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“God Rest Ye…”

Posted on by baptistcollege

What is rest? If we are seeking rest, it is good to know how to recognize it! It may be helpful to begin with what isn’t rest. Rest is qualitatively distinct from amusement, entertainment, distraction, or even taking a break.  All of these things have their place, yet they are not the same as rest. To rest is to cease from labor, take ease, abide, keep quiet, dwell. It is more about fullness of Who is there than the emptiness of what’s not there.

Rest is both a command (Sabbath: the longest of the Ten Commandments!) and a gift. We are wired to need rest. The Lord rested on the seventh day.  (What was the first thing God called holy? Time. Time to rest! Genesis 2:3.) And Jesus rested… 

Follow Jesus’ Example

Jesus gave his life for us… and this includes giving us his example of how to live life in a way that helps us become like him… which, in our best moments, is what we most want to do.

“We can become like Christ by doing one thing, by following him in the overall style of life he chose for himself. If we have faith in Christ, we must believe that he knew how to live. We can, through faith and grace, become like Christ by practicing the types of activities he engaged in.” (Dallas Willard)

And Jesus rested. He observed the Sabbath* (Mark 2:27). He stepped away from the crowds (Luke 4:42). He fell asleep in a boat (Mark 4:38). He called his disciples away to rest (Mark 6:31-32). In You Are More than You’ve Been Told, Hosanna Wong invites us to read the Gospels not through the lens of “What did Jesus do?” but through the lens of “How did Jesus live?” (146) Ask Jesus, your teacher, shepherd, and discipler, to teach you to rest.

Accept Jesus’ Invitation

Remember Matthew 11:28-29? “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”  Here is Jesus beckoning the weary and worn—the needy—to come to him. What kind of person invites that? And what does he offer them? Rest. And what provides the rest? Coming unto him.

What does “coming to Jesus” look like in your life? Being quiet in a sacred space? Moseying through a gospel? Watching the Chosen? Taking a walk with the awareness that Jesus truly is with you? Singing or listening to Jesus-focused music?  

Ask others what they do to come to Jesus and see if you are invited to a new adventure with him. 

Ask Jesus to help you respond to his wonderful invitation to come to him.  He is good at such things. He knows how to draw you to himself.

Not always talking to Him or about Him,
but waiting before Him;
till the stream runs clear;
till the cream rises to the top;
till the mists part,
and the soul regains its equilibrium.
F. B Meyer

Enjoy Jesus’ Dearness

The Lord drew C. S. Lewis to himself by giving him a longing for joy. Then Lewis discovered it wasn’t really Joy that he sought but the Joy-Giver.  He said, “[Joy] is a by-product. Its very existence presupposes that you desire not it but something other and outer. …when I want more joy, what I’m really wanting is more Jesus.  Joy is simply the signpost that points us to Jesus.” I believe it is the same with Rest.  Seek and find Jesus, and you get Rest (and much more!) thrown in.

For those who serve in ministry as a vocation, we can come to view the Lord as our boss and ourselves as his employees; we report to him, and he evaluates us.  And yet this is not the truth of our relationship with the Lord.  At the core of our connection to him, we are his children, his sheep, his workmanship… Jesus even calls us his friends (John 15:13-16). 

Spend time simply enjoying Jesus, the One who also enjoys you.

“Just these two words He spoke changed my life, “Enjoy Me.”
What a burden I thought I was to carry-a crucifix as did He.
Love once said to me: “I know a song, would you like to hear it?”
And laughter came from every brick in the street and from every pore in the sky.
After a night of prayer, He changed my life when He sang “Enjoy Me.”
Theresa of Avila

Practicalities of Practicing the Spiritual Discipline of Rest

  • Don’t wait for the ideal time to rest. Even short “minute vacations” restore your soul.
  • Be still. Settle. Drop all other occupations or tangles into the skilled hands of the Lord. Leave them there.
  • Plan and protect unhurried time. You may have to ‘sacrifice’ time elsewhere in order to have time for rest.  Treat a planned time to rest as if it were an appointment with a person important to you: yourself! And Jesus!
  • Find what feeds your soul and feast on it.  (See Sacred Pathways, Gary Thomas)
  • Practice the Hebrew rhythm of ‘beginning’ your day at sundown.  Then rest is the first thing you do, and you move from rest into all else in your day/life.
  • Enlist your community in helping you find and dwell in rest. Ask them to help protect your times of rest.
  • Consider the needs of your body, soul, and spirit. All need rest.

What resting practice would you like to explore or to cultivate as a habit during this season?

Yes, my soul, find rest in God;
my hope comes from him.
Truly he is my rock and my salvation;
he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.

Trust in him at all times, you people;
pour out your hearts to him,
for God is our refuge.
Psalm 62: 5-8

Now: Rest!

“. . . I cannot read.  I cannot pray.
I cannot even think.
Where to from here? and how get there
with only darkness everywhere?
I ought to rise and only sink . . .
and feel His arms, and hear Him say,
‘I love you.’ . . .  It was all my soul
or body needed to be whole.”

