Alabama Baptists reach out to new, returning college students

The heat may still be sweltering, but fall is in the air as college students across the state head back to campus. And Alabama Baptist churches aren’t letting them go unnoticed.
   
Many church volunteers make first impressions on students by helping them on moving day. Some move boxes and furniture, while others hand out water and snacks.
   
But for some churches, the outreach begins much earlier, said Stephen Thompson, senior Baptist campus minister at Auburn University (AU). “The churches here in Auburn have been real good about contacting incoming freshman through the summer,” he said. “Consequently a lot of students come to campus looking specifically for (the church that has contacted them).”
   
And when the students arrived on campus in early August, volunteers from those churches were there to greet them, Thompson said.
   
That connection may spur the students to be involved in that church, said Tony Arnold, media relations director for Campus Crusade for Christ. 
   
“They’re more liable to follow through and visit (those churches),” he said. “And that may form the relationships that can be so key to keeping a student from a church family involved in the faith when [he or she goes] away to college.”
   
After students are moved in and settled, many churches start out right away with activities for them. 
   
At Judson College in Marion, all the local churches, no matter their denomination, are invited to take part in a progressive dinner open to all students early in the semester, said Meredith Davenport, campus minister for Judson.
   
This gives students the opportunity to meet church members and learn about the churches in a social setting, which tends to be less threatening, she said. It also shows students that the churches are willing to make an effort to reach them.
   
Neal Ledbetter, director of spiritual life for the University of Mobile, said students who plug into local churches seem more settled in their new environment. “You notice when they connect with a (church),” he said. “They’re more likely to help out with that ministry, to plug in and serve.”
   
That’s what Chad Cossiboom, university minister at Shades Mountain Baptist Church, Vestavia Hills, would like to see happen among students in the Birmingham area.
   
“We believe in this generation and believe in the potential of this generation so much that we want to integrate them into the church family,” he said. It’s about helping college students see how the church body functions so that they will want to be involved in service or leadership there.
   
That was the case for Matt Hersch, a recent University of Alabama (UA) graduate, who began attending Forest Lake Baptist Church, Tuscaloosa, a little more than three years ago. “They were glad I was there, and they made an effort to let me know that,” he said of his first visit. That openness encouraged him to begin serving in the church, helping with Vacation Bible School and children’s events. Eventually Hersch was offered the job of children’s activities leader.
   
Forest Lake Baptist’s smaller college group was also a bonus for Hersch. “The problem with big churches is they’re easy to get lost in. At Forest Lake, from the moment I stepped in the doors, I felt like I was important to these people.”
   
In Birmingham, Samford University’s Matt Kerlin, seconded that. “[M]ost students from Alabama come from smaller churches,” said Kerlin, minister to the university. “Most students probably feel more comfortable in smaller churches, and smaller churches can do a lot of good.”
   
Some churches also reach out to campus groups. First Baptist Church, Florence, allows a sorority and fraternity from the nearby University of North Alabama to use its facilities for weekly meetings and events. 
   
“You can preach to them every day, but to show them acts of love or kindness will reach them quicker than a sermon,” said Kevin Johnson, minister to students at First, Florence.
   
Other churches have themselves become registered student organizations. At both AU and UA, churches such as Lakeview Baptist, Auburn; First Baptist, Opelika; Calvary Baptist, Tuscaloosa; and First Baptist, Tuscaloosa, have done just that, Thompson said. 
   
Churches can also have a campus presence through visits with students, he noted. 
   
However a church chooses to minister, its willingness to fully involve students seems to be the main ingredient needed for college ministry. “The greatest need (students) have is to know that they are accepted,” Johnson said. “Don’t judge them outwardly; love them for who they are inwardly.”