At the first Baptist Campus Ministries event of the semester, a University of North Alabama student came up to Matt Daniels and said something that surprised him.
“He said, ‘Hey Matt, I’m not a believer. I don’t believe like you guys or think like you guys. But this is the most genuine thing I’ve ever seen,’” said Daniels, UNA’s Baptist campus minister.
Drawn to that genuineness, the student jumped into a discipleship group and continued coming to BCM events.
“Some of our male students rallied around him and said, ‘Hey man, what are your questions?’ And they walked through those with him,” Daniels said.
And in late September, surrounded by some of those guys, the student surrendered his life to Christ.
Daniels said he’s amazed by that story and every single other life God has changed through the BCM at UNA. On Sept. 30, he — along with alumni, students, parents and former campus ministers — marked the ministry’s 100th anniversary with a tailgate and a celebration honoring the past, present and future.
‘Special day’
Eddy Garner, who served as UNA’s Baptist campus minister from 1988 to 2006, shared with those present about the BCM’s legacy from past decades.
“It was a very special day,” he said. “There were a lot of students there from all eras, from Jim Warren’s time (campus minister from 1970 to 1988) to my years there all the way up through Matt’s time.”
The oldest alumni present for the celebration — Phillip and Martha Anderson, now members of First Baptist Church Florence — served as International Mission Board missionaries to the Philippines for years. It was a calling no doubt influenced by their campus minister, Jo Randall, who later also served as a missionary in Japan.
Garner said between him, Warren and Daniels, they could think of around 70 former students who went on to serve in ministry, not counting the many more who went on to share their faith through their professions.
‘Transformational’
Daniels also shared about how God is working through the BCM now. They’re averaging around 150 for discipleship groups and 250 in weekly worship; on one recent night, nearly 300 students showed up. Seven have professed new faith in Christ already this semester, and several football players were recently baptized on the practice field.
“It’s pretty transformational what God is doing right now on campus,” Daniels said.
He noted that he was confident the future would be just as bright.
“BCM will be a vital ministry long after we’re gone,” he said.
For more information, visit northalabamabcm.com.
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