Days before the start of a new school year, more than 1,730 college students and leaders gathered at Falls Creek Conference Center in Oklahoma to learn how to live on mission and become passionate followers of Jesus.
Groups from across North America—including Alaska, Hawaii and Canada—met with International Mission Board and North American Mission Board personnel for the five-day event that included worship, teaching and fellowship.
State convention collegiate ministry leaders partnered to plan and produce the event, which saw its largest post-COVID attendance this year.
Pastor Arjay Gruspe of Pawa’a Community Church in Honolulu, who also is director of Next Generation Ministries for the Hawaii Pacific Baptist Convention, served on the event planning team.
This year he brought eight others from Hawaii, including four students, to “challenge them to be countercultural in the way they live and approach life on their campuses.”
He celebrated the report that more than 50 individuals prayed to receive Christ as Savior and more than 200 responded to a call to ministry during Collegiate Week.
“It was great to see so many campus and church-based campus ministries interacting and planning ways to partner and pray for one another this fall,” Gruspe said. “IMB always has a strong presence and did a great job in having students consider mission involvement.”
Gruspe added he was glad to see increased numbers of seminaries engaging with students this year.
‘College years are pivotal’
Collegiate Week partners with Southern Baptist seminaries, Woman’s Missionary Union, NAMB and IMB to introduce students and leaders to a wide spectrum of available missions, vocational and educational opportunities.
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Registration Coordinator Carissa Jones of the Oklahoma Baptist Convention noted the event also seeks to help participants take their next steps in ministry leadership.
“The college years are pivotal. Students are often on their own for the first time and making decisions that will impact them for the rest of their lives,” Jones said. “The world is there waiting for them, and the body of Christ needs to be as well.”
H.B. Charles, Shane Pruitt and Tommy Woodard were featured speakers during the 2024 Collegiate Week, with worship sessions led by Cody Dunbar and Matt Roberson.
Participants recorded decisions and requested follow-up contact through a QR code, and others responded during worship services, which saw hundreds of participants gather throughout the altar area.
Denton minister brought 35 students
Jared Gregory, college pastor at First Baptist Church in Denton, has brought students from his church’s ministry to Collegiate Week since 2018 and has served in several planning capacities for the event over the years.
He characterized it as a time for students to “connect with God, each other, and our mission agencies” before the back-to-school rush sets in.
This year, Gregory brought 35 students from the University of North Texas, Texas Woman’s University and North Central Texas College.
“It’s such a good week to see students get right in their relationship with God before they start ministry to others,” Gregory said. “This year, we had a number of students come forward to confess sin in their lives that is holding them back from God, and three students declared a call to ministry.”
Stacy Murphree, campus minister at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tenn., said the timing of Collegiate Week is a bonus, right before the beginning of fall semester. This year, she brought about 100 Baptist Collegiate Ministry students from six campuses, and she said student and leaders benefitted from networking and sharing ideas.
The experience also “jumpstarts” her leaders, who had about one week before campus ministries officially started, she added.
“I love that our students can hear about campuses in emerging areas. Maybe they could feel personally led to serve in those areas, but this also broadens their perspective of campus ministry that’s not just about what we do on our campuses,” Murphree said. “It’s about what God is doing throughout the United States.
“Nowhere else could they be with other students from other BCMs across the country and now be able to better pray for those campuses, too. This is such a valuable time.”
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