Author: baptistcollege

On a Thursday evening at Winthrop University, the Gospel could be heard across campus. Literally.

For the second consecutive year, Winthrop Baptist Collegiate Ministry partnered with the campus Vision of Prayze Gospel Choir to host an outdoor evangelistic worship gathering called At Winthrop As It Is in Heaven. More than 150 students gathered on the campus green, while others listened from across the lawn. With the sound system turned up, songs of worship and the message of Jesus echoed between campus buildings.

And God was at work.

The evening included worship led by both student groups and powerful testimonies of God’s faithfulness. Pastor KJ Scriven shared the Gospel and invited students to respond.

As he began his invitation, something unexpected happened. Classes across campus started letting out. Suddenly, the number of students who could stop and hear the Gospel nearly doubled.

By the end of the evening, at least 12 students had made a decision to follow Christ.

One of those counselors was Evy, a Winthrop BCM student leader whose own story illustrates how God is raising up students to reach their campus.

Naturally introverted, Evy stepped outside her comfort zone this summer by serving on a BCM mission trip to Utah. That experience helped grow her confidence in sharing her faith. This fall, she participated in BCM training to help counsel students making decisions to follow Jesus.

When the invitation came, Evy was ready. She had the opportunity to sit with a young woman who had just trusted Jesus, praying with her as she began her new life in Christ.

God was not only changing the lives of students who heard the Gospel. He was growing the faith of students who were sharing it.

For another student named Talia, the evening provided a different kind of connection. Already a believer but lacking Christian community, she happened to be walking by when she stopped at the BCM table. Now she is excited about becoming connected to a community of believers on campus.

The work of God at Winthrop was not limited to the outdoor gathering.

In the days surrounding the event, BCM opened a prayer room inside the campus Little Chapel. More than 30 students came through the chapel over two days, spending time confessing sin and praying for those who do not know Jesus.

There is something beautiful about seeing a chapel that once served as a place of worship being used again as students seek the Lord. Now students are exploring ways to make the space a regular place of prayer on campus.

And they are already dreaming about what comes next.

Student leaders from BCM and Vision of Prayze are talking about expanding the event next year, inviting other campus ministries to join them in reaching Winthrop with the Gospel.

That may be one of the most encouraging parts of this story. Students are taking ownership of the mission to reach their own campus.

For one evening, the Gospel echoed across Winthrop University through a loud sound system. But the greater story is what God is doing in the lives of students each week through BCM who are hearing and responding to Jesus.

College ministry is unique because most of us are doing ministry on someone else’s campus. Whether you serve at a large public university, a small private college, or somewhere in between, our ability to reach students is often directly connected to the relationships we build with the people who lead and serve that campus.

The good news is that campus ministers can be some of the university’s greatest partners. We care about students. We want them to flourish. We want them to find community, develop as leaders, serve others, and make wise decisions. Obviously, our ultimate mission goes much further—we want every student to hear the Gospel and have an opportunity to follow Jesus. But there are a lot of places where our mission and the university’s goals overlap.

Here are seven ways we can build relationships that allow us to serve the university well while staying faithful to our mission.

1. Learn their Goals and Solve Problems for the University

One of the best ways to become a trusted partner on campus is to help solve real problems. Pay attention to what the university is trying to accomplish and where their staff could use some help. Maybe they need volunteers for move-in, help welcoming international students, meals for a student group, or support for students who might otherwise fall through the cracks. We have students, churches, volunteers, resources, and relationships that can often meet needs the university simply can’t meet on its own. Don’t always start by asking, “What can the university do for our ministry?” Start by asking, “What problem can we help the university solve?” When we consistently bring solutions instead of creating more work, we become the kind of partner they want on campus. At the University of Arkansas–Fort Smith, BCM learned that the university’s Student Retention Office wanted to celebrate first-generation and lower-income students who were graduating. BCM stepped in and helped provide professional cap-and-gown photos for about 40 seniors. It met a real university goal. It also served students well and gave BCM leaders opportunities to build relationships and share the Gospel with several students. What started with understanding the university’s priorities has now become a new partnership they hope will continue for years.

2. Look for Ways to Say Yes

Sometimes campus ministries can develop a reputation for only showing up when we need something. Let’s face it, we do need things from the university like rooms, permission, sometimes funding, a table, or access to students.

Turn that around.

