MARSHALL—East Texas Baptist University’s Baptist Student Ministry recently hosted a prayer tent event, offering students 24 consecutive hours of prayer, reflection, confession and thanksgiving.
The prayer tent was part of ETBU’s initiative to offer students, staff and faculty a time of focused prayer.
Beginning at 8 a.m. on April 15 and lasting until 8 a.m. on April 16, students had full 24-hour access to the prayer tent, a large white tent outside the Ornelas Student Center housing prayer cards, a thanksgiving journal, crafts and more.
ETBU’s prayer tent ministry began in 2019, though the idea of prayer tents on college campuses has existed for years. ETBU’s prayer tent exists to encourage the students of ETBU to depend upon the Lord in prayer, organizers noted.
“A while ago … our Baptist Student Ministry decided it was a great idea to have time on campus for people to be developed, not only in prayer, but also involved with others in community with that,” said Paxton Lovell, junior sports communication major and BSM member.
“So, they started this prayer tent, which allows people for 24 hours to come by whenever they need to pray, to be close with one another and … be involved.”
Adoration, confession, thanksgiving and supplication
BSM volunteers were stationed outside the tent, offering a collection box for written prayer, information to students walking by and helping guide them through the prayer tent’s purpose and structure.
The prayer tent followed the ACTS prayer model, an acronym standing for adoration, confession, thanksgiving and supplication. This method serves as an outline for prayer.
The prayer tent offered four stations with tables, each corresponding to a segment of the ACTS model. The different stations allowed students to focus on various aspects of prayer.
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Sophomore Christian ministry major and BSM member Patrick Burt explained the process.
“There’s different things you can pray by. You can confess to God what you’ve been struggling with,” Burt said. “You can thank him for what he is currently doing in your life You can adore him and … be in his presence.”
One station had note cards for students to write their prayer requests. They could attach their prayers inside the tent or put them into a box collected by BSM.
Another station had a notebook for students to write down what they were thankful for, praising God for all he has done in their lives and highlighting his goodness and glory.
The “confession” station had paper gift tags students could write confessions on before hanging them on nails on a wooden cross in the tent’s center.
Another station had art and crafts supplies students could use to make a collage of what they are thankful for, prayer requests or anything God put on their hearts.
Senior university studies major Rhythme Seban described her first impressions of the prayer tent, which she discovered after leaving class.
“I liked that they chose a white tent because it made it feel … very holy. It has a sacredness to it that I really appreciate,” Seban said.
“The table I liked was the confessions table, where it’s basically a time of repentance, where you can write down … your wrongdoings and put it on the cross and leave it there. … It emphasizes that the debt has already been paid.”
Visibility and accessibility
The prayer tent’s structure and location made it visible and accessible to students who might not approach it otherwise.
Sophomore rehab science major Landen Hobbs said he fell into this category, but is so thankful he stopped by for prayer.
“I didn’t even know we offered the prayer tent, probably because I didn’t really pay attention to … spiritual stuff last year,” Hobbs acknowledged.
“I was actually about to walk into the cafeteria doors when I saw the prayer tent. … So, I turned around and walked over.”
Hobbs particularly was impressed by the confession board “because I don’t feel like I thank God enough. … We’re all guilty of this. We pray for it, but after it happens, we forget to thank him.”
Having the tent up allowed people to connect on a deeper, more spiritual level, creating an inviting space for students to engage in a time of repentance and confession, surrounded by the love of students in ministry.
“I’m one of the BSM leaders of the prayer tent. I’m here to just show the love of God and … pray for people and pray for their requests that they leave here,” said Luis Correa, a sophomore criminal justice major.
“The prayer tent is very helpful. … It offers the opportunity to just be able to show love to people who might not know Christ. … I’ve seen a lot of people affected by this.
“I just pray that more people continue to come throughout the day and hopefully just be able to feel the sense … that God wants your heart, and hopefully this prayer tent can help people come to know Christ or restore their relationship with him.”
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