Most BUA students share culture, economic background, calling

SAN ANTONIO—Hispanic students who may have felt out of place in an educational setting before feel at home when they arrive at Baptist University of the Américas, President René Maciel said.

“The Hispanic culture is in our DNA,” Maciel said. “Students feel comfortable, connected, accepted and nurtured here.”

In the three years since he became president of Baptist University of the Américas, René Maciel has seen the school gain students—Hispanic, African-American and Anglo—at an unprecedented rate. But Hispanic culture and heritage remain an integral part of the institution’s character, he insists. (PHOTOS/Courtesy of Baptist University of the Américas)

At BUA, Hispanics discover a student body where 85 percent of the student body shares their cultural heritage. And many come from the same socio-economic background, with 40 percent of the student body living below the poverty level.

“Our students don’t have a lot in terms of material resources, but they do have a calling,” Maciel said. “They understand faith in a different aspect than those who have a lot. … The culture here is to trust God day by day and to be obedient to his calling on one’s life.”

That always has characterized the school, former President Josue Grijalva said.

“There were boys whom the Lord called to preach, and they came to school living in their cars because they didn’t have a place to stay,” he said.

“I remember when the Mexican Baptist Bible Institute was downtown, and the ladies from the First Baptist Church Woman’s Missionary Union every day would bring a meal to the boys at the school who didn’t have enough money to even buy a hamburger.”

BUA cherishes that heritage, and Hispanic culture is woven into every aspect of student life at BUA, Maciel noted.

“Classes are all taught in English, but you hear nothing but Spanish in the hallways,” he said.

Even so, 8 percent of the student body is African-American, and that number is growing, Maciel said. Many of the African-American students say they grew up in neighborhoods similar to the Hispanic students and shared many of the experiences of living as a minority in a predominantly Anglo culture, he explained.

“When they come here, they say it just fits. It feels natural,” he said.

In the three years since he became BUA president, Maciel has seen the school gain students—Hispanic, African-American and Anglo—at an unprecedented rate.

Josue Grijalva presented to each graduate at what was then called Hispanic Baptist Theological Seminary a small square cut from a towel to remind them of their call to be servants.

“We’re growing every semester. The school has never had this kind of growth in its history, particularly when it comes to degree-program students,” he said.

Last fall, BUA had 260 students enrolled, and the number grew to 275 in the spring. “In 2011, we expect our new housing to be full, and we’re anticipating 300 students,” he said.

The school graduated its largest class in history this spring, and the vast majority were preparing for service in Baptist churches.

“We have more Hispanic ministry students than all the other Texas Baptist schools combined,” Maciel said.

While BUA has launched popular programs in teaching and business, 90 percent of its students still are at the school to prepare for ministry. Other programs are geared toward preparing students to minister in a bivocational setting.

“Many will be going to churches that cannot pay a full-time pastor, and they will need a second vocation. We want to prepare ministers for where God leads them,” he said.

The shared experience of living on limited resources before and during their education prepares BUA students for the kind of ministry most will experience after graduation, Maciel said.

“If we ever became an affluent institution, it would warp the education they receive,” he said.

But there’s little danger of BUA becoming ensnared by the temptations that come with affluence. The school carries $9 million debt, and it is trying to sell its campus and move to land already purchased across the freeway.

The school needs to find a buyer for its property, and it needs to find donors who will invest in the institution’s future. But Maciel remains optimistic.

“We’ve developed a lot of good relationships. I think we are in a healthy place,” he said. “We’re very connected to the Baptist General Convention of Texas and tied in to Convencion.”

Maciel would like to reclaim a tradition Grijalva instituted during his time as president—presenting to each graduate a small piece of fabric from a towel. Invoking the story of Jesus washing his disciples’ feet, the piece of cloth is meant to remind graduates their role is to go into the world as servants.

“Every once in awhile,” Grijalva recalled, “I would meet a former student on the street. He would pull out his wallet, reach in there and take out that little square of towel. The diploma might be hanging on his wall, but he carried that piece of towel with him. I wish every Texas Baptist had a little piece of towel, to remind them we are called to be servants.”