What Is a Campus Missionary?

You're perhaps familiar with the term Campus Minister, but what about Campus Missionary? In this interview recorded during the recently concluded spring semester, you'll meet Robin Tomlin and Abigail Holman, who serve as campus missionaries at Auburn University and the University of Alabama respectively, and learn how they are helping to reach the vast mission field on Alabama's college campuses. Plus you might learn a thing or two about these two schools you didn't know before!

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:02

Hello, I'm Doug Rogers. And I am Jay Stewart. Welcome to Better Together Stories of Alabama Cooperative Program. Jay, how are you doing? I'm doing very well, at least I think so. I'm glad. Oh yeah, you are. You are. So we've got a wonderful topic today. Now, when when in this state, when somebody says the two words Alabama and Auburn, what do people typically think about? Um football. Yeah, football. That's exactly right. Iron Bowl. Yeah, iron bowl. But there's so much more uh at both schools, in all of our schools, certainly, than football. And we're going to talk about something really much more important, if you can believe it, than football or the iron bowl, and that is Baptist Campus Ministry. And we'll happen to tie them into these two schools. So let me ask you do you have any uh specific ties to BCM in your life?

SPEAKER_01 0:48

Well, I you know, I uh I I had some connections actually at my junior college at Gadson State. There was a BCM that was active there. Um I went a little bit to that also when I was a student at JSU. Um Gary Britton was the um a campus minister back then. He's retired now, and um I went um a few times. I again with the with the commuter life, uh, and some of you listening will understand that it's just uh it's a lot different experience and and truthfully um not as a robust uh maybe the best way to say it um of an experience. But um and then as a pastor, we had um we would do meals and things for the Gatson State BCM. Uh we'd do lunch, you know, that type of thing. So definitely love BCM.

SPEAKER_00 1:31

Yeah, that's one of the things I love too, is uh the different relationships people have with BCM. I grew up in another state, but I I was living at home when I went to college, so I was well entrenched in my home church and still living at home. And so I knew about BCM, but honestly um didn't have uh the same connection some folks have because I was very involved in my college ministry, which is also our college ministries are incredibly important. But I will say um as we grew up, had children, my daughter, who I won't embarrass by using her name, but my daughter um uh we encouraged to go to one of the BCMs in our state. And uh and at that place she connected with her best friend who remains one of her great friends, uh certainly connected with a core group of believers. Uh she began doing uh graphic projects for them, and uh that led to an opportunity to serve her local association and eventually a local church. All of that sprang out of her involvement in BCM. And really wonderfully, uh another wonderful part of the story is she went on a summer mission trip, uh, two-week experience overseas, and met uh another person from another state who was there overseas in uh in Scotland, Ireland area, and they met and fell in love and they were married uh this time. And honestly, I tie all of that back to the fact that she made the wise decision uh to her first week of school, go and check out her local Badness Campus Ministry. So that's my very heartfelt uh connection to BCM. Uh but we want to talk to folks with much more even direct uh connections. Introduce our guests with us.

SPEAKER_01 3:03

Yeah, so uh as you mentioned, we have uh two students here who are um campus missionaries and uh students at uh University of Alabama and Auburn University, uh Robin and Abigail. And so if you guys would take just a second just to introduce yourselves and actually uh share your full name and all of that kind of stuff.

SPEAKER_02 3:22

Yeah, uh my name is Abigail Holman. Uh I'm a campus missionary at the University of Alabama. Um I graduated this past May uh with a degree in human development and psychology, and I just really wanted to spend another year um investing in the ministry that poured so much into me.

SPEAKER_04 3:39

And I'm Robin Tomlin. I'm from Ozark, Alabama, but I'm at Auburn University now. I graduated from Auburn last December with a degree in social studies education slash history. Um went and did missions for a semester and came back. The Lord was still working on my heart with some mission stuff, and I ended up back at Auburn to help serve my BCM and campus for the next year.

SPEAKER_01 4:03

Awesome, awesome. We are so glad to have you both here today, and uh we've got several things we want to talk to you about, obviously, campus ministry uh at the forefront of our thoughts, and and uh one of the things that we've set as a as a goal for our podcast and Better Together and sharing these stories of of how the cooperative program has has impacted uh the kingdom and people's lives and all of the ways that that our church's investments have been a blessing. Um we also want to be able to have some fun and and just to have a good conversation. So Doug, I thought it would be fun to start off with some trivia questions. Now I will for you. Yeah, it's fun because I have the answers and I have the questions, and and I will say, um, you know, I leave open uh anybody who wants to correct us as you go through and listen. Uh if you have uh something um, you know, that that we get wrong and and you guys get right or something like that, uh, you know, send all emails to D. Rogers at I'm just kidding. Just kidding. All right, so what we're gonna do is we'll go through this. I'm gonna keep up, we'll see how how you guys do. These will be uh the the first ones are gonna be toward one school, and the second ones are gonna be toward another, and you'll figure that out real quick. But we'll get both answers, okay? They're multiple choice. Uh you could play along at home if you would like to, uh, or in the car wherever you are. Uh be careful if you're driving. All right, so um, first question: What year was the University of Alabama established? Is it A, 1852, B, 1824, C, 1804, or D 1831?

SPEAKER_03 5:39

Oh goodness. I want to say maybe 1852.