When the university needs volunteers, we need to show up. When they need student organizations to participate in an event, participate. When there is a campus service project, bring people. When Student Life needs help welcoming new students, ask how you can serve. Can we do everything all the time? No. But we can often do more than we are doing. The benefits are tremendous to the college, and it gives us opportunities to meet and engage students and to model for our students what it means to be servant leaders.

We need to be the ministry that college staff and administrators are glad to see coming.

At the University of South Alabama, BCM has built a multi-year partnership with the university’s marching band simply by finding ways to serve. This past year, they recruited four local churches to provide meals during band camp. That relationship also opened the door for the BCM director to lead daily leadership sessions with the band and connect leadership principles with Gospel truth. Sometimes the opportunity to share starts by simply asking, “How can we help?”

3. Bless the People Who Serve the Campus

Student Life staff are people, not gatekeepers.

Learn their names. Ask about their lives. Encourage them. Bring their office breakfast or coffee occasionally. Celebrate their wins. Thank them when they help you.

And do it without always asking for something in return.

Small acts of genuine kindness over time communicate something powerful: We aren’t just here because of what you can do for us. We care about you.

At Tulsa Community College, every Christmas, BCM delivers popcorn baskets and giant student-signed cards to the Student Life staff, facilities team, and campus police. They do this to simply say thank you to the people who make their ministry possible and keep students safe. This year, a janitor was so moved by the appreciation that he later approached a BCM student to thank them. That conversation turned into an opportunity for the student to share the Gospel and pray with him. Sometimes blessing the campus opens doors we could never manufacture on our own.

4. Be Incredibly Easy to Work With

Answer emails. Meet deadlines. Fill out the forms. Follow policies. Clean up the room. Show up when you say you will. Communicate changes.

None of that sounds particularly spiritual, but it matters.

You can have a great ministry vision and lose credibility because you consistently create unnecessary headaches for university staff. Excellence and dependability build trust, and trust creates opportunities.

5. Never Surprise Them

If you are planning something big, unusual, or potentially sensitive, communicate early.

University administrators hate surprises. Their days are filled with challenges and problems to solve.

You don’t have to ask permission for things that don’t require permission, but good partners communicate. When university leaders know that you will keep them informed, handle situations wisely, and address problems quickly, they become much more comfortable working with you.

6. Help Students Become Better Members of the Campus Community

One of the greatest gifts we can give a university is students whose faith causes them to serve rather than withdraw.

Teach your students to love their campus. Encourage them to participate, lead, volunteer, welcome new students, serve classmates, and care about the needs around them.

Imagine the reputation of a ministry whose students are consistently some of the most dependable, generous, welcoming, and servant-hearted people on campus.

That kind of ministry earns a hearing.

7. Think Long Term

Great university relationships are rarely built through one meeting or one event. They are built through years of trust.

Administrators change. Policies change. Presidents change. Student Life staff change. Challenges will come.

Keep showing up. Keep serving. Keep communicating. Keep being trustworthy.

Our goal isn’t simply to maintain access to campus. Our goal is to be such a blessing to the university that they know their campus is better because we are there.

At Valdosta State University, after the university restricted BCM from holding events during the first three weeks of school, there was some understandable friction. But because BCM had already built good relationships with university staff, they kept talking and protected the relationship even when they disagreed. A year later, the university invited BCM to lead an official faith worship service as part of its welcome events—giving them access to university facilities and sound equipment and even allowing BCM’s worship team, branding, and information. They didn’t win every disagreement, but they protected the relationship. Eventually, that relationship opened a door they never could have demanded.

We never compromise the Gospel or our mission in order to gain favor with the university. But wherever their goals and our mission can work together, we should be the first people raising our hands to help.

Because relationships build trust. Trust creates opportunities. And opportunities give us more chances to accomplish what brought us to campus in the first place:

Helping every student have an opportunity to hear the Gospel and follow Jesus.

Chad Stillwell works with Baptist Collegiate Network’s Communication Team, and is also the Collegiate Ministries Director for South Carolina. Follow @sc_bcm on Instagram to see more of what God is doing in South Carolina!

Everyone loves getting those cardboard packages on the porch. Just this week, our household received and opened up boxes containing a gymnastics bar, a Door Buster big-screen TV, and a new skateboard (to replace the one that unfortunately got run over by my neighbor, Dave). On each of these occasions, we eagerly waited for delivery, immediately ripped open the box, and began to assemble and use the contents. My daughter loves the gymnastics bar, my son loves the skateboard, and we’re all enjoying the TV we figured we’d never buy—until the price got so low that we thought, why not?

