November Newsletter - Discipleship Success

The focus of our BSU Bible studies has been the Great Commission. When we first started meeting, we challenged our students to feel compassion for the lost people on campus, at work, and at home. We spent the next couple of months “training” our students to share the gospel and to be a light on campus. We studied the gospel, using Roman’s road as a foundation and building from there, making sure our students fully understood each truth that comprises the gospel. We then gave practical advice, like using prayer and testimony when sharing the gospel. Aside from these things, we also challenged our students to ask their classmates how they could pray for them, and to invite others to our Bible study and outreach events.  
After weeks of doing these things, we started to get new students at our Bible study, and many new students at our outreach events. At this point, I decided it was time we tackled the basics of our faith and addressed any big questions, doubts, and ideas that our students had. During a night out with the students, I asked each one of them to tell me how their “spiritual life” was going, the good and the bad. Each student shared with the group, and we were surprised at how honest our students were. I also passed around a paper and had them write down anonymously, any doubts or question they had about the faith or the Bible. At the following Bible study, I started covering the basics of the faith. Following the structure of the Baptist Faith and Message 2000, I explained the how we received the scriptures, and explained each member of the Trinity. I again passed around a paper and had students write down doubts and questions that they had about their faith.
For the remainder of this semester, we will be covering those doubts and questions in our Bible study and will continue going through the basics of the faith. My goal was to challenge our students to feel compassion for the lost, train them to do something with that compassion (share the gospel), and lead them into a deeper understanding of the faith they claim and the faith they share with others. We have been continuously affirmed that the Lord is blessing this ministry. We had a student share his testimony for the first time with the group, we had several students practice sharing the gospel for the first time in front of the group, we have a student witnessing to his mom for the first time, we have 3 students who are maturing into spiritual leaders each week, we have students confronting their doubts and sharing personal struggles and questions, we have many students eager to attend spiritual development events such as the Defend apologetics conference, and more growth that only the Lord knows.
Aside from all of the growth and affirmation happening within the BSU, I can certainly say that our reputation and visibility/presence has positively increased since moving our Bible study on campus and doing more advertising. People know who we are, what we do, and why we do it, and our reputation with staff and students is outstanding. This is in large part due to our Wednesday lunches that are vital to maintaining a positive reputation and having consistent outreach on campus. Some of my most impactful conversations with students were during a Wednesday lunch. I’d like to give a special “thank you” to all the churches that support our Wednesday lunch.
The BSU needs your continued support with the Wednesday lunches. Another area of support we need is financial. I’m asking once again that churches step up and donate to help pay for our students to attend the Defend Apologetics Conference at the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary in January. We have around 8 students going, which is a big number for a conference that is essentially a weeklong lecture in apologetics. There are no fun and games here, this isn’t like Collegiate Week. We have at least 8 students who are eager to learn how to Defend their faith. The cost for each student is around $300. We deeply appreciate the donation we have already received, and any further that come in.