SPEAKER_01 5:45

Okay, and uh Robin, what what do you have on that one?

SPEAKER_03 5:49

I think that's my guess two.

SPEAKER_01 5:51

So you're going A, 1852.

SPEAKER_02 5:53

But we might I can't remember. We're hitting like a and maybe it's like our 200 year.

SPEAKER_01 5:57

What was the 52, 24, 04, or 31? They're all 18.

SPEAKER_02 6:04

Okay. I'm just gonna stick with 52.

SPEAKER_01 6:07

You're going with the old go with your first instinct.

SPEAKER_02 6:09

I'm gonna go with my first instinct.

SPEAKER_01 6:12

It's actually D 1831. Oh, yeah. So we are coming up on the 2000s. That's why you're you were right to have that thought in your brain. Okay. All right, uh, which of these celebrities, now this um just well, a couple of these may get tricky in the way, so I'll try to make sure I don't get too uh complicated by the way I wrote the questions. Which of these celebrities are not University of Alabama graduates? Is A, Jim Neighbors, aka Gomer Pyle, B, Katie Britt, U.S. uh. senator, Hannah Brown, former contestant on The Bachelorette, I think, and Ben Shapiro, who's a podcast uh political kind of guy. Which one of those are not Alabama graduates?

SPEAKER_02 6:56

I'm gonna say Ben Shapiro.

SPEAKER_01 6:59

You're the one with Ben Shapiro. You would be right. Very good. That that's yeah.

SPEAKER_00 7:05

That's a good rest.

SPEAKER_01 7:06

Yeah, that was a good, good, um, good guess on that one. All right. Did y'all recognize the names of those first two that I mentioned? Or the first three? Did y'all know those folks? Did y'all know they were Alabama graduates?

SPEAKER_04 7:19

I knew at least two of them were, I think.

SPEAKER_01 7:22

You can pretend that you did. That's fine. Yeah. Yeah, sure. Okay, here's here's a fun one. What year did Big Owl officially become Alabama's mascot? All these are 19 something. So was it 68, 72, 79, or 84?

SPEAKER_02 7:39

I'm gonna go with the second answer.

SPEAKER_01 7:41

72? You're going with 72, Robin?

SPEAKER_04 7:45

That was gonna be mine, but I don't want to just pick the same one.

SPEAKER_01 7:48

Okay, all right.

SPEAKER_04 7:49

So we've got the other ones.

SPEAKER_01 7:51

68, 79, or 84.

SPEAKER_04 7:54

I'll go with 79.

SPEAKER_01 7:55

You would be right. 79. And Robin takes an early lead on the Alabama trailer. Yeah. All right. Here we go. Um, got a couple more Alabama ones. All right, what University of Alabama graduate was once the pilot of SpaceX? Was it A, Bob Hines? B, John Colgate, C, Eduardo Sanchez, or D, Frederick Brown. Random question.

SPEAKER_03 8:27

Bob Hines.

SPEAKER_01 8:28

You went with Bob Hines?

SPEAKER_04 8:31

When I'm in doubt, I go with B, so I'm just gonna go with B.

SPEAKER_01 8:34

Yeah, go with B. That's right. When in doubt, go with B. John Colgate. Bob Hines is right. Very good. Have a go. All right now, so it's two to two. I guess Eduardo just because I wanted to say Eduardo. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 8:45

He was not right.

SPEAKER_01 8:46

All right, which of these bands never performed concerts on the campus of University of Alabama? Listen to all these answers before you jump in. Uh is it A, Rolling Stones, B, uh Ray Charles, C, Willie Nelson, D. Elvis, or would it have been um the answer would be all of these have performed, and so none of these have not performed, is I guess the double negative way to say that.

SPEAKER_03 9:16

I don't even know.

SPEAKER_01 9:18

Do you even recognize those names? Those are pretty.

SPEAKER_03 9:21

I do. I think I've heard of Elvis before. Okay, very good, very good. Uh I'll go with the last option. Okay, so you're saying all of those performed, okay? I will too, I think.

SPEAKER_01 9:32

Yeah, that's a good answer. They all, believe it or not, were uh performed at Coleman Coliseum, which is still there now.

SPEAKER_00 9:38

So are you all as good at test takers in your classes with deciphering the ABC's number print? We've done well with the law of averages in there.

SPEAKER_02 9:45

I made it through, so there you go.

SPEAKER_01 9:47

Yeah, yeah, very good. All right. I'm gonna switch switch it up now. This is Auburn University Questions. What year was Auburn founded? We have 18. Oh, these are 18, so we'll go with 56, 72, 66, or 88. Try to pick up the pace here a little bit.

SPEAKER_04 10:03

What was the first one again?

SPEAKER_01 10:04

56.

SPEAKER_04 10:05

56 is gonna be.

SPEAKER_01 10:06

You're going with 56, okay.

SPEAKER_03 10:08

She seems confident, I'll say 56.

SPEAKER_01 10:10

I love the strategy. That is so good. Yes, the ARP-6.

SPEAKER_04 10:15

I have a sweatshirt with it on it.

SPEAKER_01 10:19

No, I'm I'm I'm not positive. Was it is it uh East Alabama male college or something in the very beginning, and then API?

SPEAKER_04 10:27

I think so. It was a land grant university after the Civil War, so great.

