, a relationship, a major, a job, etc. As campus ministers, we get the privilege and opportunity to show them that their true purpose is to know Jesus and make Jesus known for the rest of their lives,” he said. “Campus ministry does not merely have a momentary impact, but an eternal impact.”
At University of Arkansas in Monticello (UAM) they had 108 students attend their first fall worship service. In Magnolia, South Arkansas University had 92 attend their first worship service of the semester. During its first service of the school year, University of Arkansas in Fort Smith (UAFS) welcomed 107 students in attendance with five showing interest in following Jesus.
The BCM at Arkansas Tech University (ATU) had 140 students attend its first worship service of the fall semester.
ATU BCM Campus Minister Adam McCampbell said their main events happen on the first three days of classes. They partnered with First Baptist Church in Russellville for a welcome party, where students came to play games and win giveaways. They also broke into Community Groups that night for students to have a chance to meet the BCM’s Community Group leaders. Another event they hosted is their annual BCM Luau. They had nearly 80 freshmen at this event.
To finish off the week, they went to the top of Mount Nebo, where Caleb Reynolds of First Baptist Church in Dover led worship as they watched the sunset. They had nearly 90 attend this year.
Since the beginning of the semester, McCampbell said the gospel has been shared broadly on campus and at BCM. They have seen four salvations and have several others wanting to rededicate their lives.
“Arkansas Tech BCM’s goal is to mobilize students to serve. We have nearly 40 leaders this year, this semester, and everything we do, they lead,” McCampbell said. “It is awesome to see students giving up hours to serve for the purpose of reaching other students.”
This semester, ATU BCM is partnering with Church in the Dirt for what they are calling “Project 1121.”
“Our vision for this is coming from Acts 11:21. We are asking students to pray every day at 11:21 for God to move and stir the hearts of those far from Jesus on campus. Our goal is to share the gospel with every student on campus this fall by Nov 21 – there are around 2,500 students on the campus of Arkansas Tech,” McCampbell said. He said they have ordered about 3,500 bracelets with the King’s Way witness on them for the students to give out and share 1 Corinthians 15:3-4.
“We have found that for our students, this has been very helpful in getting them to have gospel conversations,” he said.
In Northwest Arkansas, University of Arkansas BCM had 275 students for their first service with 103 first-time guests and many indications of wanting to talk further about following Jesus. Arkansas State University (ASU) had 156 in the room for worship for its first worship service of the semester, the highest in 10 years.
Henderson State University BCM engaged in 15 gospel conversations throughout welcome week events, invited over 300 students to BCM events, and reported 11 students who have indicated that they would like to know more about a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB) welcomed 80 students to a BCM lunch. They received 35-40 first time guest cards and heard from 20 people who want to know more about following Jesus. South Arkansas Community College in El Dorado had over 50 attend its first ever BCM lunch meeting.
At Conway BCM, they saw 420 students at their first Collective service of the fall, including 180 freshmen, and reported two salvations. They hosted multiple events leading up to the worship service including a carnival on campus, where multiple churches were involved, as well as a lawn party.
Conway BCM Campus Minister Thomas Guinee said campus ministries are incredibly valuable. From a campus perspective, he said campus ministries help with retention.
“Often, we see that a student who does not connect anywhere as they come to campus is a student that often times drops out or goes home. Getting involved in places like campus ministries is a significant part of why many students stay on campus,” Guinee said.
From a BCM perspective, the Lord is working through campus ministries at the universities. “Students are encountering the gospel and lives are changed as a result,” Guinee said. Campus ministries also provide leadership opportunities. He said they “want to be the very first people who are willing to give a student an opportunity to lead.”
“We see a lot of students who are able to step into their giftings or are able to lead for Christ in what they’re doing on campus,” Guinee said. “Not only does the Lord use them to change the lives of others but those leadership opportunities truly help them step forward and grow in their faith with Jesus as well.”
These are just some of the ways BCMs are already making a Kingdom impact on campuses in Arkansas this fall.
On Sept. 19-21, BCMs from all around the state will gather at Camp Paron for their annual Fall Retreat. Stubbs said it “will be a tremendous time of worship, teaching, and fellowship all weekend long.”
“Students may come to know Jesus, and leaders will be equipped to be the hands and feet of Jesus back on campus and all over the world,” he said.
Each week, BCMs meet throughout the state in university spaces, ABSC-owned ministry buildings or in local churches, with one purpose: to give every student the opportunity to encounter Jesus and experience life. By enabling the work of BCM, Arkansas Baptists are engaged in ministry to the most strategic place on earth – the college campus.
Article can be found online: https://arkansasbaptist.org/post/bcm-kicks-off-fall-semester-with-gospel-fueled-welcome-events/