Ruth Bell Graham, “The Little Things That Bug Me,” Sitting by My Laughing Fire

  • “Sabbath is the refusal to let one’s life be defined by production and consumption and the endless pursuit of private well-being.” Walter Brueggemann

Helpful Reading:

An Unhurried Life: Following Jesus’ Rhythms oof Wok and Rest, Alan Fadling.
Sabbath-Keeping: Finding Freedom in the Rhythms of Rest, Lynne M. Baab
Sacred Pathways: Discover Your Soul’s Path to God, Gary Thomas
Sacred Rhythms: Arranging Our Lives for Spiritual Transformation, Ruth Haley Barton
The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry, John Mark Comer.
You Are More Than You’ve Been Told: Unlock a Fresh Way to Live through the Rhythms of Jesus, Hosanna Wong

Additional Reading, “Slow Me Down Lord”,  by Wilferd A. Peterson

Dr. Shawn Shannon is a former Texas BSM campus minister and currently serves as the Minister of Spiritual Formation for Tallowood Baptist Church. Her email is: sshannon@tallowood.org.

Being a Good Citizen Where You Serve

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I am the Associate BCM Director at Lander University in Greenwood, South Carolina. For over thirteen years, I have had the unique privilege to serve at my alma mater along with Scott Smith, the BCM Director. Scott has served in this role for decades and I have watched opportunities unfold for campus ministry during my years as a student and being on staff. While we may not always see the fruit now, we can be obedient and faithful to the Lord by the way we serve our campuses. Being a good citizen on your campus means stewarding well what has been entrusted to you. Here are a few ways to be a good citizen where you serve on your local college campus. 

1. You represent Jesus to your campus, so always keep that in mind.

We want to honor Jesus with the way that we interact with others. We are like missionaries who must learn to adapt to the culture in which they are serving. 

2. Walk around campus and get to know students, faculty, and staff.

Let people know who you are by introducing yourself and give them a chance to get to know you. We have a banner sign that hangs in our campus student center that tells who is speaking at BCM, and we change it out each week. While heading there to change it, there is rarely a time when we walk to campus that we do not run into someone we know. This gives us a chance to catch up, ask about any prayer requests, and follow up with them. Find a place on your campus where a lot of people are and find different ways to connect with them.

3. Go to a variety of campus events including athletics, concerts, and other campus activities.

This shows that you care about the students, staff, and school outside of your ministry. We want to meet people where they are, like Jesus did. You will get to know more people in a different way.

4. Follow the rules.

This may be easier for some than others, but administration will be more likely to work with you if you are known for following the rules. You want to become someone that the school trusts. Remember that every school is different, so you will want to know the rules for having an event on campus, posting flyers, serving food or coffee, etc. If you accidentally break a rule, own up to it. That will help you to be seen as a team player and will help with any future collaboration.

5. Take advantage of the opportunities given to you.

These opportunities may come in unexpected ways. Recently, Scott Smith and I were given the opportunity to speak for a few minutes about what BCM does on the Lander campus at the University’s Board of Trustees meeting. You never know what may come from a friendship, volunteer experience, partnership, meeting, or any event if you are open to what God can do through it. 

“Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” Colossians 4:5-6

Are you new to serving in campus ministry, or new to your campus? (3 years or less?) New Campus Ministers Fellowship is having another Zoom call, this Wednesday, October 11th at 10am CST/11am EST. We’ll meet for an hour and the topic is “Rhythms of Rest and Boundaries.” Click here to sign up!

Katie Troutman serves as the Associate Director of the Lander University BCM. You can follow the ministry on Instagram @landerbcm.

“GOvember” – BCM Missions Month 

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When is the best time to promote and encourage students to get involved in serving in missions? I always say start early in August and never stop! However, we have also found that having a week-long or month-long missions emphasis in the Fall semester has proven to be effective in focusing on missions and challenging students to go and serve. We use the month of November to do this. It is a strategic time in the Fall semester when students seem ready to pray and think ahead to spring break and summer missions opportunities. It’s also a time when students are close to going home for the holidays and that can be a crucial time for having conversations with parents about serving in missions. It can also provide valuable connections with their home church, family, and friends for fundraising. 

Here are some helpful “GOvember” ideas: 

1. Missions Fair

Kick off your missions week or month with a missions fair. Before our weekly large group, we asked students who had served in missions the previous summer to host a table with information about where they served. They get creative! For example, students who had served with GenSend in NYC gave out cheesecake at their table and talked about their experiences in the city. We give each student who attends a “passport” to receive a stamp at each table. If you fill your passport, you get a chance to win a $100 mission trip scholarship. 

2. Missions Coffee House

Plan a Coffee House night with live music, student missions testimonies, highlighting summer missions opportunities, and praying for the nations. You can also use it as a missions fundraising by adding elements such as a silent auction or selling different coffees and snacks from around the world. 

3. Praying for Unreached People Groups 

Use this time, not only to promote missions opportunities, but to really educate your students about unreached people groups around the world. As a BCM, provide times where you corporately come together to intercede for the nations and for the unreached. We incorporate a time into our weekly large group where a student leader shares how to pray for a specific unreached people group and then spend time in small groups praying. You can find a lot of resources at www.joshuaproject.net. 

4. Missions Monday

It does not have to be Monday but set aside a day each week during GOvember to specifically focus even more on missions. We host a different topic each Monday during the month to help students learn about different aspects of preparing to serve such as fundraising, spiritual preparation, and even how to talk to your family about serving in missions. 