SPEAKER_01 10:31

You're you're doing well. Your Auburn Alumni Association people will be very proud of you. Okay, this is a similar question as before. Which of these people were not a graduate of Auburn University? A. Tim Cook, Apple CEO. B. Octavia Spencer, I believe she's an Academy Award winner. Tony Tannil, which y'all probably don't know. Some of our older listeners will know the Captain and Tennil uh singing group, or D, Sally Ride, um, astronaut. One of these did not graduate from Auburn.

SPEAKER_03 11:06

It's either C or D.

SPEAKER_01 11:08

Okay, you're going C or D.

SPEAKER_03 11:10

I'm gonna go with D.

SPEAKER_01 11:11

You're going with D, Sally Ride. All right. What do you what do you say?

SPEAKER_04 11:14

I'm gonna go with D because I've never heard of us having an astronaut, but I could be wrong.

SPEAKER_01 11:18

Okay, so Sally Ride did not graduate uh from Auburn. Although there were some uh astronauts through the years, but that was not one of them. So all right, here we go. Uh Auburn University in the Olympics. All right, which one of these were not Auburn people that were in the Olympics? Uh we have SUNY Lee in gymnastics, Charles Barkley in basketball, Rowdy Gaines in swimming, and Robert Ory in basketball, which were not, which one of these was not an Auburn Olympian. You're going with D. Robert Ory. You're going with C, Rowdy Gaines. The answer is D. Robert Ory. Robert Ory played basketball for Alabama way back in the ancient of days. So um, all right, so that that take Robin takes a slight lead going into the last couple of questions. It's six to five, so we're really close here. All right. What singer? Y'all are detecting uh or may detect a little pattern here in the way my mind was thinking on this. What singer or bands have not performed at Auburn University? Whitney Houston, the Eagles, James Brown, the Beach Boys, or the last answer would be that all of them have performed at Auburn University. Was one of them not at Auburn, or did all of them is basically what you have. And if it's not one of them, then you gotta pick which one.

SPEAKER_05 12:48

I'll say the Beach Boys.

SPEAKER_01 12:50

You're going with the Beach Boys. I was gonna go with the Beach Boys. No, those all have performed at Auburn. We had on all of these again. And uh the Beach Boys actually performed fairly recently, so uh it may not be really counting as the original Beach Boys because some of those guys are no longer with us. All right, last question. Last question. Uh what is the current this is total shot in the dark here, probably for you. What is the current enrollment of Auburn University? Is it A 28,953? B 40, 211, C 17,762, or D 35,717.

SPEAKER_03 13:30

It's D.

SPEAKER_01 13:31

You're going with D?

SPEAKER_03 13:33

I'll say D also.

SPEAKER_01 13:35

Alright, now your your confidence in this is making me question my my uh which one I marked right because I I wrote these down and then went back and wrote because I had A marked as right, but I I'm gonna double check on that. Doug, by the time we get to the end of this, I'm gonna I'm gonna have that looked up. Uh we can uh edit that back in because I think Abigail gave the uh or excuse me, Robin gave that correctly. And which one did you guess?

SPEAKER_03 13:58

I said what she said. I said what she said. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 14:00

Well, the good news is either way, that means that Robin is going to be our winner Bible because y'all both gave the same answer there. So that was that was really good.

SPEAKER_00 14:09

Y'all y'all did great on that. So, Jay, I have a question for you. Oh no. Um, as we uh transition to the topic of the day, um we all know Baptist Campus Ministries by that and by BCM. Do you know the at least in Alabama the original, original, original name for what would become Baptist Campus Ministries? Was it the Baptist Student Union? No, that was the that was right before, but there was one evening before that. I was afraid by the way, you knew that that yeah, I thought, well that's the only that's the only one I know. All those originals I used. And I wouldn't expect you to know it, uh, but uh this dates back to the history of of BCMs in Alabama. Uh in 1920 and 21, an organization called the Baptist Christian Council, BCC, started meeting on campus at, you can probably guess, University of Alabama. Okay. Um then it became Baptist Student Union, and now we know the Baptist Campus Ministries, which means uh UA BCM is our oldest BCM, having just celebrated its 100th anniversary a couple years ago in April of 22. So long, proud heritage of Baptist Campus Ministries in our state. So and I did not know that uh tidbit about that that other name in the the foundational years of BCM.

SPEAKER_01 15:17

So And the fact check, by the way, it was D. I I knew as soon as I looked at that, I thought, I'm pretty sure it was over 35,000. Exactly right. I knew the confidence in her eyes. I said, that's gotta be right. I love that. Love that. Really good. Well, all right, well, let's get into a little more uh serious kind of things and and and everything. So one of the things we definitely want to give each of our guests uh on on our podcast an opportunity just to share your your testimony about uh how you came to the Lord and and certainly feel free to you know to share whatever parts of that um that you may feel uh are important to share. But um again, well I'll tell you what, Abigail, why don't we start with you and uh and just share how you came to know the Lord.

