By Rory Dulock | Staff Writer
While many students start joining clubs and organizations in the fall, Baylor Spiritual Life is encouraging them to get involved in a campus ministry this semester.
Dr. Charles Ramsey, director of campus ministries and church connections, said there are many religious organizations for students who come from a variety of backgrounds.
“Technically, there are 39 chartered religious organizations at Baylor,” Ramsey said. “Now, some of those are what we call a campus ministry, so campus ministries really focus on discipleship and on community life as a central way of following Jesus and creating relationships that bridge your church experience with your campus experience.”
However, Ramsey said not all religious organizations are like campus ministries.
“Some of them are really kind of faith and service, or there’s something related to your major and to faith,” Ramsey said. “So there’s 39 of them, and they’re really quite different, which is interesting because part of what I think makes Baylor ‘Baylor’ is the desire to integrate faith into everything we’re doing — to let faith animate everything.”
All student organizations are open to every student, and Ramsey said everyone is welcome to join, attend and be present.
“There’s a lot of diversity,” Ramsey said. “There’s some within that might feel more familiar to you, and they resonate from your experience at home or areas that you’re growing into or exploring. So that’s one of the fun parts of this, is we have a lot of denominational groups. So we have a Lutheran group, an Anglican group. We have a very strong Roman Catholic group. We have Orthodox Christian. … And all of these are designed to be student-led.”
Waco junior and Catholic Student Association president James Foley said CSA offers a place for Catholic students to grow together on campus.
“Our main goal is to bring people, especially working with the St. Peter Catholic Student Center, to bring Baylor students closer together,” Foley said. “We’re kind of the bridge between Baylor University and the St. Peter Catholic Student Center.”
Foley said CSA is an important religious organization because it provides a community for the Catholic population on campus.
“Having friendships with people of the same faith, with people who have the same values and will take you to Mass and will go to events together, it’s a good way to have accountability and consistency together,” Foley said. “And what’s more important is seeking a relationship with Christ.”
In addition to Baylor’s religious organizations, Ramsey said the university’s partnerships with local churches are very important.
“As powerful as these four years can be for you here at Baylor, you’re going to graduate and you’re going to go on to somewhere else, and we want you to let church be central to your life and to your spiritual journey,” Ramsey said. “You can go ahead and explore churches and find a church that fits well for you and let that help you transition into what’s next.”
Ramsey also said religious organizations can help students establish church connections.
“We try to communicate to these student organizations the importance of church and the opportunities to connect with them,” Ramsey said. “One thing that I’ve been doing is I’ve been asking every religious organization to have partnership with at least three local churches. … It’s good for the community of Waco if you would connect more, and it’s good for your students because there’s diversity of students.”
Ramsey said he encourages students to get involved with campus ministries and local churches this semester so they can join a community that connects them to God.
“We usually emphasize the fall, and that’s maybe not wise,” Ramsey said. “Maybe emphasizing the spring is something we need to get stronger at and realize the importance of. There’s a lot of people during this time in particular who are looking for community, and I think that’s our desire for each student — our invitation and our prayers that every student at Baylor would feel invited to join a community.”