5. Social Media

Utilize social media as much as you can to promote missions during this time. Some ideas can include posting video testimonies from students who have served on mission and highlighting summer missions opportunities from your state BCM missions program, IMB, and GenSend. 

6. Summer Missions Application Parties

Provide times where students can collectively come together for the purpose of working on their summer missions applications. This encourages new students who may have questions about the application process and provides opportunities for you to connect and pray with your students as they make decisions about their summer. 

7. Serve Day

Provide a day during your missions month to serve locally as a group. We had the opportunity last year to serve in a nearby city where our students connected with refugees and learned about unreached people groups living near our city. 

There are so many benefits to students going and serving in missions. They go and serve in a different ministry context, learning so much about evangelism and discipleship, which they can then bring back to their campus. Students mobilized to serve in missions return home energized about how they can serve their own campus and better grasp the concept of their campus as their own mission field. It’s a “win-win” situation! Because of that, it is so important to have a strategy when it comes to promoting missions on your campus. Whether it’s GOvember or another strategy, I am praying for God to mobilize many students on our campuses this year! 

Stacy Murphree serves as the Campus Minister at Austin Peay University’s BCM.  You can reach her at smurphree@tnbaptist.org or follow the ministry on Instagram @austinpeaybcm.

Being Family for International Students During the Holidays

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When you think of holidays, one of the words that may come to mind is family. Holidays tend to give us more time to connect with family for food, recreation, and celebration. International students also think of family during the holidays. Yet many cannot be with family during the holiday time. Most schools shut down during the holidays, so campus can be a very lonely place. Inviting international students to experience family during holiday time in America, such as during Thanksgiving and Christmas, is a wonderful way to show hospitality. These times of hosting also give a chance to show Christian hospitality, can create friendships and gospel conversations, and can replace isolation and loneliness with joy.  Here are some practical ways to do so: 

Offering a meal helps the students experience American holiday food and traditions.

Most internationals have never experienced a turkey and dressing meal or cranberry sauce. Most like to try new food. However, if you host a group of Indian students who are used to spicy food, provide some spices or salsa for them to heat up their meal. Meals can be hosted in a home, church, or Baptist Center setting, depending on the availability of hosts and size of hosting spot. One note on providing meals is to always have a vegetarian option for those who do not eat meat. It is always best to avoid pork and beef as these foods may violate some of the religious norms from their country. Here are some ideas you might try regarding hosting meals:

Taste of Thanksgiving Event

The BCM at Ga. State hosts Taste of Thanksgiving the week before Thanksgiving. A traditional meal is served with local churches providing the food and church members and American students as hosts. Students and church members welcome the international students and offer friendship. A speaker will share why  Americans celebrate Thanksgiving. International students are recognized, and they are given a gift bag to thank them for coming. 

Have a local church host a meal during Thanksgiving or Christmas week

On a day that works for the church and the students, host a meal together during Thanksgiving or Christmas week. They may also need to provide transportation since most internationals do not have a car. 

Host students in a home.

My husband Bob and I often invite internationals to our home for a Christmas meal. Many times we invite them to help decorate our tree. One year, we were having a tough time getting all the lights on our tree working. One of the Chinese students offered to try to fix it and she did! We also build in time to share what Christmas means to ones who follow Jesus and read the Christmas story in Luke. This lets students see there is more to Christmas than the commercialism they encounter in the United States. We also ask students to share what is meaningful about their holidays as well, so it turns out to be a rich cultural time of conversation and sharing. Enlisting church members, students in BCM, or alumni to host students makes for a meaningful time for all. It only takes an invitation, transportation, a meal, and a willingness to be a friend and family to international students. I remember one year a student from Japan told me that being in an American home was the fulfillment of his dream in coming to America! Many international students hope to be welcomed into an American home, yet many go back home after their education without ever having this opportunity.

Here are some other ideas for holiday connections:

Invite students to a Christmas musical at a local church

Many churches have Christmas pageants or plays. One of the local metro Atlanta churches, Woodstock First Baptist, provides transportation to students to attend their annual Christmas pageant. This gives students the Christmas story in a manner that engages the students and gives opportunity for follow up conversation.

Host students in homes for a few days during the holidays

Having students stay in homes is more time intensive, but it really makes for deeper conversations and opportunities to share faith in Christ. Students staying with families really feel a part of the family, and it takes away the loneliness they can feel during the holidays. If it is over a weekend, the student can also be invited to church.

Host a holiday baking day

For those of us in the U.S., we know that holiday sweets are so delicious during Thanksgiving and Christmas. Inviting internationals to bake and decorate cookies or make cake cakes or candy is a great way to engage students and have conversations along the way. And they can have goodies to take home to enjoy.

Take students to a light show

Many cities have light shows at Christmas time. Even some neighborhoods provide a show of their homes that students can see without paying money. Offering transportation to see the lights and hosting a hot chocolate and cookie time afterward can be lots of fun. And it gives time for conversation and friendship building. 

The holidays offer many opportunities for Americans to be family for the international students who come to study in the United States. I encourage you to enlist students, church members, alumni to be part of your hospitality team and connect them to students who are excited about experiencing holidays in a family setting. I think you will find that long term relationships will be built between the students and families and also with the students and Christ!