SPEAKER_02 16:00

Yeah, so um I grew up in a Christian household. Uh my parents are both very strong believers, very firm in their faith. Um and they always always modeled to me what it looks like to have a healthy relationship with Christ. And so um I grew up in the church. Um the church I still go to um to this day, um, because I'm from the Tuscaloosa area. Uh so didn't go very far for school. Um, but so I just had always had these examples in my Sunday school teachers and my pastors um and my parents and grandparents and extended family. And so it just was kind of a natural point. I think I was like eight years old, I was just like, I need Jesus, like I need him to save me. Like I know who he is, but like I need that kind of relationship with him. And so I gave my life to Christ um when I was young. Uh and you know, as much as you can understand when you're eight years old, um I knew that I um was a sinner and that I needed um grace, and it was only through Jesus that I could be saved. Um but as I grew up um and I learned more about scripture and I began to like understand things deeper, I realized that my faith, um, it wasn't just like you know, this thing that was just kind of like a stagnant part of my life. It was something that I needed to be active in and to be growing in. And so college was a huge thing for me in that. Um I didn't get involved in RBCM until my junior year, but for like freshman and like most of sophomore year, I was just kind of like, I have friends here um in like Tuscosa. I'm from the area, like I've lived at home, so I was like, I had that support there. I had my church, um, and but we didn't really have like a big college group because we're very rural um Tuscosa County. So I just kind of felt like God was like really leading me, is like challenging me to get out of my comfort zone and to go um find friends who would encourage me in my walk with the Lord and who would just show what it looks like to like live that out in college. Um, and so um God just like it was really funny. I had visited a church with my friend because she was looking for a new church, and I was like, I'll go with you so you don't have to go by yourself. Met some really cool people there later coming to find out they were at BCM. Um and from there I was like praying, like, Lord, like show me like where I need to find this community. And like two days later, um, two of my now best friends, Carrie and Peyton and our my campus minister Kim, they approached me um at our student center and they were doing the weekly campus outreach that we do, and we started talking, and it was like we made the connections that I'd actually visited their church with my friend. And so um they just these friendships that I formed in college um just really and like VCM itself has really just like expounded, like expanded my faith um in so many ways that I'm now like actively like knowing what it is to share the gospel, know what it is to share my faith um and not be afraid of that, um, know what it looks like to actually like study scripture and like um to share that with my friends and walk through discipleship. So that's kind of been how I kind of got to that point and like what it's looked like since then.

SPEAKER_01 18:56

So that's really great. That's really great. I appreciate you sharing all of that. Well, uh Robin, if you would just uh tell us a little bit about your journey and and how uh how you came to know the Lord.

SPEAKER_04 19:08

It's actually kind of crazy how similar it is to hers. I grew up the middle of three, so I have an older brother and a younger sister. Um and my parents, they're both amazing, wonderful believers who were faithful to share Jesus at home with us and share the love of Jesus with us. They were faithful to serve at church and they were faithful to take us along with them, even if we didn't always want to be there. But through through that one, them sharing the gospel with me at home and through it being shared with me at church and getting to see it lived out. I was lucky to or blessed to be at an early age to hear the story that I was a sinner in need of a savior, that Jesus provided that as a savior, he saved me, he came to this earth to live a perfect life, to die for my sins, to come back to life, and so that I could have a relationship with him and be forgiven. And so I accepted that truth at a young age and confessed it. Um, I don't remember all of the details. I just remember one night going to my mom and dad's room when I was eight years old, and I was like, I'm ready to follow Jesus. And I don't remember exactly all the words. I do remember my mom leading me in a prayer. I remember her tears, and I remember her setting me up reading John in the living room because I remember quickly after that, my siblings came in fighting. And I remember crying afterwards and being like, you know, Jesus wouldn't want you guys to do that. I think it's just the hilarious point to remember now. I think it just stressed me out. Yeah. The middle child always in the middle of the fight.

SPEAKER_01 20:46

That's funny.

SPEAKER_04 20:47

Um, but it that just started a steady journey throughout my life. I don't think there was ever just a moment where I just felt saved. It was just like a journey and like a day-by-day process of salvation being worked out daily. And so learning more at church about Jesus and who he is, and then having to make my faith my own throughout childhood and to being a preteen into being a teenager, and then college and adulthood um how to do all of those things. And so it's not a perfect thing, but Jesus is the hero of my story. He saved me when I was eight years old. He saved me in high school when I was just a wanna be perfect kid who was afraid of making mistakes and couldn't save myself then, and he saves me even now. And so I'm very thankful for that. Um, as for how I got to the VCM, that all just comes when I graduated high school. So graduated high school in 2020, um, and I got offered the opportunity to play softball at my local community college. It was not my first choice. My plan was to go to Troy and live at home, and that's just not what happened. So I went to Wallace Community College in Dothan to play softball, and um the Lord started laying missions on my heart, so I began Praying about it. And two years later, when it was time for me to transfer, I went from not applying to Auburn in high school at all to it being the only place I applied to go to. And I was blessed with scholarships and just an affordable place to live, and so I transferred to Auburn. My home pastor encouraged me to get involved in the BCM. So I was connected with Shannon, who was the campus minister there at the time, and she took me out to coffee, she got me involved, and through the BCM, I got to meet an amazing community. I met my bestest friends there, friends who are still there, but I also live with them, and they're my roommates and my best friends, and it became a place I could take my younger sister when she also transferred and my many of me from home just it's a great community. Um I was also discipled. I was taught how to share the gospel with people, and I was pushed to go and evangelize and then go on mission eventually, um, which led me to here that I'm a campus missionary now.

unknown 22:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 22:53

That is those are great, great testimonies. So on a scale of one to ten, how important has BCM been in keeping you connected to your faith in your college years and growing you spiritually during these years?

