DAVIS, Okla. (BP) — For more than 1,700 college students and collegiate ministry leaders, last week marked a launching point for a school year full of gospel conversations and ministry on campuses throughout North America and the world.

Southern Baptist students and their leaders from 23 states and regions in the United States and Canada gathered for training, worship and fellowship during Collegiate Week at Falls Creek Camp in Davis, Oklahoma, Aug. 4-8.

“Collegiate Week is really like a big family reunion of encouragement and equipping,” said Arjay Gruspe, president of the Baptist Collegiate Network and the state director of Next Generation Ministries at the Hawaii Pacific Baptist Convention. “Our goal is to equip and encourage college students to be positioned and ready to reach their campuses.”

During Collegiate Week, attendees enjoyed worship sessions led by Cody Dunbar and Matt Roberson. They also heard evangelistic, leadership and disciple-making sermons from Shane Pruitt, H.B Charles and Jeff Iorg, among others.

One of the conference’s highlights was the massive response to invitations throughout the week. Not only did 200 people respond to a call to ministry, but more than 50 people surrendered their lives to Christ.  

“We gave the invitation for salvation and also an opportunity to confess sins and be honest about struggles,” said Paul Worcester, the North American Mission Board’s (NAMB) national collegiate director. “We had hundreds respond to that call. People prayed with leaders, and it was a great moment.”

Participants could choose from various tracks, including one specifically for students sensing a call to ministry. In total, 125 students engaged in that track, exploring their potential future in ministry.

Adam Venters, campus minister at the University of South Carolina, brought a team of leaders from his student ministry to the conference. He helped teach a breakout session in a leadership training track and noted there were sessions on developing evangelistic Bible studies, sermon preparation and discerning spiritual gifts.

“The students that were part of the call to ministry track gave feedback that they were really impacted by the sessions,” Venters said.

Leadership training went beyond simple skill development to provide a background for the challenges many will face as they head into a new school year and serve as leaders on their college campuses.

“The flow of this year was really trying to move students to think more counter-culturally in light of the world we live in now,” Gruspe said. “We had speakers focus on how to be counter-cultural in love, with the gospel, through the authority of Scripture and understanding the image of God. This really resonated with those called to ministry.”

Venters described the content quality of the event as unparalleled, providing training for multiple levels of collegiate leadership — from college students exploring their faith, to student peer leaders, to collegiate ministry staff. 

NAMB, the International Mission Board (IMB), and Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) seminaries sent representatives to the conference, many of whom focused on helping prepare students for future ministry. Venters said he was particularly impressed with the involvement of national SBC entities. (See related story about IMB’s participation.)

“It’s really easy for collegiate ministry to get put on the back burner,” Venters said. “I am very grateful for our seminaries and national entities that continue to value collegiate ministry and help mobilize, equip and resource us for the campuses we serve. As a local campus minister, the amount of resources, tools and support they provide is a huge blessing. I’m truly thankful for all the people involved in planning, organizing and funding these efforts. It really is awesome.”

Andy Pettigrew, the leader of IMB’s next gen team, describes Collegiate Week as an integral part of the entity’s plan to engage next generation leaders. Pettigrew notes that the IMB wants to both help prepare the students for future service and mobilize them to reach an ever-growing number of young lost people worldwide.

“Collegiate Week is a prime opportunity for us to have multiple conversations with leaders and students about how they can be involved in God’s global purpose,” Pettigrew said.

Gruspe notes with excitement that the future of SBC collegiate ministry is bright, as Southern Baptists have an opportunity to engage a generation of leaders who are preparing to reach their campuses and the world for Christ.

“I think, as Southern Baptists, we tend to think of this generation as the Next Generation. I would say that this is the Now Generation,” said Gruspe, who along with his student ministry duties also serves as the founding pastor of Pawa’a Community Church in Honolulu. “These are the ones truly digging in, desiring to reach the lost, willing to go the extra mile, sacrifice and love those around them. Because of their connectivity, networking resources and media at their fingertips, this is the generation we need to invest in to see the walls of the kingdom pushed back and more people come to Christ across all generations.”

Next year’s collegiate week will be at Falls Creek again on Aug. 3-7, 2025. For more information about the Baptist Collegiate Network, visit collegeministry.com.