Join us for our next monthly International Student Ministry zoom call to talk about this very topic! We will meet Thursday, October 12, 2-3 EST. Click this link to sign up to join: ismbaptist.net/connect

Teresa Royall is the Campus Expansion Consultant for Georgia Baptist Collegiate Ministries. You can follow her on Instagram @teresaoncampus or e-mail her at troyall.rep@gabaptist.org.

Growing the Budget: Raising Ministry Finances

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If you are campus based you most likely have to raise your ministry budget.  This is a part of my job that I originally hated.  I felt awkward asking others to support our ministry and give sacrificially to the work we were doing.  The finances were stressful!  During my first year we had a major partner restructure their finances and decide no longer to help fund our ministry.  This was a major blow and caused me a lot of stress and anxiety.  I questioned what we did wrong or what we could have done differently.  In that season I learned several lessons that I wanted to share with you.

1. I had to understand that not everyone would want to partner with us and that is okay!

The partner who removed their partnership began to focus their funds in a different direction.  I prayed for their endeavors. They were focusing on good things. It does no good to fester over what could have been. Remember the adage, “If the world were filled with if’s and but’s everyday would be Christmas with candies and nuts.” We have found others who greatly wanted to partner with us who seemed to appear out of nowhere. Move with the movers!  Do not spend your time regretting “the one that got away.” Instead, focus on being faithful.  

2. Cast your cares upon God.  He is better than we could imagine. 

If God is sovereign over your ministry, He is sovereign over your budget.  1 Peter 5:7 reads “casting all your anxieties on him, because He cares for you.”  In the midst of one partner stepping aside, I had to learn to trust in God even more. He opened the door for other partnerships to be strengthened and new partnerships to be formed.  God is good!

3. Don’t put God in a box.

Often when we pray we want God to act in a specific way.  But often it seems God answers our prayers in ways we did not expect.  We pray for a mountain to be moved, but the mountain that was moved was our own hearts towards His will. I won’t say something as cliche as “where one door closes, another door always opens”… that is nowhere in the Bible.  But I will encourage you to leave no stone left unturned, to revisit other partners and pray for new partnerships.  Several of our partners saw the good work that was being done and wanted to strengthen our partnership.  All it took was an ask. 

4. Continue in the mission.

There are many seasons in ministry. There are seasons of abundance and seasons of more utter dependence (we should always be dependent upon the Lord).  Either way God is faithful and we are called to push forward with the mission of building His Kingdom.  People want to contribute to something they believe in and somewhere they believe God is working.  Continue in the mission in the good and the bad seasons.  We have had several new partnerships arise as we were faithful in our mission! 

5. People want to invest, not give to a charity case.

When we lost our ministry partner, it was a huge blow.  We lost nearly half our ministry budget in one hit.  I felt like I had to scramble.  I felt like I may need to call in some favors or start showing people how desperate the situation was.  But people only respond to those dire situations every so often.  People will start to question if you can handle your finances or why others pulled out if you always show those cards.  I am not saying there is not a time and a place for that, but you must be wise.  INSTEAD celebrate the wins!.  Show them how their money is being spent.  Celebrate all that God is doing in your ministry.  Learn to tell your story.  God has continued to bless our ministry.  Last semester we shared the Gospel nearly 900 times. We have greatly increased our freshman ministry.  We are looking at taking nearly double on our spring break trip.  These are the stories and figures that get people excited.  What are some of the things you need to let your partners know about?  Consider a newsletter or a fundraiser dinner to celebrate these stories. 

I no longer hate the fundraising side of our ministry.  Instead I am just bragging on God and asking people if they want to invest in something worth investing in.  It has become one of my favorite parts of the job.  It allows me to meet new people and brag on God.  What could be better?

Daniel Johnson serves as the Lexington Regional Campus Minister and the Campus Minister at the University of Kentucky. You can follow the ministry on Instagram @ukbcm.

Taking the First Step: Meeting International Students this Fall

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If you spend time on a college campus of any size for more than a day, you will see that the world has come to U.S. schools through international students. These are not just any international students – they are the best and brightest from their countries and they will someday return to take influential positions of leadership in companies, industries, and governments back home and around the world. They will be the world leaders of the next generation!

As of January 2023, the U.S. government says that there are 1.08 million international students attending higher education in the U.S, almost back to pre-pandemic numbers. The top nations represented are China, India, South Korea, Canada, Brazil, Vietnam, Taiwan, Nigeria, Japan and Saudi Arabia, many places where it is difficult for missionaries to enter and engage in gospel sharing. 

Yet, God has brought these students to your campus where you can show Biblical hospitality by offering friendship, living out the gospel in front of them, serving them at a time when they feel vulnerable in a new country, and building trusting relationships where you can plant gospel seeds. 

As a BCM staff member or volunteer, your days are packed with preparing for new freshmen, planning free lunches, training student leaders, leading Bible studies, raising support and more. There is no shortage of work, but what could God do on your campus if you gave some specific time, prayer and effort towards connecting with the international students on your campus this fall? How might the world be reached with the gospel because you started planting global gospel seeds right on your campus? 

Here are just a few ideas that could help you start taking some steps in that direction this Fall.   

Practical Steps

Prayer walk your campus at a peak time of day.

Where do you notice international students hanging out? What do you observe? Ask the Lord to open your eyes to the international students’ rhythms and experiences on your campus. Ask the Lord to spark an idea for beginning international student ministry through your church or BCM.  

Get a list of the home nations of international students on your campus (usually available from a campus census report or the international office) and then begin praying for the students and for their nations.