SPEAKER_02 23:07

I would definitely say a ten. Um I mean, that's a this is where like I mean, so many of the relationships that I formed through that have been just like so very important uh in my life, but also it was through BCM that I I was able to like like the possibility of like going on mission and like getting to do that, that was just like always just very like open and like like like not pushed but like it was like always presented to us. Um and like having like a my mentor like him just like being with like talking to her and just kind of realizing that like like maybe ministry is something that I want to do um for like the rest of my life, whether it's like being faithful in my church and like serving it every possible way, or it's like vocation, or it's like through counseling, which is what I'm considering um doing long term. And so um, yeah, I can't express just like how cool BCM is and how big of an impact that it can make um in a time of life where so much is changing and so much is new and uncertain. Um, but it's having um like your campus ministers and the other students there um and like getting to be a campus missionary and getting to be there for students now, like that's just it's been so huge.

SPEAKER_04 24:22

I would agree it's also a 10. So it provides you with so many resources, not just to grow in discipleship, but just so many other opportunities. So you have an avenue to meet friends and plug into a local church and serve there. You have uh the opportunity to serve on leadership and meet needs on campus to share the love of Jesus with those around you. Um you have avenues to go all over the world and share the gospel, which is something I never even dreamed possible until like it happened to me. And if you come in with that open heart just to serve, the Lord's gonna use that and he's gonna open doors to the BCM. And even possible like avenues to ministry afterwards, like getting to stay as a campus missionary.

SPEAKER_01 25:03

So for the folks that are listening that may be a little bit familiar with how Alabama Baptists work, and we've talked about the the BCM campus ministers, um, there's a slight difference in wording that that I think I'm picking up on. I'm sure our listeners are as well. Um talk a little bit, and y'all can whoever wants to speak first can can go ahead. But what is what is really uh, you know, explain the difference between the the campus minister and what you have as a title or a role uh as campus missionary.

SPEAKER_02 25:33

Yeah, so I think we were talking about this the other day. I want to say our campus ministers, I think they're official titles like state missionaries. Right. Um and so they're there full-time. Um this is their full-time job. Um they're they're like into until the Lord calls them somewhere else or like it's time to retire, like and they're at on at the universities that they're at, um, and they're in charge of the ministry, and just like you know, trying to figure out like how best to like reach the campuses they're at. Um campus missionary, it's it's for me, like, well, I think in general, it's a year where or two or however many that you feel like the Lord's calling you to, um, where you've graduated, um, you want to spend time investing back in like the ministry of like BCM um and just getting to be a part of that and like get like real life ministry experience, but also just like getting to be a presence, um a gospel presence on your campus um that you were at, um hopefully, or you can go to another campus, I think. Um but like my friend Peyton did that, um, and she said it was great. And so, but yeah, it just is a great opportunity for if you've graduated and you want to spend a year serving. Um, and yeah.

SPEAKER_00 26:47

You think that's so so this starts with the academic year. Uh, did y'all both begin this role like last September? Yes. What's risen to the top for both of you in terms of what God has taught you, the experiences you've had, what kind of stands out so far?

SPEAKER_02 27:05

I feel like there's so much that I've learned. Um, because like as somebody who's like looking into like ministry long term, um, I think one thing is just like the relational side of things. It's like how to like now that I don't have classes and I don't have homework, like every second of or every minute of my day that I'm like on campus, or like even just like when I'm at home, it's like okay, how can I um invest in these students and my friends who are still there? Um like how can I take part and take lead in areas of the ministry that we have. Um so just lots of like new leadership skills, learning the ins and outs of like what ministry can look like, um, learning from Kim and Kyle, who are the campus ministers at Bama, um, and just like yeah, just kind of soaking it all in. Um, but yeah, that's so many things that you know just getting to learn, like putting on events to like leading trainings for different things, um, and yeah, just going out on campus and prayer walking and interacting with students.

SPEAKER_00 28:08

Anything to add?

SPEAKER_04 28:09

I think there's just so much it's hard to pick, but for me, I didn't always love college when I was in it, and I wasn't just in love with Auburn when I got there. And so the Lord has really just laid on my heart how to love one the university campus into Auburn in particular, and just the lostness there. We live Auburn is a very church, like there's a lot of strong churches in Auburn, but of that like 34,000 we mentioned, by our estimates, 85% of that is still lost. And so, like really being open and just opening your eyes to the lost around you and being willing to go out and sit with this student who's just sitting by themselves on a bench and have a conversation with them that I didn't necessarily do when I was in college. And getting to pour into the younger ones who were under me in leadership, but now like they're at the top, and so getting to help them navigate like how to do that, going out with them to do it, and then also like encouraging them in their next steps after they graduate has been a lot of fun.

SPEAKER_01 29:07

Yeah, so the the perspective that you guys bring uh is super unique, I feel like. Um talk talk to me or talk to the folks that may be listening. Um what would be your advice um for freshmen coming on a campus at at Auburn or Alabama or really maybe any campus, but in particular, you know, I would say hone in on your campus because each campus is is unique and different. What what would be what would be some do's and don'ts uh that you feel like you know you've you've walked that landline? Obviously, you um Robin, you transferred in and and so that perspective is actually a very unique one as well, uh as opposed to someone who's there for the four years or five or whatever it takes to get out. So anyway, so just talk either one about uh in fact I'd like both y'all to chime in on that.

