UAB campus minister Morrison helps students prepare for vocational ministry

State missionary and University of Alabama at Birmingham campus minister

And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ” (Eph. 4:11–12). 

Baptist Campus Ministries (BCM) has as its distinguishing characteristic the equipping of college and university students. BCM is set apart from some other evangelical ministries in that we equip and funnel our leaders back into the local church. This equipping takes place through hands-on ministry on local campuses encompassing outreach, evangelism, missions and leadership development — or in other words, discipleship.

I began my service as a campus minister at the University of South Alabama in Mobile as a campus minister intern, moving in June 1989 to be the associate campus minister at the University of Alabama. During my first few years in campus ministry, two colleagues distinguished themselves as ministers who produced countless students who were serving with distinction in churches and missions sites throughout the world. Bob Ford and Clete Sipes were as different as night and day in almost every regard, but they both had a focused determination to prepare students for a lifetime of service to Christ. I desired to have that kind of influence through my ministry and began to observe and learn how they, along with others, interacted with students.

Have you prayed?

I began to ask students a very direct question: Have you ever prayed or thought about a call to vocational ministry? This simple question has given students — who may not have otherwise thought about vocational ministry — permission or a blessing to do so. Some consider that question and determine that God is not calling them to vocational ministry but with others it begins a journey that ushers in a confirmation of a call to ministry.

In the 26-plus years I have been a campus minister these students who are called to vocational ministry have received special attention. Most of them have been in my home, hosted by my wife and family. They are in places of service throughout the world in roles such as pastor, student minister, campus minister, professor, missionary and church planter. I help students prepare for that call by encouraging and helping them find a part-time ministry position in a church, enlisting them to serve on BCM leadership, meeting with them in one-on-one discipleship, giving counsel as to which seminary to attend and allowing them to preach occasionally at our weekly worship meetings. A little more than a year ago I realized something was missing from my model of preparation and that was influence from ministers who have spent most of their life serving a local church. The Vocational Minister’s Roundtable was formed to address this missing element of preparation.

I enlist ministers who have spent 25-plus years in ministry so they can give counsel to the students as they prepare to enter vocational ministry. Presently I have 12 students who are called to vocational ministry involved in BCM at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Some are called to be a pastor, some will do student ministry. One is called to open an orphanage on the missions field; one will begin ministry as a church planter. Recently Rick Lance spoke about his calling as pastor and his service as the executive director of the State Board of Missions. 

We will have our last meeting for the semester in April with Pastor Gary Fenton of Dawson Memorial Baptist Church, Birmingham. We will resume in September with Pastor Jay Wolf of First Baptist Church, Montgomery. It has been my distinct honor to be used by God in this role. I never dreamed I could be used in this way.

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