By Shelby Peck | Copy Editor
Olayinka Obasanya began his ministry journey at Baylor with just two things: pizza and the name “FaceTime with God.”
In summer 2013, as he was about to begin his senior year at Baylor, the founder and director of FaceTime with God felt God’s direction to share his story.
“God kept saying, ‘You got to share your story with people. You got to share with your friends and people you went to high school with, the people in your neighborhood, your friends and community that you’ve known. And you got to let them know what God’s done in your life,’” Obasanya said.
Obasanya reached out to friends on Facebook, inviting them to his house for pizza and worship. Ten people came, and Obasanya said from the very beginning, it was clear God was doing something special.
“Almost the majority of people in the room weren’t Christian, or they were somewhere figuring [their faith] out,” Obasanya said. “We have people who are just all kinds of different backgrounds, traditions. It was just clear that the message, the story tied to God’s story.”
The worship gatherings continued throughout the summer, sparking in Obasanya a heart for ministry on Baylor’s campus. He spent the next semester praying and asking God if the worship gatherings were something he should start on campus. By winter break, he was inviting more students.
“I started telling people about it … and they were equally excited,” Obasanya said. “They were like, ‘We need this’ — especially among the Black students at Baylor, because most of them didn’t really feel like they had a place where they belong on Baylor’s campus spiritually.”
Obasanya said FaceTime with God was established as “an avenue to fix that gap.” As a brand-new organization without a charter, FaceTime with God rented a room in the Bill Daniel Student Center for worship — with a band that was organized the day prior.
“Just people crying … and it’s not all about emotions, but it was just clear … God is doing something here,” Obasanya said. “And we kept doing it. We started seeing that people at other events that were happening on campus at the same time, right across in the same building, … people were coming to FaceTime.”
Obasanya said FaceTime with God began building trust with Baylor, letting them know “we’re here to stay.” It was awarded New Student Organization of the Year in 2016 — the first year it was a chartered organization.
“Since then … we’ve seen God move in incredible ways among students and especially the Black students on campus,” Obasanya said. “If you go to FaceTime on a Thursday, you won’t just see Black students only, but we do have it as one of our focuses. … We’re still an inclusive ministry in the way we love, function and operate, but we understandably do have a focus. … We want to reach, you know, this set of students just because we know that in a predominantly white institution, it can be hard for those students to feel at home, especially when it comes to pursuing God.”
After graduating, Obasanya said he has remained very close to FaceTime with God. In his current position as director, he connects with alumni, orchestrates partnerships, oversees pastoral concerns and organizes funding. He also preaches at FaceTime with God while trying to find a new “rhythm” in leadership.
Though he lives in Waxahachie, Obasanya said he travels to Waco each Thursday night to attend FaceTime with God.
“Just seeing this next generation take it to the next level — especially post-[COVID-19] because it took such a hit during COVID-19 — to see them almost start from scratch in some sense and build FaceTime to what it is becoming is amazing,” Obasanya said.
Celina junior and current FaceTime with God president Bobbie Oramalu said she first became involved with the worship team during the spring of her freshman year.
“My freshman year was a bit rough,” Oramalu said. “I was getting adjusted to college and everything. … I needed something deeper. I was craving something, and FaceTime had it. I was craving a Christ-filled community, and little did I know I would find it my spring semester.”
Oramalu said the minute she met Obasanya and the worship team, she felt safe and like she belonged.
“I think as college students, we’re all looking for someplace to belong, and I found belonging with FaceTime,” Oramalu said. “I remember it was just instant, and then we had our first gathering on Thursday, and I just remember being in Elliston Chapel, like not wanting to leave.”
As president, Oramalu helps carry out FaceTime with God’s mission to provide a safe, Christ-centered community for everyone at Baylor, especially Black students. She said anyone who comes to FaceTime with God on a Thursday night will see “all types of people and friendly faces” in an authentic environment.
With her time filled as a student, a community leader in North Russell Residence Hall and a member at a local church, Oramalu said FaceTime with God provides her a space to “just be.” She said this season is teaching her to depend on God and trust him through prayer to provide strength and wisdom.
“FaceTime provides a space for me to just be and exist and also be poured into, and then even as the president this year, I think what it’s doing for me is it’s forcing me to depend on God,” Oramalu said. “As Christians, sometimes we face the temptation … with wanting to be in control or have it all figured out, but I think there is kind of a unique place that God calls us to be in. … We have our plans and we can do all these things, but at the end of the day, we have to be dependent on his power, his strength and his spirit.”
Oramalu also orchestrates weekly meetings with the other members of the leadership team to share ideas, plan collaborative worship nights and pour into one another. The leadership team expands the organization’s ministry beyond Thursday nights to other arenas as well, such as a men’s Bible study that is held on Wednesdays.
“FaceTime is not just Elliston Chapel on Thursdays, but it has branched out,” Oramalu said. “It’s doing a lot more than what people may see with the eyes.”
During a summer retreat, FaceTime with God leadership chose a theme for the fall semester’s teaching: “Gaze.” Based on 2 Corinthians 3:18, the focus of “Gaze” is to remove the veils of any distractions that keep students from seeing God for who he is and help them become transformed into his image.
“That scripture basically talks about how we, with unveiled faces, are all beholding the glory of God and being transformed into the same image through his spirit,” Oramalu said. “And so it kind of even goes back to the message of FaceTime altogether — being able to meet with God face-to-face. You know, we don’t have to, like, go through a high priest anymore, bringing all these sacrifices to be able to meet with God. We can do it ourselves.”
While the logistics and leadership of FaceTime with God have changed throughout the past 10 years, its mission remains the same: building a hospitable culture of worship at Baylor for students to encounter God. The group’s official anniversary falls on Feb. 6, 2024, and Oramalu said the organization is looking to host an anniversary celebration.
“We prayed, you know, at the beginning of FaceTime that we wanted to be part of the heartbeat of Baylor University,” Obasanya said. “I think we’ve established that prayer. I think we’ve seen … God established that prayer through us, and we want to continue to be that at Baylor.”
Oramalu said anyone seeking to encounter God or find something deep and authentic should join FaceTime with God at 7 p.m. on Thursdays in Elliston Chapel.
“My heart is for the person seeking either who God is or just more of who God is,” Obasanya said. “I think FaceTime is that place, you know. I don’t think that has changed in 10 years by any means. … No matter who is leading, no matter what worship leader or what student president, the heart of this is an authentic place to me. God has remained, you know, and now we’re like, we want as many people as possible to experience that on Baylor’s campus. … Come see for yourself, and I’d love to have you.”