SPEAKER_04 29:58

Yeah, so for me when I transferred in, it was very hard. I was a homebody, and I knew all of two people when I got to Auburn, and so something I would encourage both freshmen and anybody who transferred in would to be to find community. That's like the number one thing we see a lack of with our students if they're struggling on campus is community. And that honestly goes on into adulthood because even in Auburn, like now after graduating, I still struggle with that in Auburn. So that would be my number one find community, whether that's in a church, a campus ministry, a club of some sort. I'm gonna just say join BCM because that's the right thing to do. But um, that would be my number one do. As for a don't, I would say like don't give up on Auburn so fast. I know I had some friends who also transferred there right after me, and they gave up after a semester on it because they just couldn't seem to get into the life there, but like give it a chance, learn to love it, stay a weekend, have some fun. Don't be my don't just leave. Yeah, good advice. Don't give up.

SPEAKER_02 30:58

Yeah, yeah. Bama, it's such a unique place, like because like growing up in like the Tuscaloosa area, it's like you don't realize just like how present, just like how many students there are until like they're gone, and like during like maybe like summer break or winter break, but there's so many people, and like if you're a freshman coming to the school for like the first time, it can be so so overwhelming. Um I'm grateful that like I was lived at home and I was able to commute and like I had that like familiar familiarity, but um it's still it's a lot, and there's so many people. I think this year we have at least in Tuscos as a whole, and this isn't counting like our community college and our smaller HBCU, but we average like 47,000 students total, um, and like a majority of those are going to Alabama, and so um, and there's so many clubs, and there's like weeks of welcome, and there's all these things, and there's so much stuff. Um, so like very much like what you said, Robin, I would say like my biggest advice would be to like find your people, like find that community of people, um, specifically those who are gonna be good and who are gonna encourage you, like um in your face, and like if you're like not a believer, that's still like a really safe people, a group of people to go find. Um, but yeah, find the people who are gonna encourage you. Um don't feel like just because everybody's else is partying or is doing stuff on the weekends, like that doesn't mean that you have to also like um because peer pressure is real, but um, but yeah, so I would just say find your people. Um, and it makes it feel a lot smaller once you're able to like maybe recognize a face when you're like walking the class and there's like so many buildings, but and so many people too. Um, but yeah, because that was a huge thing for me.

SPEAKER_00 32:37

So you've both alluded to this. I mean, this is a special time of life in college is its own kind of uh world, um, but it's such a huge mission field. You both talked about that, uh the hundreds of thousands, eight hundred thousand or so, and largely unchurched. Um, and as you've been both uh BCM uh student and BCM member now campus missionary, uh you've talked about this a little bit but hone in on it. How has this changed your worldview? Uh this is one mission field, and there are many other mission fields. What has this done, this experience done to change your worldview, uh to uh change your perspective maybe, to hone in on how God might use you in other other ways once you do get out of the the college setting?

SPEAKER_02 33:18

Yeah, I think one thing that it's really taught me is the importance of like relational like discipleship. Um I've got an opportunity this past year to um walk with two girls um who are freshmen. Um one of them she recently became a believer this past summer, and the other one had grown up in church but had dealt with some like hard stuff at that church. And so just getting to like walk through scripture with them and like you know, like this is what my faith looks like, and like for the one who was like, you know, a fresh believer, it's like this is what it looks like to like read scripture and this is what it looks like to um like share your faith um and just getting to like be that person there for them who they could come to and they did come to when like things were hard or they were stressed out. Um, and so just like kind of having that relationship has been huge because that was really, really hard too as a student because like I would maybe meet people and we try to set up something like that, but like life just got busy for both of us. But now because I'm a campus missionary at Bama, like this is my full-time job, this is what I get to do. And so just having like all this time where I can like you know have the mental capacity now to like you know, text them frequently, or I get to like, you know, like hey, let's talk about this, or like things like that. Not saying you can't as a student, but it's so much easier and it there's so much more like intentionality now, like on my end of like, okay, this is why I'm here. And so just kind of having those relationships um and these friendships that I've gotten to form in this way has been huge. And I know that's definitely something that I want to continue with them and like you know, take away um even after like I'm you know, moved on from um Bama or whatever comes next.

SPEAKER_04 34:56

I think that it really has taught me how to just like form stronger relationships with people be and then like get to the gospel eventually. I know like I've served on mission before and when you're doing that short term, like you have to get to the gospel fast. And maybe I might only be there for a semester or two or three, but just being able to form a relationship with people, let them know that I care about them and then pour into them in that capacity, that's something you can always take with you. Because people typically don't know, they don't really care to hear what you know until they know that you care. That was something that was taught to me in education, and it's so true, and it goes with the gospel that they don't care what you have to say if they just think that you're just a they're just a project to you. And so really sitting down with people, having coffee with them, going through scripture with them, and just encouraging them that way more relationally, I think.

