Relaunching a Ministry - Part 2
Our First Semester Back
Introduction
As we gear up for the various BCM summer opportunities (our BCM Summer Bible Study is starting in three days!), I want to be weary of plowing right ahead without taking time to think back, remember, and be thankful to the Lord for everything He has done over the course of our first semester on campus!
Spring ‘25 has been such a blessing. My family and I moved back to Southwest Missouri in the middle of December, 2024 (see the previous post for details on that). Then, we officially started making progress towards launching the Baptist Collegiate Ministry at College of the Ozarks.
The Start of Something New
It took us a few solid weeks to start getting some traction. However, after several meetings with campus administration, spending some time on campus making connections, and meeting some fantastic students, we were go for launch. Our first BCM gathering took place on January 28. It was a few weeks into the semester, but we really wanted to be able to participate in the club fest first, in order to sufficiently spread the word.
Dr. Rusty Osborn led our worship the first night, and it was fantastic. This first night was mostly a welcome night to explain what the ministry’s goals and ambitions were, and give a glimpse into the teaching for the semester.
Weekly Worship
A few weeks in, we were able to develop something of a worship leadership team. The students who signed up to lead us in worship every week were absolutely FANTASTIC! I am so very grateful for all of the students who engaged in the ministry with us, leading worship, helping with tech support (lyric slides), and other crucial supportive roles. It was incredible to see their willingness to participate and volunteer their precious time and talents to make this ministry work!
Weekly Preaching
As far as the teaching goes, it was my initial intent to preach through the Sermon on the Mount this first semester. However, as I was just beginning to make progress in the study, I quickly discovered that there is so much there that we could only perhaps make it through the Beatitudes in the course of a semester. So that’s exactly what we did. There’s quite a bit to share in this regard, so I may make several separate posts detailing the content of the semester’s teaching. Overall, however, the main theme I gathered from the Beatitudes is that as citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven, we are called to participate in the Kingdom Life for the purpose of Kingdom Advancement. Kingdom Life for Kingdom Advancement. I hope the students gleaned this from the series, but I know I certainly did nonetheless.
I definitely had some sermons that turned out worse than others. As I began learning how to preach every week (which was thrilling!) I definitely had a few off nights. There were several weeks I felt so bad about the sermon I preached I thought this is it, I’ve killed the ministry, nobody is going to come back. But thanks be to God, and no doubt through the prayers of the saints, the ministry did not fall apart. I am so thankful that God’s Word can do its work in spite of my shortcomings.
Book Study
We also started a book study about half way through the semester, and had some great, in depth conversations over John Piper’s book Don’t Waste Your Life. It was such a joy to see the passion and diligence of these students as they considered what it will take for them to lay the foundation in their lives for a productive and fruitful life in the Kingdom, and to stay away from the typical, worldly pursuits of success.
Church Partnerships
I have also enjoyed traveling around the Tri-County Southern Baptist Association meeting with pastors, getting to know a bit about the churches that are backing this ministry, and beginning to plan strategic partnerships between our ministries. The result of one such conversation was a wonderful mid-terms worship night that Real Life Church from Hollister came to put on for us. The worship team was so talented, and they led us in worship in a very meaningful way. This was our best attended night, with upwards of 40 students showing up (I think the pizza may have had something to do with that).
I was also blessed to meet with a handful of other pastors and churches throughout the semester. From meeting with Pastor Monty Dunn (Friendly Baptist Church), Pastor Jody Kilburn (Real Life Hollister), Pastor Jason Moore (Ozark Mountain Community Church), Pastor Phillip Burden (FBC Ozark), Pastor Rich Bitterman (Cedar Ridge Baptist Church), and Dr. James Todd and Dr. Rusty Osborne (FBC Forsyth), it became abundantly evident to me that there is (as my boss says) a deep well of goodwill amongst so many local churches toward our ministry and College of the Ozarks. I am so grateful to all of them and their churches for the support of encouragement, direct involvement, opportunity to spread awareness about what God is doing through BCM, their prayers, and financial support.
Great Opportunities
A few other fantastic opportunities Betty and I had included sitting down and meeting Jerome Stockert, the new director of collegiate ministries for the Missouri Baptist Convention. Speaking with him in depth was super encouraging, and he gave us quite a few strategic ideas as we continue thinking through the relaunching of this ministry.
Also, on this note, we also attended the annual Missouri Baptist Collegiate Conference. This conference takes place every spring, and all of the Missouri Campus Missionaries / BCM (or BSU) Directors attend. Many of them even bring students with them, as it is a great time to worship together, be encouraged, and network for fantastic ministry internship opportunities. Betty and I hope to bring some students with us next year so they have access to these wonderful opportunities. We also met one of the Campus Missionaries who works hard every year to put on a college retreat every fall semester. Believe it or not, students from colleges all over the state of Missouri come to this retreat, and it is at a camp in our neck of the woods! So I’m very excited to be a part of this, hopefully this fall if there is enough interest amongst the CofO students. It sounds like a wonderful opportunity.
We were also recently blessed with the opportunity to be a part of the Global Impact Celebration put on by FBC Forsyth every year. This included having a booth alongside various other ministries, and speaking with many of their church members about the ministry and how they can be involved, alongside an interview in front of the church speaking with Dr. Rusty Osborn a bit more in depth about the launching of this ministry. Overall we had some wonderful conversations, and are very thankful for the opportunity we had to spread the word.
Lastly, as I write this, Betty and I are gearing up to attend the annual Campus Missionary Training (CMT) hosted by the Missouri Baptist Convention. We are looking forward to meeting more of the Campus Missionaries / BCM Directors and anticipate this being an enriching time to consider how to be as effective and fruitful as we can as we engage with the college students God brings our way.
Conclusion
Overall, it was an absolutely thrilling semester. I am so grateful for the students Betty and I were able to meet, and little Sophia seemed to welcome all the attention she constantly had around her. I hope and pray that the students we were able to interact with this semester found encouragement and sustaining energy throughout the semester. Either way, I know being around them sure inspired and encouraged me to dig deeper and work more diligently. As the trial and error semester comes to a close, I am so excited to form deeper connections this summer during our Bible study through Proverbs, and hope to work with the students this summer to find the most effective ways to launch fully into next semester.
For the Church,
Nathan Sharon