Look up news stories to know what’s going on back home for these students and pray for these situations. Learn about the typical spiritual backgrounds for students from these countries and cultures. Ask God if there is a certain group of students from this list that He would like you to focus on this year.

Set up a meeting with the leadership of the international student office on your campus.

Ask them if there are a few things they wish they could do for the international community on campus but haven’t had the time or resources to do. One of the beautiful things about Baptist work is our incredible network of churches. You might just have the resources or connections to make one of these desires happen for the international office and community on your campus. Fostering a relationship with and looking for ways to serve the international office is a key part of international student ministry. 

Take stock of what international student ministry is already happening, if at all, on your campus.

Are there other campus ministries or churches serving international students in some way? Talk to these groups. Ask what they are learning about the needs of the international community on campus, how they are seeing God work, what they are doing to serve students, and how you can work together to do more. Think partnership and cooperation! Relationships, not events, are key in international student ministry. With that, there usually are more international students to relate to, and more work to do on a campus than one ministry can do alone.

Look into felt needs and see how you can practically serve international students.

Would it be helpful to international students on your campus and help with building relationships if you offered airport pick ups to new students, weekly rides to the grocery store, English conversation classes, a weekly chai and chat booth, free furniture or housewares, friendship partners with local Americans, holiday host families, free lunches, cultural outings, Discovery Bible Studies, culture and resumé help during career fair season, cooking lessons, etc.? Consider not duplicating efforts by other ministries on campus but adding to the broader mix of ministry to international students. 

Simply teach your student leaders and volunteers to invite a couple of international students to a meal or coffee – either at a restaurant or in their home or apartment.

Many international students never get invited into the homes or lives of Americans and simple hospitality goes a long way. Food is a fantastic way to build a relationship with international students. Consider taking turns preparing and sharing favorite meals or even enjoying cultural experiences together like the county fair or a high school football game. 

Train your volunteers and student leaders in cross-cultural gospel sharing.

Knowing how to share the gospel is foundational for every Christ follower, but knowing how to address unique situations and questions that come from Hindu, Muslim, Agnostic, etc. worldviews can be very helpful in international student ministry. Teach how to build relationships through being intentional listeners, asking really good spiritual questions, and having patience. Earn the right to be heard and to share the gospel by first listening to the student’s spiritual story. Know that it is rare for an international student to respond to the gospel after one conversation; it usually is a spiritual journey over months and years. Also, many international students are warned by their friends and family back home to be wary of people trying to convert them. Thus, a believer is already in a position of needing to earn trust before the students even arrive.

Some helpful tools for equipping in international student ministry are…

Don’t get overwhelmed by all these ideas! You won’t have the capacity to start every effort at once. Start by asking God where He wants you to begin with international student ministry. Then get started. God can do much with a dependent, expectant heart focused on Jesus and willing to take a first step to serve international students on your campus! 

Also, don’t miss this! Each month, the International student ministry team for BCNet hosts a Zoom call to share ideas, hear about ways God is moving, and to pray for each other. The next call is Tuesday, September 12 from 3-4pm. Sign up at this link to join: http://ismbaptist.net/connect

Kaitlin Warrington is the Cross-Cultural Consultant for the UT Dallas BSM. Her e-mail is: kaitlin.warrington@texasbaptists.org. 

Welcome Week Whiteboard!

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Below are several ideas for welcome week, shared by fellow college ministers. Borrow their ideas, and if you need more details, feel free to contact them! 

Baggo Tournament

Table throughout the day and promote/register people for a Baggo tournament at night! Have a great prize for the winning team. Average attendance: 75-100. Cost: $100

First Day of School Photobooth

Simply set up a good camera on a tripod facing an iconic location on campus. Create a few fun chalkboard signs like, “First Day of College 2023”, “Making Mama Proud!”, etc. Students will line up to have their photo taken, then ask them to input their phone number into a quick google survey and say, “Share your number with us and we’ll text you the link to the album this afternoon.” This event allows you to gather several hundred names & numbers for follow ups. Average attendance: 200. Cost: $0

Cookout on Front Lawn of BCM Building

Time for students to connect with one another over a hamburger and hotdog. This is an event where we invite local churches to come and be a part of, so they can hang out with students and make connections. Average attendance: 300 plus. Cost: 500- 600

Scavenger Hunt around Town

An “Amazing Race”/Scavenger Hunt to help students see the campus and town. It is all done on foot with challenges along the way. Average attendance: 50 plus. Cost: Max $100

-Keith Wade, North Georgia BSM, kwade.bcm@gabaptist.org

Speed Friending 

Like speed dating, but not weird! Getting to meet new people with questions that help you get to know them! From silly to serious, questions that hopefully open up opportunities for friendship and the Gospel. Average attendance: 80. Cost: $50-60

Photo Scavenger Hunt (On Campus/Add your hashtag!)

We meet at the BCM at 7PM, I give a list of Photo OPS with points attached (Double Points for Stranger/Students & Creativity). First one back gets a prize. End with Pizza. Photos are amazing for promo events! Ask them to hashtag your event. Cost: Free, or plus pizza

Food Truck Event

Ask a bunch of food trucks to come to your location. Ask each of them for a $3 dollar smaller special. Add 9 Square, Corn hole, and Free Water bottles. Average attendance: 150. Cost: Free, unless you pre-pay food trucks so students are free. Get a church to donate water bottles or sponsor a truck. 

