BSM outreach sizzling at Texas Tech

LUBBOCK—Leaders at the Texas Tech University Baptist Student Ministry believe the way to a student’s heart is through his or her stomach. And they hope their 99 Cent Steak Night makes students’ hearts more receptive to the gospel.

This year, the BSM saw 1,200 students come through the line during Raider Welcome Week, a time of move-in and back-to-school festivities.

Since 1985, the BSM has hosted 99 Cent Steak Night to welcome students to campus and to provide an activity where churches can interact with Tech students. The BSM provided the steaks, and 12 local Baptist churches brought all the fixings complete with salad, lemonade, baked potatoes and dessert.

“Our goal is for students involved in local churches to make connections with other students on campus through steak night,” said Jeff Kennon, director of the Texas Tech BSM. “It’s a great way to reach out to the campus, but steak night is the beginning for us because we are not just a big-event-driven ministry.”

In the past, steak night was held at a location on the edge of campus, and only 400 students attended.

As Kennon fostered relationships with Tech student activity and residence hall leaders during the last three years, the BSM was able to move the event in 2008 to Urban-ovsky Park, in the middle of campus near most of the dorms. That move, along with the university adding steak night to the official Raider Welcome Week activity line-up, tripled participation.

At the event, the BSM gave away campus guides, a booklet with information on the BSM, a city map, favorite restaurants, local churches and other fun tips about the area.

During the week, the BSM held activities such as dorm cookouts for 400 students and their families on move-in day, an international dinner club for new international students and a church “speed-dating” cookout for students to get information about local churches and meet the college ministers.

Sign up for our weekly edition and get all our headlines in your inbox on Thursdays Email Address Texas Tech students fill their plates with salad, steak, baked potatoes and cookies all for 99 cents at a welcome week event hosted by the Baptist Student Ministry at Tech and 12 local Baptist churches.

To continue ministering to students this fall, the BSM has partnered with churches to host 15 to 20 campus groups in the 16 residence halls on campus.

Through this, the BSM has an opportunity to minister to and specifically pray for each of the 7,000 students who live on campus.

The goal is for each campus group to focus on finding creative ways to meet students in the assigned dorm, minister to their needs and connect them to the gospel and a church.

These BSM outreach activities are part of the pray, care and share theme of Texas Hope 2010, an emphasis to share the gospel with every Texan by Easter Sunday 2010. 

“We are going to share the gospel, but we are going to do it in a relational way,” Kennon said.

“It’s about doing mission projects on a dorm floor and praying for the residents daily. We want to earn the right to be heard.”