Most of the time, we know these boxes are coming because we ordered them. But every now and then, we get one that comes as a total surprise. It’s a gift.

Maybe you, like me, have received surprise gifts at work from the seminaries, agencies, etc…. T-shirts, coffee mugs, pens, stickers, and books. They are all fun boxes to receive, even if they don’t really change your life long-term. But, about a decade ago, I received a gift at work that was—and is—intended to help me be the best I can be at my job.

The Gift with No Cardboard

It didn’t actually come in a physical box. But from my perspective, it was framed as a container of sorts.

It was a framework of essentials for Baptist Collegiate Ministries (BCMs), along with a directive to design a strategy for my specific campus context. Metaphorically speaking, this box of essentials was addressed to me, and it came from our state BCM leader Cris Lowery.

Let me tell you about this “box”, what it contains, and how operating out of it has made me a better leader on my campus. It boils down to three things:

• It contains my priorities.
• It has opened up my possibilities.
• It has helped me prepare to maximize our potential.

1. It Contains My Priorities

First of all, the framework tells me what to do. It might be hard to admit, but rules and guidelines are what make games and sports fun. Our ability to operate within these lines is exactly what allows us the opportunity to participate in the game. We are a missionary organization, and that makes me a missionary to the people on my campus.

Our Core Priorities
To represent Oklahoma Baptist churches by establishing and maintaining good relationships with the people at the University of Tulsa, in order that I may be allowed year after year to recruit students to join me, develop them as leaders, and together share the gospel and make disciples on our campus and beyond. This is a clear, thoughtful, and targeted set of priorities.

2. It Opens Up Possibilities

Along with this focused set of priorities, I was challenged to consider the possibility that we might engage more broadly than we currently were. At the time, we were engaging 1–2% of our student body. The new challenge? Engage 10% on our way to every campus, every life.

This would only be possible if we prayed, planned, and prepared for the potential. It challenged my assumptions and prompted me to begin asking radically different questions. I could no longer focus solely on building a tight-knit, insular community. We had to extend ourselves broadly and commit to meeting hundreds of people who weren’t currently on our radar—and on whose radar BCM didn’t exist. Plus, as you know, we’d have to do this with an entirely different rotation of people every 3 to 4 years.

What a compelling challenge! What would that look like on your campus?

3. Maximizing Our Potential

I’d love to tell you in detail how the process has gone from that day to this, but, let me offer a summary of how I have come to enjoy operating out of this box.

I am really helped by living simply. To do that, I regularly ask myself and our team these two questions:

Question 1: What do we NEED to do?  Thankfully, the box tells me the big-picture essentials. From there, I’m always evaluating who is with me, what we are currently doing, and what we need to do next.

Question 2: How can we enjoy accomplishing that with excellence? Once we know what we need to do, we can focus on doing things we actually enjoy. This connects us with the people who are our purpose, opening up the possibility to maximize our potential at TU.

For me and my team, leaning into what we enjoy looks like a lot of different things:

• Food and Hospitality: I enjoy cooking and hosting community meals and treats, in-season and out of season. That means Summer dinners, Monday lunches, and Men’s and Ladies’ lunches. We even bought a shaved ice machine!
• Sports: I love athletics and naturally enjoy being an encouragement to student-athletes.
• International Ministry: I love welcoming internationals and sharing the good news with those who’ve never heard it before—lately, especially the graduate students.
• Leadership Development: I want to lead leaders whenever possible. This allows me to partner with others who can use their unique passions to meet even more people.

The Bottom Line

As a result of opening this box and operating within it, the return on investment has been incredible. This semester alone, we have been blessed to have a one-time direct impact with over 30% of our student body, and an ongoing impact with around 10% of campus every single week.

The strategic plan will look different in your context, with your students, on your campus. But our fundamental priorities remain exactly the same. We all got the same box. Let’s keep operating out of it—or maybe today is the day to recommit to challenging our assumptions, asking different questions, and working together to truly engage every campus and every life.

Brandon Brister is the BCM Director at the University of Tulsa. You can reach him at bbrister@oklahomabaptists.org. You can also follow him on IG @brandonbrister and the ministry @tulsabcm.