Three years ago, I began praying that if God wanted to use me in ministry outside of what I was already doing at my church then I was willing to go and serve.
I attended an associational English as a Second Language (ESL) training and left that evening as the new site leader at one of our four schools.
I have just completed my third year in this ministry volunteer position. Little did I know that my ministry outside of the local church was only beginning.
Nine months ago, I began a new chapter in my life as a part-time associate campus minister, ministering to students from the University of South Alabama and Spring Hill College.
Too often teenagers and young adults are seen as lazy, uncommitted and not interested in anyone other than themselves.
However, my experience as a campus minister has opened my eyes to the lives of college students and has truly been a refreshing time in my life.
It has been encouraging to work with college students who love the Lord and are willing to invest in the lives of fellow students they meet in their classes, residence halls and intramural sports.
I’ve seen students come to know Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior because a Baptist Campus Ministries (BCM) student connected with them and, through that relationship, they were able to share their personal faith.
I’ve had the opportunity to disciple one young lady who was led to the Lord by two of our BCM students. One student was her study partner, and another student spent time answering her questions.
In October, I was able to lead a student to the Lord through Engage, an evangelistic emphasis on college campuses across our country.
One young girl prayed to receive Christ and had a connection with some of the BCM students in her residence hall. She didn’t have a Bible on campus, and we were able to get her one and have one of our students give it to her.
A few months later, she began coming with some of our BCM students to our weekly Bible study.
For the last several weeks of school, she has faithfully participated in Bible study. She wasn’t ready in the spring to commit to being a part of a discipleship small group, but I’m praying that this fall she will want to be involved and grow in her relationship with Christ.
While attending Pursue in February, a discipleship event for Alabama college students and young adults, one other young lady shared that before coming to the conference she had always believed that discipleship was for people who were already mature in their faith.
She didn’t realize that as a follower of Christ, you could be discipled no matter where you were in your walk with Christ.
I saw a dorm Bible study start this spring semester with five young ladies and end up touching the lives of twelve. Three new young ladies came our very last night of Bible study.
With only a few weeks left in the semester, they began asking if I would be coming back in the fall for Bible study.
Twice that semester, I had the opportunity to present the Gospel to these students which resulted in many questions being asked.
I later learned that one of the students took another student to LifeWay to purchase a devotional book that she has been reading each day.
I was able to go on two mission trips with the college students where I saw survey work turn into opportunities to invite people to church and to pray with them on their front porches. Children were able to hear the Gospel shared using an EvangeCube and were shown the love of God through sports, crafts, snacks and Bible stories.
Each day, as I work with college students, I get to serve alongside, disciple, share life with, mentor, listen to uplifting stories of faith being shared, and see students praying for and investing in others.
This ministry has truly blessed and changed my life as I witness college students taking the focus off of themselves and taking the Gospel to their campuses!
