By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer
ALEXANDRIA – Despite news reports and surveys saying the Millennial generation is not committed to the church, Michael Wood came away encouraged by this generation of students attending the recent Collegiate Evangelism Conference.
“I’m so encouraged hearing from so many of you who have put your yes on the table,” Wood told a crowd of around 700, mostly college students from Baptist Collegiate Ministries throughout the state. “Whatever it is, the answer is yes. Wherever it takes me, the answer is yes.”
Wood, who is pastor at First Baptist Church in West Monroe, challenged the students throughout the two-day conference at Calvary Baptist Church in Alexandria to make a difference for Christ in the near and far places.
Speaker Michael Woods
Citing Nehemiah 2:8, Wood said the prophet Nehemiah was presented with a mission to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. He said Nehemiah realized what his mission was after four months of praying and fasting and thus approached the king to seek permission and funding to carry out the task.
“Rebuilt walls stand on the foundation of God’s presence and power,” Wood said. “And they are framed with a clear mission.”
Likewise, students are tasked with a similar mission today, he said … advancing the kingdom of God by rebuilding one life at a time.
He also said too often, this mission is muddied up with activity. He said that interferes with Christ’s commandment to take the gospel to the nations.
“So I ask you today, does that truth move you to rebuild lives?” Wood asked. “Now is the time. We’re done with excuses. We’re done with apathy.
“The God of creation gives you a clear mission,” he said. “He says I’m not sending you out on your own, I’m with you in this. Let it be said of this generation they were faithful, they knew God was with them.”
Wood’s messages were part of a conference Feb. 19-20 that included testimonies from Baptist Collegiate Ministry students from around the state, worship by The City Harmonic, a late-night fellowship and small group prayer times.
STUDENTS OPEN UP
Conference organizer Chad McClurg said the fellowship among the students reflected the close-knit nature of the state.
“For this year our theme was Near and Far,” said McClurg, director of the BCM at the University of Louisiana at Monroe. “Our hope out of everything we did was to inspire our students that taking the gospel starts with those near and ends with those who are far away. The students after the conference talked about everything from going to mission trips to getting called to ministry to sharing with international students in their class. So I think we accomplished our purpose.”
During a time of student testimonies – about various ministries BCM members can be a part of throughout the year – Noah Whirley from LSU shared about a mission trip he took with others to Chinatown of New York last Christmas. He said it’s a way God has called Christians to fulfill the Great Commission.
“Whenever we have those breaks in the school year, what better way than to use them to share Christ,” he said. “It’s really easy for us to think I need to go to mission trips out of the country. The truth is we have people in our own backyard who have never heard of Jesus before.”
Hunter Humble, a member of the BCM at Louisiana Tech University, talked about his time as a member of the Go Louisiana (GOLA) VBS team. In its eighth year, GOLA VBS is part of an emphasis by the Baptist Collegiate Ministry in Louisiana.
GOLA VBS allows college students to serve on teams that spend the summer sharing God’s love through Vacation Bible School at Louisiana Baptist churches.
“All the churches where we served have one thing in common,” Humble said. “It was that they love to share the love of Christ. During GOLA, we answered the call God has given us.”
Grace Kerr, a member of the BCM at LSU, said even though this was the third year to attended CEC, she said the fellowship with students around the state never gets old. She added that Wood’s messages caused her to pause and reflect on the short time she has to make an impact as a college student.
“I liked how he talked about the Lord has us here for such a time as this,” Kerr said. “All aspects of the conference reinforce that we have a mission field and no matter where we are, whether it’s in our dorm or overseas, Jesus’ name needs to be shared with people.”
Jacob Anderson, a member of the BCM at the University of Louisiana at Monroe, said CEC reminded him of his purpose.
“We have this opportunity in college that we won’t have later because this of this season of life,” Anderson said. “And that made me pause and think on the fact that we are called as college students to do what needs to be done for Christ.”
NO NEED TO FEAR
Mark Robinson, state BCM director for Louisiana Baptists, closed CEC with a word of encouragement for students struggling with the fear of losing their TOPS funding for next year.
On Feb. 11, Louisiana’s colleges and universities received an unprecedented notice by email from the Louisiana Office of Student Financial Aid that said it was suspending all payments of funds from TOPS, or Taylor Opportunity Program for Students. The decision was reversed the following day, but Commissioner of Administration Jay Dardenne announced the program was $28 million short of the scholarship funds necessary to last until the end of the semester. Legislators are discussing the fate of TOPS right now during their special session.
Robinson told the students that when they are overcome with fear, they should recite the words “When I am afraid, I will trust in the Lord.” He added that if any students do indeed lose funding, the end result could be God moving them to another campus and state for a greater purpose.
“When I saw that announcement I thought what an opportunity it was for God to show his power,” Robinson said. “Right now this situation we’ve got is an incredible storm. It is a financial storm.
“As a believer we can pray,” he said. “If we do that, we have victory.”
