This is an invitation to pray, a call to pray, and a plea to pray…would you be willing to Pause & Pray every Thursday for Texas campuses, students, and BSM staff?
There Has to be More:
Many incoming freshmen enter college just hoping they will choose to do the right things. Kevin Prather, from the University of Texas, San Antonio tells the story of a young man who entered college and discovered what it truly meant to be a follower of Jesus Christ.
Isaiah* is a young Christian from Austin. This was his freshman year. One of our older students, Eric*, ran into him one day early in the semester and discovered Isaiah played the guitar and they had some commonalities. Isaiah was not plugged into any Christian organization or any local church. He would go home to Austin often on weekends or if in town, spend most of his time with his girlfriend.
Eric brought him to the BSM and he connected with our worship team, sometimes helping to lead, other times simply being present. The first semester we saw him come and go-he enjoyed BSM but something wasn’t clicking for him. Isaiah had not been discipled (and did not have many strong older Christian male role models in his life) and had compromised in the area of his relationship with his girlfriend. He knew something was not right and had told her about Christ but she stated emphatically she did not believe and would not believe. He came to me one night in the Spring semester after a worship service and asked what he should do about his girlfriend. I went over the Gospel with Isaiah again and he affirmed that he trusted solely in Christ and wanted to follow Him-he also admitted he did not know what the Bible had to say about moral purity and we talked at length about him honoring God with his body, his girlfriend, his dating life-with all of his life. It was a long “father/son” type of conversation. Isaiah left that meeting determined to tell his girlfriend that he cared for her but had dishonored her and God with some of the things they had done and wanted her to know that he had surrendered everything in life he understood, to Christ. Isaiah had a breakthrough moment that night and he continued to come to worship and started meeting with me and some other young men during the week. He ended up going on our mission trip-a young man now on fire for Christ and eager to share with others.
Isaiah is a powerful story in that he represents so many of our young people who graduate from High School, leave the church and go off to college: He showed up just hoping he’d do the right things without any real clear sense of things or any real grounding in his walk with Christ. He knew there had to be more than just being a good person and going to church, but he didn’t know what that ‘something’ was. In BSM he discovered discipleship, time alone with God, more of the Lordship of Christ and what it means to be a disciple continually on mission. Isaiah is a profound story of growth in Christ.
Pausing & Praying with you,
Texas Collegiate Ministry Team
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Ways to Pray:
- Praise the Lord that Isaiah is choosing to surrender his entire life to follow Jesus Christ.
- Pray for Isaiah to continue to run this race with perseverance.
- Pray for incoming freshmen, who are Christians, to encounter Jesus in new and transformative ways.
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Staff Spotlight
Beth Smith
Campus: University of Texas, Dallas
Favorite Scripture Verse… Isa 26:3The kindest thing that someone has ever done for me was…leave work, come
to my house and change the flat tire on my big old car!
The weirdest thing I have ever eaten was… rabbit, fried bees, and snails (all in the same meal!)
Who has been the greatest influence on your Christian life and why? When I was in high school there was a group of women from our church who invested heavily in my spiritual and emotional growth. They are women of faith I look up to greatly still to this day.
My hidden talent is…photography- one friend says I have the gift of taking great self-portraits!
I am passionate about…everyone being accepted into the family- discrimination in any form can really get me going.
If I did not have to work, I would…work in the garden, lay in a hammock, and read great books
When/how did you feel called to ministry? When I was exploring ministry as a calling I received a phone call asking me to come and work with the BSM as an intern. Those 10 months of experience and exploration confirmed that God was calling me to full time ministry.
I am really good at…creative tasks.
When asked, “what do you want to be when you grow up?” I always said…a teacher.
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Ways to Pray for Beth:
- For wisdom and clarity to lead the BSM’s in Dallas and Collin County
forward in a missional strategy to reach every college student in our
area. - I have been praying for Gayatri for this whole year. She is a graduate
international student and each time we’ve met we’ve talked deeply about
spiritual issues. She comes from a Hindu religious background and has not
yet decided to follow Jesus.
Posted by becky 
The school year has wrapped up and high school seniors are preparing to head to college. We (Texas Baptist Student Ministry – BSM) believe the local church plays an important role in the lives of incoming freshmen in college. They have possibly invested the last 18 years in the lives of graduates and we desire to continue to invest in these students while they are away at college.
Kevin Prather
