By Raylee Foster | Staff Writer
In 2009, a group of Baylor students began a ‘revolt’ against Baylor Chapel. This revolt became what is known today as Vertical, a campus ministry and non-profit organization that has grown to host 500 Baylor Chapel students.
Baylor 2018 alumnus Myles Olenski, executive director of Vertical, said he spent his four undergraduate years volunteering with Vertical and the college ministry has undergone great changes since he was a student.
“When I was a freshman, we weren’t a Baylor organization, so we weren’t allowed on campus, so that meant every Monday night was hosted off campus at different locations,” Olenski said. “We had a really small team of volunteers. It felt like every week there was a new group of people.”
The ministry now meets on Baylor’s campus — often on the field of Fountain Mall — with a consistent team of volunteers, including an executive and leadership team.
Flower Mound junior Abby Mathai, president of Vertical, said she has seen many changes to the ministry in her three years. She said she before becoming the president for the year of 2023, she had previously served as a volunteer on the outreach team. She said she feels the ministry is continuing to grow in the strength of their relationship with one another.
“In terms of change, just how people have gotten closer with one another over time whether that’s just being more comfortable with serving with each other on Monday nights or hanging outside of Monday nights,” Mathai said.
She also said for her, Vertical provided the things she prayed to find in college. In her time volunteering, Mathai said she has met half of the people she currently lives with. She said she encourages students to come to Vertical’s Monday night events to have an opportunity to join in this community.
“Knowing most of the volunteers and the leaders, we just want people to come as they are and experience the love of Christ as we have felt,” Mathai said.
The option to replace Chapel with Vertical has allowed the ministry to reach more people. During the spring of 2022, the ministry hosted 15 students for their Chapel alternative option. This past fall, there were 150 students and this spring semester, with 500 students, the ministry’s impact is continuing to grow.
Vertical’s Associate Director Anna Webb said she was a Baylor student and Vertical volunteer from 2016 to 2019. She said with this new reach of students comes new responsibility to trust God in the process.
“There are new doors and new opportunities that we haven’t had before so our prayer is just constantly asking the Lord, ‘How do you want us to steward these opportunities with Chapel?’” Webb said. “It keeps us dependent on the Lord and just disciplined in asking Him what he’s asking us to do.”
Olenski and Webb both said donors are important for the ministry’s continued faithfulness in spreading the gospel to college students. Though Baylor supports the organization in many ways, the ministry’s finances are entirely composed of outside donations.
Olenski also said it is important to raise awareness in a diverse group of communities while staying reliant on the Lord. Webb said she encourages people to rely on God’s guidance when considering donating.
“We’re never trying to force them into anything or guilt them into anything, we’re just going to tell a story of what God’s doing and invite them to be a part,” Webb said. “If thats something that the Lord is telling them to contribute to then that’s between them and the Lord.”
The ministry, however, is not just dependent on donations, but also on the service of their volunteers.
“Vertical is not just a bible study and a worship night. I think it is a discipleship ministry so I think we’re looking for people to disciple,” Olenski said. “We’re looking for people who want to run hard for Jesus and want to run alongside us as we all pursue the same thing, and that’s Jesus.”
Mathai said she hopes students are able to become part of the same community that she found.
“I would encourage people to come Monday nights and feel that sense of community that I felt, to come and dive into that community because I think I’ve really felt the sense of family here and want it to continue to grow,” Mathai said.
Olenski, however, said he encourages students to not only partake in Vertical, but to find any campus ministry or local church to involve themselves in. He also said that if any student isn’t sure where to look, volunteers at Vertical are able to help them find other organizations that better fit what they need in a community.
“We are not a church and do not desire to take people away from their prior affiliations. Rather, we hope to challenge students to go back to their specific communities and influence them towards a deeper desire and understanding of the Gospel of Jesus,” the Vertical website said.
Olenski also said he encourages students to find their specific communities, regardless of where they lead them.
“If every student can say that they have one spot where they go to and they find their people and their purpose and their belonging and all of that, then hey that’s great. Not everybody needs to come to this one ministry or that one church,” Olenski said. “My biggest encouragement is find your place, find your ministry, get plugged in, but pick one and put down deep roots.”