Maverick Adventure Night

Maverick Adventure Night is a new student social to help new students at UT Arlington connect with current students for a heart-pounding adventure to familiarize themselves with their new campus. Two to three student leaders lead a group of 6-10 freshmen/new students on a wild scavenger hunt across campus to complete as many items on their list before the time limit. Afterward, we hand out generous rewards, eat pizza and ice cream, then get as many new student numbers for Gospel appointments as possible. Average attendance: 80-100 Cost: $350 for Little Ceasers and Ice Cream

Retro Skate Social

We print out Retro Skate Social cards and hand them out over several days on campus before the event to hype it up the best we can. Students arrive, fill out a waiver for the skating rink, then fill out a separate 30-second survey that incorporates spiritual background questions: if they would be interested in a 5-minute gospel presentation sometime, and permission to share upcoming events with them. After the event, we have a calling party with student leaders to make Gospel Appointments, and many have come to know the Lord through the Retro Skate Social. Average attendance: 200-300. Cost: $1200 plus

Dodgeball Tournament

We meet in a gym, do 4v4 coed teams and give a gift card to winner. Average attendance: 30. Cost: $100

Tye Dye

We make tye dye shirts. Average attendance: 20-40. Cost: $250-350

  • FL BSM

Open Field or Dorm Quad Area Movie, with Popcorn, Water, Giveaways, and Promo

We set up a large screen between two large step ladders, and project a movie like “Shrek” for one of the nights during “Weeks of Welcome.” We cooperated and co-opted with the University, while sponsoring the event. We provided popcorn, drinks, and info packs about the BCM. Average attendance: 600 Cost: $200

Color Wars

We took over a field that was in the middle of campus behind our BCM center. We made black and white T-shirts to give away and then had various relays and activities in which students were pelted with either color powder or colored water guns, etc. baby pools, water slides, buckets, balloons full of colored water or colored powder. It was so messy and so fun. We divided the various groups with two of our family group leaders over each of the groups. Average attendance: 450 Cost: $300

  • Jerry Johnson, University of Georgia BCM (retired), and currently at Transylvania University BCM in Lexington, KY, jerrybcm@gmail.com

Howdy Party

Welcome Party with Square Dance Caller. Average attendance: 100 plus. Cost: $500

Pass Out Breakfast Bars

We pass out 1600 breakfast bars the first two days (combined) with our welcome week schedule. Average attendance: A lot of students! Cost: $600

Freshmen Survival

An intro to BCM while meeting current leaders & connecting with other freshmen! This 2-3 hour event allows students to meet ministry leaders, find out information about connecting with local churches, small groups or what’s coming up at BCM and also laugh/play games together! We also have held spike ball/9-square tournaments, had line dancing & game nights and worked together with other campus ministries to provide food on campus with a picnic style feel. Average attendance: 80-130 Cost: The students are sometimes charged $10 to cover lunch and the newest BCM shirt. BCM cost is whatever food we provide. 

Luau

Hosted with 5 local churches, we offer live music, an 8-12 team volleyball tournament, lots of food and also inside games! Outside, students can spread out and get to know each other, cheer on their favorite team or float from station to station. Each church and BCM have leaders out to connect and welcome students, and there is often a visit from the school mascot! Average attendance: 500-800. Cost: Students come for free. Local churches provide food of choice within luau theme, BCM provides water, outside lighting and sometimes Snocone or popcorn machine. 

Progressive Dinner

We take students to 4 churches for them to see the church, meet people in the church and learn how to plug in. The churches serve a different portion of the meal (appetizer, salad, entree, dessert). Average attendance: 130 Cost: $0-churches fund it

Ice Cream Social

We host students late night after the 2nd day of class. We do giveaways and intro our Dgroup leaders. It is a come and go, all you can eat ice cream hangout. Average attendance: 250 Cost: $300

LA Tech Luau

Five churches and BCM provide food, games, sand volleyball tourney, giveaways, and live music outdoors/indoors for a festival vibe. Lots of conversations by leaders. Everyone registers so we can follow up. Average attendance: 500-800. Cost: $300

Survival For Freshmen

BCM in house freshmen orientation. Food, games, “how to” seminars, ice breakers/mixers, ministry/small group sign ups, church intros, t shirts. Average attendance: 200. Cost: $1,000, charge $10

Snow and Glow

A Welcome Week event on the campus quad with free snow cones and glow in the dark games. We give out free snow cones, connect with students, and have various games going on like glow in the dark capture the flag, volleyball, 9-square, etc. Average attendance: 150. Cost $200

Survival

Freshmen meet other freshmen and upperclassmen and BCM staff and local church staff. Freshmen find out how to survive and thrive spiritually and socially in college. Average attendance: $150. Cost: Free

Glow Night

A line dance party. Average attendance: 125. Cost: Free

Speed Friending 

This event helps Freshman find friends with the intention that they also get connected to a student leader. Have each student leader have a handful of questions and have freshman students rotate to a new group of three students every 5-10 minutes. Train leaders to be intentional with their interaction and follow up with gospel appointments. Average attendance: 50-60. Cost: $0

Glow Games

We have glow in the dark ultimate frisbee and at 11pm we take out the material to play capture the flag throughout the campus. We give students glow in the dark wristbands and have glow in the dark cones, markers, and flags. Before starting the capture the flag we have one of our pastors share an invitation to follow Christ and be the light in the campus. Average attendance: 100. Cost: One time cost of $200 and then purchasing wristbands the following years.

