By Rory Dulock | Staff Writer
Baylor’s Board of Regents approved an agreement with the Baptist General Convention of Texas to donate a parcel of land adjacent to campus for a new Baptist Student Ministries center.
In a Presidential Perspective, President Linda Livingstone said “Baylor will donate the land at the intersection of South Fourth Street and Daughtrey Avenue on the southeast side of the campus to the BGCT as a building site while fundraising continues.”
Will Bowden, director of BSM, has been at Baylor for five years and works with students to help train them for ministry at Baylor and in the workforce. He said the program has grown too large for the Bobo Spiritual Life Center, especially with a lot of new ministries. The construction is planned to conclude in about two and a half years if everything goes according to plan.
“We have a program called Pathway, which is for freshmen, and it’s a discipleship program where one upperclassman will have four freshmen, and they walk through their first semester of what it’s like to be a Christian,” Bowden said. “This is our fourth year of [Pathway], and it’s grown from our first year. We had maybe 35 leaders, and this year we have 84 leaders … As we do our weekly meetings, we can’t fit in the Bobo [Spiritual Life Center] anymore.”
Charlotte, N.C., senior Nicko Henderson is a teacher for a chapel class at BSM. He said in the few years he has been at Baylor, he has noticed the program grow significantly.
“Even for the chapel specifically, we had 12 to 15 students the past two semesters, and this semester we had 50,” Henderson said. “The amount of people on our leadership team has grown. Our number of people on staff has grown … We take care of the Bobo [Spiritual Life Center] and do our best to use that space well.”
Bowden said a new building will not only help BSM deal with expansion but also impact the entire Baylor community on multiple levels.
“The thing about the Baylor community is that our ministries at Baylor — the different campus ministries and the different churches — get along,” Bowden said. “To have a building … with a big prayer room and a large worship space, it allows us to be able to offer that space to the other ministries.”
Bowden said the new location will impact upperclassmen on that side of campus and anyone who cuts across the area of South Fourth Street and Daughtrey Avenue.
“There’s not a coffee shop on that side [of campus],” Bowden said. “And to have a coffee shop with a space to do homework and side rooms, and we’ll have ping-pong tables and pool tables — at least we’ll have another space to hang out and to either do work or to have ministry meetings. We’re really expecting it to be a big benefit to that side of campus.”
A new BSM building will provide a place that accepts everyone, Henderson said.
“[A new BSM building] would hopefully provide another spot for students to gather and [come] into a building where it’s accepting of everyone but affirming of Christian beliefs, which I think holds true to Baylor’s values as well,” Henderson said. “And [it would provide] a space for the Baptist Student Ministries to love on students and help them walk in their faith and also just help them walk through college.”
Baylor’s Board of Regents approved the agreement with the BGCT during its July retreat meeting. The BGCT is responsible for the construction of the new center and raising at least $3 million to fund the project.
