By Josh Siatkowski | Lead Writer
Baylor Baptist Student Ministry’s newly built, 12,000-square-foot facility opened Wednesday after numerous religious leaders dedicated the space during a morning ceremony.
The building sits on the corner of 4th Street and Daughtrey Avenue, on a plot Baylor donated before construction began last fall. Inside is a congregation hall, multiple meeting spaces, a prayer room, a seminar room, a hall of offices for BSM’s employees and a new location of For Keeps Coffee.
“I hope as you walked in, you saw to the left of the green wall, and there were three words that I think really encapsulate what this whole day is about,” said Bill Noe, the State Associate Director for Texas Baptist Student Ministry, as alumni, donors and students sat down for the ceremony.
“It said ‘For the campus’ above the campus map, and that’s what this building is all about,” Noe continued. “It’s not a hangout space. It’s a building for the ministry to reach the campus. We’re for the campus; we’re praying for the campus; we’re serving the campus; we’re loving on students; we’re connecting them to Jesus.”
Noe was the first to speak in a procession that saw 10 individuals take the podium, including leaders of religious organizations like Texas Baptist Student Ministry, the Texas Baptist Mission Foundation and Texas Baptists.
President Linda Livingstone and Dean of Spiritual Life and Chaplain Dr. Charley Ramsey also spoke for the university. Following Noe’s welcome were words from Baylor Baptist Student Ministry Director Will Bowden, who leads BSM at Baylor.
The organization was founded in 1919 and exists to encourage the expression of faith on campuses across Texas. Baylor’s branch of BSM, officially founded shortly after BSM’s formation (then called Baptist Student Union), is best known for its Pathway discipleship program, in which over 700 first-year students participated last year. The organization includes over 1,200 members on campus across numerous different ministries.
“We’re not about members,” Bowden said. “We’re about the unity of this campus. I think that’s really been the growth of our ministry. What we hope from this building is that students would learn how to give everything to Jesus, to God, in prayer and to let him lead. That’s really the story of this ministry.”
Until Wednesday morning, Baylor BSM did not have its own building on campus and instead shared space in the Bobo Spiritual Life Center. But after a major donation from the Beyer family, a $1.3 million grant from the Mabee Foundation and donations from numerous others in the community, BSM raised the $7 million required for the project with help from the Texas Baptist Mission Foundation. Baylor also donated the plot of land on 4th and Daughtrey to enable the building’s construction right next to campus.
“We’ve come a long way from the closet in the Bobo,” Bowden said to those in attendance.
As the building prepares to host students returning from summer break across its common spaces, prayer room and other areas, most of the facility will be reserved for BSM this fall. But Bowden expressed interest in opening the doors to other Christian groups on campus like Cru and Student Mobilization.
“This semester we’re going to hold off, but the hope is that this would be a shared building with other ministries and other college ministries at churches,” he said.
The new For Keeps coffee shop will be open to the public during regular business hours, as will the nearby common space. A For Keeps employee said that while they expect to operate from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., the coffee shop will close at noon for the first few days or weeks.
As the ceremony came to a close, speakers turned to students and expressed hopes for the building’s and BSM’s role in leading youth religious revivals. Dr. Julio Guarneri, Executive Director of Texas Baptists, focused on the Great Commission, Jesus’ command in the gospel of Matthew to make disciples and baptize people around the world.
“We’re about strengthening a multiplying movement of churches that live out the Great Commandment and the Great Commission in Texas and beyond,” Guarneri said. “We’re going to focus on strengthening churches, we’re going to focus on strengthening ministers, and we’re going to focus on strengthening missions engagement. And as we’ve realigned our organization along those three emphases, we have realized that the one place where all those three things happen is BSM.”
Bowden echoed this hopefulness, saying that BSM’s presence on campus is only just beginning.
“The building of the BSM isn’t done,” he said. “The building up of this ministry is not done. There’s so much more that God is going to do.”