Campus Wide Worship

This is an outdoor public worship gathering. It is a partnering event with as many as possible of the Christian student organizations on campus. In a high traffic area of campus on a busy evening to let freshmen know that it is okay to publicly worship Jesus. Average attendance: 100. Cost: $4,000 (but that is because the university outsources the A/V and pays for it. Could be done for much cheaper.)

Find a Church

Usually a Sunday morning gathering at 9 AM where returning upperclassmen represent the local congregations that they attend and facilitate transportation to and from the church for new students. Average attendance: 75. Cost: 0

Prayer Walking Your Campus: Ideas and Insights

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There were about a dozen of us that gathered together wondering what we were going to do this new year. We had lost our campus staff due to support raising shortages leaving us students to run the ministry on campus. Thankfully our staff had been impressing upon us the power and necessity of prayer so we formulated a plan. We were going to pray all night for our campuses (we came from multiple schools near each other), but it wasn’t going to be us sitting around in a quiet room. We agreed we would march around the entire campus 7 times, praying silently the first 6 and out loud on the 7th. It was the night before freshmen move-in when we began and our heart’s prayer was for a bumper crop of freshmen in our ministry. We weren’t concerned that there were no staff to guide us. We were confident and bold and trusted in the Lord, our staff had taught and prepared us well. As we finished up that 7th round of prayer we gathered in front of one of the dorms looking at the city stretched out below us and the mountains in the distance and began to see the first rays of light of the morning warming the sky and we sang praises to our God. Over the next few weeks we saw the faithfulness of God to hear and answer our prayers as we saw the largest group of freshmen join the ministry we could remember in our time as students. – Shaun Stotyn, Director of The Vine Campus Ministry at University of Vermont and Vermont State Collegiate Coordinator

My friends, prayer works, no matter where you are or the position you are in: “The prayer of a righteous person is very powerful in its effect.”(James 5:16b). But today we thought it would be valuable to focus on putting feet to our prayers in prayer walking with a compilation of stories and ideas meant to inspire you to go out and pray for your campuses.

  • Samm Hawes is the Associate Director of the UT Knoxville BCM. Here, she shares some very useful and practical ideas to remember when organizing a prayer walk. You can follow the BCM’s ministry on Instagram @UTKBCM.
  • “Out of desperation, I researched ministries who had effectively reached their communities with the gospel. Regardless of the denomination, church, or ministry, all of them shared a common priority: prayer.” Noah Jaeger is the Launch Catalyst for Christian Challenge in Arizona. Here, he shares how incredibly impactful prayer walking was to his ministry. You can reach Noah at noah@challengeaz.com.
  • Prayer walking can yield amazing results! Read Meg Craig’s story (director of San Antonio BSM), and see how God used prayer walking to transform her calling and ministry.

Motivate and Equip: Helping Student Leaders Connect with Freshmen

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Each fall, student leaders have the opportunity to connect with new students arriving on our campuses across the country. The nature of college ministry requires constant turnover, recruitment, and investment each year to keep ministries growing and thriving. While campus ministry staff work hard to connect with new students, ensuring your student leaders invest in incoming Freshmen is vital to this process. The question is, how do we Motivate and Equip student leaders to connect with and invest in new students?

Motivation

Two points to focus on that may help motivate student leaders are Mission and Experience. 

1. First, the Mission of a follower of Christ is to connect with non-believers and encourage other followers of Christ.

The jump from high school to college is one of the most significant transition times in life, and many students, even “church kids,” come to college unsure about what path they will take during these years. Challenge your leaders to reach out to new students because they may be the person who helps guide them down the correct path toward a growing walk with Christ.

2. Second, remind them of the experience they had coming to college.

Did an upperclassman invest in them? Did someone reach out that helped make them comfortable in their new setting? Then take the opportunity to do the same thing for another student. What if a leader needed help connecting and desired more investment from older students? Challenge them to be for someone else what they wish someone had been for them. Whatever the motivation, show your leaders that they have an excellent opportunity to make a tremendous impact in the life of a new student desperate for relationships, connection, and security in their new surroundings.

Equip

With the motivation and opportunity established, the next step is to give some hands-on tips to help connect with Freshmen.

1. Embrace the Awkward. 

New connections and relationships usually do not start with a natural flow or ease. It will be awkward because new students are uncomfortable and nervous, which produces disjointed conversations and interactions. Help leaders know that this is ok, to expect odd interactions, and press through knowing this person is trying the best they can in their new situation. Refrain from letting the first impression set your final opinion about a new student. Know it will be awkward, and keep pushing and investing until you find some natural flow to your conversations and interactions. 

2. Be the Guide. 

An incoming student needs direction and advice navigating our college campuses. How do you buy books? Where are your classrooms? Which dining hall has better food? Which coffee shop is the best in town? Use these needs as an opportunity to resource the new student. Take a new student on a tour of the city or pick spots that are great hangouts and invite them to go and visit. Have a leader say, “there is no dumb question,” and maybe give an example of something they wondered when they arrived on campus and did not know who to ask. Have your leader show the new student they are interested in being a resource because they want the Freshmen to have a great first year on campus. 