SPEAKER_01 35:46

Good. That's great. That's great. So talk a little bit about um what are what are some ways that you see God already working uh that that you're excited about for this spring semester? It might be, you know, his particular uh ministry project that you're working on, or uh relationships this building, or whatever you might want to want to share about. What would be some things that are exciting for you thinking about for you know the upcoming few months?

SPEAKER_02 36:11

I'm excited to see because we so every like for the calendar year, we have a new leadership team um of students in our BCM and so just their excitement for what's coming um and like whether I'll be whether I do this for a second year or not, like knowing and like seeing their excitement and getting to like work with them to the point where like I know like they're gonna you know be able to handle it come fall when it's welcome week and like you know, students are pouring in for our pancake night that we have and you know having all these conversations and trying to um like you know form new friendships and follow up with people. Um just getting to work with them is always so sweet and refreshing just to like you know, it's like it's a new year and everybody's excited um and has full of energy. Um but also it's just I've been really encouraged to see how God's been like answering prayers lately. Um we have like we've started like a table this past year. My friend Lindsay started it um when she graduated with me. Um and it's you know near one of our buildings um on Bama's campus, that's where a lot of international students um come in and out of. And so we started it there so we can intentionally form those connections. And so hearing um from the girls who do that every week, just the um amount of interactions that they have, and like they've been able to have some follow-ups has been cool. Um, but even like personally, like I've been praying through like like that God would send me like a friend who's like an unbeliever or like an international student friend who I can just like you know, like learn what it is to have like those kind of relationships. Um He sent me this one girl, um, and she was both of them. And so um we just I just met her randomly one day and she was like, Yeah, I've been thinking about wanting to read the Bible. And I was like, Well, hey, I like the Bible. And so just getting to have like that kind of relationship and just like you know, so many stories of just students in our ministry who are um meeting with other students, a lot of them who are international students, and just seeing how God has brought the nations to Tuscleosa, Alabama, which you never would have thought. Um, but he's doing so much just really cool just seeing how he's just bringing them and like forming these friendships and just hearing from students who are just getting to, you know, share their faith um and like knowing that he's at work in their hearts and they can carry this back to wherever God takes them next.

SPEAKER_04 38:23

So I'm really excited about some of the new strategies that we have for this semester. So our goal really this semester is to really hit the ground running in evangelism and trying to reach the lost. So we've been toying around with some of our small group ideas and we've been wanting to implement Bible discovery groups on campus, and so like our encouragement to our leadership team this semester is to take them as a leader to find another person to disciple and teach how to do this, find two lost people and start a Bible discovery group. So go through small passages of scripture and let them encourage Jesus for themselves, let or encounter Jesus for themselves, let them encounter the word and let that speak to them. Um and let them discover it. And that's just exciting to me. And then we also we're gonna start up our new our coffee pop-ups on campus. We used to do this a couple years ago, but it's been several years since we've done it, so I'm excited to see how that goes this semester as well, and just in form of tabling on the concourse, giving people some coffee too. Nice.

SPEAKER_00 39:28

I have a feeling that's gonna be probably popular. Especially as you get closer to finals. Yes, well, that's true. That's true. Um one of the main purposes of our little podcast here is to connect the dots between a typical everyday church member giving faithfully to their church, and that church sends uh some of those funds through the cooperative program to support all kinds of ministries, including Baptist campus ministries, uh, your your uh campus missionaries who campus ministers who are state missionaries, as you mentioned, uh what they do and those centers are made possible by by folks, everyday folks just giving. Uh, what does it mean to you to know that, first of all, there are unseen folks out there who are supporting this ministry by their faithful giving? And have you connected the dots kind of that and and uh what it means to be part of this larger family that uh that so willingly gives uh uh and prays together and goes together uh to support ministries like this, especially Baptist campus ministries.

SPEAKER_04 40:24

I think it's just mind-blowing, honestly. I think the church is just mind-blowing to me because it's something I've seen a lot of power in the past couple of years, but just the fact that we're part of this large family, that we support one another, even if we don't always see one another, and just getting to see like the power and fruits of that. So they might just be giving offering or praying for us, but we're getting to supply pizza to a student who might not get to go home and have anything to eat, or we're getting to supply like a place for we have a student from Ghana whose wife and daughter just recently joined him in the States, and so a place for them to come and spend Christmas and have Christmas presents and just fellowship, and so it's really amazing to see like one the prayers and the fruits that come from that, but also like the giving and the results that come from that as well.

SPEAKER_05 41:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 41:12

I'm always just so encouraged when I think about it. Like we're able to like here at Bama, we're able to like have a building. We're able to invite in students, and we have like a lunch that we do every week, and our local churches are the ones who provide the food, the meals, um, and we're able to like have the lights on and like you know have the heat on or the AC, um, depending on the time of year, which it could be either in a week in Alabama. So um, but it's just so sweet, and we're and so many students who come in, like they are unbelievers, and we're able to like we always make sure we're intentional to have somebody who's sharing the gospel, like maybe whether after they give announcements or something like that um during that lunch period. But it's just like even like small things like that, just thinking about like all of those who are faithfully giving, like we're able to keep the lights on because people are able to faithfully give and churches are willing to serve in that way. It's like we're able to be, you know, paid so that we can do this job and we can um have a you know a place to stay because of people who are faithfully giving. Um and it's even more sweet when I think about like my own church who's the ones who give. It's like my family, like they all they give faithfully, and so just like knowing that is just always super encouraging, and I just think it's so cool how God has just like worked through like the church and like the way that we have it set up with the cooperative program that you know this is the way it is, and we don't have to worry about things like that. We don't have to worry about raising support because he's already placed it in the hearts of people to be generous and to give.

