On April 16-17, the Collegiate Ministry Group, SCBC, held a leadership conference for college students that included a commissioning service for students who will be doing missions this summer through their Baptist Collegiate Ministry (BCM). The purpose of the Collegiate Leadership Development Conference is to gather student leaders from across the state to train them in Christian leadership.
Under the theme “Born to Lead,” the 260 students and ministry leaders who attended the conference were challenged by Morgan Hill, keynote speaker who is from Atlanta, Ga., to follow the Biblical mandate to be leaders for Christ. Hill is part of Growing Leaders, an organization that offers leadership solutions for those who work with middle school, high school and college students.
“Students were challenged to have a leadership that is characterized by influence not title or position,” Chad Stillwell, strategist for the Collegiate Ministry, SCBC, said.
Other small group training sessions covered topics such as reaching out to non-Christians on campus, how to lead dorm Bible studies, planning missions trips and leading worship.
During the special service on Saturday, April 17, 34 BCM summer missionaries and six Camp La Vida staff members were commissioned for summer ministry. These missionaries will serve locally in South Carolina, in the U.S. and overseas. Local BCM students raise between $55,000 and $60,000 each year to fund these students. Ginger Smith, North American Mission Board (NAMB) missionary to Houston, Texas, was the guest speaker at the commissioning service. Some of the students’ parents attended the service, and Smith challenged them to trust their children to God this summer as they serve at camp and on mission.
Another part of the conference included an offering for collegiate evangelism in Costa Rica to benefit the work of International Mission Board (IMB) missionaries, Brent and Savannah Sorrels. A team of BCM summer missionaries and Furman BCM students helped launch much of this evangelistic work last summer.
Lastly, BCM state officers were elected at the leadership conference. Jeremy Winkler, member of Winthrop University’s BCM, will serve as state BCM president, and E.A. Ferree, member of Furman University’s BCM, is the state BCM vice president.
For more information about BCM or Collegiate Ministry, contact the Collegiate Ministry Group, SCBC, at (800) 723-7242 (in SC) or (803) 765-0030, extension 4400. Information is also available online at www.scbaptist.org