3. Always take Someone With You. 

Always inviting someone along is a great way to spend time with a new student. Do you need to go to the grocery store? Invite a new student. Need to run an errand, go by Target, run to the bank, etc. Use these minor things as opportunities to spend time together. A car ride while running an errand gives you something to do while being able to talk as you go. First-year students have more time on their hands due to their lighter class loads and schedules. They usually look for things to do to fill their time, and these simple trips may be the starting points of great relationships. 

4. Include Them in Your Life. 

New students are people, not projects. Investing in Freshmen is not an assignment but the beginning of new relationships. So encourage leaders to invite new students to hang with their friends as they do everyday social events. This step can sometimes be challenging because leaders may worry that adding new people may change the social dynamic in their established relationships. Remind them that college is all about change, so relationships do not stay static. There are always people coming and going, and changes in the social fabric of college are constantly shifting. Adding new folks to a group, routine, or activity is part of life and will show a new student a genuine interest in them as an individual. 

5. Be Ready to Be Left on Read. 

New students are figuring out their path in college, and some will choose a different path. Leaders may be frustrated when a Freshman does not respond to texts, skips events, or disappears from the ministry. While this is frustrating, challenge them to keep reaching out (within reasonable limits) and know that investment is a long process. 

Chad McClurg is the BCM director at the University of Louisiana Monroe. You can follow the ministry on Instagram @ulmbcm.  

Meeting Students: Ways to Connect Through Campus Sponsored Events

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I minister along with our associate director, Katie Troutman, on the state university campus, Lander University, which has  a population of 4000 plus students.  Our university is very open to ministry and has “seen the light” of utilizing our ministry.  Let me confess that I have been serving on this campus for almost 39 years (as of June 1st), but this didn’t happen without a lot of prayer, groundwork and developing a reputation of being a valued part of the university.   Our university makes it possible for BCM to have a table at all the freshman orientations during the summer.  We also have a table at all the Open House sessions that happen throughout the school year.  Lander gives our ministry many opportunities to connect with students, faculty, and staff.  Here are some ways that I hope will help your ministry use campus sponsored events like freshman orientation to connect with students.

First, follow the rules!! 

This is important because our campus sees us as a team player.  Not only do we believe in following the rules, but it means that we do this consistently.  We put up signs in the appropriate places; we get permission for events through the right channels (usually student affairs can tell you the appropriate process for this).  When we meet freshmen at freshmen orientation, we contact the incoming freshman through three methods:  1.) A letter is written  2). A message is sent via text to the incoming student by Katie or me  3.) A current BCM student sends contact through a telephone call or text message.  Then we make our appreciation known to the university personnel that gave us this opportunity.  It is an important part of our work to express appreciation through written contact (thank you notes), by electronic media (phone, text, email, etc.), and by personal words of affirmation.

Second, we make sure that appropriate people in the school are well aware of our work and our efforts. 

We provide written summaries of the number of students we have reached, stories about students that are impacted, and relationships with students who have made good choices.  We do this by sending a report to the President, all Vice Presidents and other student oriented staff members.   A few years back our university hired a “retention specialist.”  We met with this new staff person pretty soon after he arrived.  He became a friend of our ministry and he began referring students to our ministry.  We have also formed a relationship with our university counseling center.  The director of our counseling center has also become a friend of our ministry.  Anytime there is a student that has faith questions, he and his staff refer that student to our ministry.  Not only does this give us great opportunities to talk with students, but it also gives our counseling center a strong relationship for questions they might have.  We had a student that was not involved in BCM who sadly took his life.  Our counseling center asked us to meet with students who had been impacted by this student’s life and death.  We spent a week meeting with each student by phone or in person. Our university staff was grateful when they heard that we had made contacts with so many that were affected by this tragedy.

We also have made it a point for many years to attend events that students participate in. 

We attend athletic events (especially the ones that are a little more obscure), attend concerts, Christmas events, graduations, end of the year events, and anything else that involves students.  Not only do we attend these events but we try and meet family members if they are in attendance.  This gives us a great opportunity to connect with families on a bigger scale.

It’s okay to ask the faculty and staff in areas of influence if they need your help and ask them if you can pray for them. 

We have new athletic facilities being constructed fairly regularly on our campus.  In the past we attended all ground breaking ceremonies for these new buildings and playing fields.  We then began receiving invitations to offer an invocation for the dedication at these new facilities.  This past year the Athletics Director asked us to speak to the head coaches about our ministry.  We were able to share about our ministry and our opportunities.  This came about because the Athletics Director saw us at different sporting events over the last few years. 

It is important to establish a relationship with Student Affairs/Student Activities.  

Because of this long term relationship the folks that work in these areas will assign us tables that we can display BCM promotional literature in a most advantageous spot.  These are usually the higher traffic areas which allow our ministry to meet and greet more students.

It is important to make contacts with as many people as possible in your university setting.  It’s important to be reliable.  If you say you are going to be somewhere at a certain time, be there.  It’s important to show up when events begin and stay the whole time.  It’s important to be a person that cares about the university and the people that work there. Relationships matter and don’t underestimate kindness—it matters!

Scott Smith is the BCM Director for Lander University. You can follow Lander BCM on IG @landerbcm.