SPEAKER_00 42:38

Well, and you mentioned uh some lovely other parts of the partnership, and that is local churches who uh come literally, physically, and who provide meals and things, and parents who give, obviously, associational uh partnerships. So that's all part of that big family, all undergirded through that corporate program giving. I I love that picture you just painted.

SPEAKER_01 42:56

Yeah, it's fantastic. Um, you know, you you guys have have just really, I think, opened up a lot of thought and and just uh excitement uh uh in my heart, and I'm sure those that are listening, um, not only are Alabama Baptists very generous and and supportive, uh, but there are certainly people of prayer. And uh we would love to to encourage them to be praying specifically for you guys and your campus. Um obviously some of the things you've already mentioned of what's coming up and those excitement uh points of excitement that you have, would there be maybe something you want to just mention specifically you'd like folks to be praying about?

SPEAKER_02 43:37

Um I would say we have several, like I mentioned, several students who are walking with others um through um well we go we typically like go through the book of John um and we point highlight these stories that really show who Jesus is character, um, and we're able to share the gospel with them every week. And so we have several students who've been doing that this past semester. Um and I know of two students who did come to know the Lord through that kind of relationship. One of them who's now on our leadership team this year, which is so cool. But yeah, just seeing how God's at work. But also knowing that there are still so many students who we have plugged into our ministry in some way, whether it's through like a friendship with one of our student leaders, um, or they come every week just to different events. And so just prayers that God would just work in their hearts so that we would and that we would be faithful and intentional to share the gospel and like remember that's why we're here, not just because like that we're you know they're our friends or like um because it's it's a fun place to be, but um this is like the where he's called us to during this time in our life. And so that we would make the most of every opportunity that he puts in our path.

SPEAKER_04 44:44

I think generally just for the gospel to be shared on campus that hearts would be opened to that for discipleship with the students that we do have. And also we have so many engineering students that are and especially in our BCM and our students they're so academically driven. So just that they would be encouraged this semester the spring semester is always difficult in terms of school. I feel like the fall you fly through but the spring it's just there's no breaks. It's just school school school. And so that they would just prioritize their relationship with the Lord and time with him and that they would just know that it is okay if they're not perfect in school.

SPEAKER_00 45:24

That's a good word that is a good word. Yeah and thank you for that observation people don't always think about those the small little subtle differences between times of year and all that. Well and let me say y'all y'all have been incredible representatives of BCM of your schools today and I know you are beyond today but thank you for telling your story and I would hasten to say that you know we we have Auburn and Alabama represented here but the story is uh told on every campus across the state where campus ministries are growing vibrantly and and can be told uh in every place so we're so incredibly blessed by all of our campus ministers campus missionaries who serve like these ladies and um who do such a great job not only on these two uh well-known campuses but really across our state that's right um seventeen full-time campus ministers and then I don't know the number exactly on the campus missionaries and I know that's a little bit more of a newer got type of program that we have but um it is representative and so that's part of the reason that we had you guys and y'all are excellent ambassadors for that and we really appreciate it and and I'll just be I'll be honest this has been a lot of fun. Yeah yeah I've enjoyed it I've enjoyed it and also uh as Jay mentioned uh the the representation on our um a lot of our community colleges and junior college um through that kind of sport so it's just incredible you can see the uh the state blanketed with this kind of ministry and yes this has been a lot of fun either because of or in spite of your pure trivia questions I mean I'd say in spite of yeah no doubt no doubt in spite of certainly set the tone so uh well cool anything else uh on your mind or heart that the Lord has just kind of uh laid on your heart to share before we wrap it up I'm excited for the semester um just to see what he'll do um and yeah I'm excited also to see what he has to do because I feel like he's got big plans which he normally does so it's good I know we mentioned I think Robin you probably did I know um Abigail you mentioned counseling uh looking into that um what do you see is next I think you mentioned education are you looking at teaching I have always been open to that my student teaching was a little bit of a rough experience but that's okay the door for that has just never been opened um but it's possible I could be back as a campus missionary.

SPEAKER_04 47:38

A possibility.

SPEAKER_01 47:39

That's exciting that's exciting well guys we uh look forward to all that God's going to be doing uh I mentioned uh and when we had a chance to meet earlier today and and talk um that um I enjoy hearing the testimonies from our campuses uh we here at the State Board of Missions have a birthday lunch every month Doug as you're well aware of and you're you're in charge of a lot of the goings and comings of that day uh but part of that day for those who are listening uh we hear uh testimonies from all of our campuses and uh every month we hear of salvations and people uh being called to missions or ministry uh lives being changed and so and others big things uh as you have said uh that God has in store and so we'll just be praying for you as uh this this year continues to unfold and and just look forward to see what God is doing. And and again as Alabama Bad as we are so grateful to you uh for your faithfulness to to go on mission to be on mission to serve uh and certainly to give and pray and so thank you for that and uh I believe our our our our podcast is aptly named we are better together amen and thank you for joining us for this episode and please join us in about another month uh for another episode of Better Together all right Doug thanks man