Invitation of Fellowship

A keyword in our ministry is Fellowship. At Baptist Campus Ministry (BCM) it is our IDENTITY, CALLING, MISSION.

Since my time as the director started at Baptist Campus Ministry, I have focused on creating FELLOWSHIP. I believe wholeheartedly that a place where Christians gather must be a place, a source, a wellspring of fellowship. I truly believe that people began gathering to the ministry because of our focus on fellowship.

In my time here, I have sought to be a person who enabled others to gather together to learn, grow, and live together. It is a simple idea. People who are disciples of Jesus gather together. In our time together, I help people learn more about Jesus and what it means to follow him. In time, the people grow in their faith and realize that they are on this journey together. I help foster an atmosphere where people fellowship focused on knowing God, God's story, and his people.

I cannot take credit for this all. The students, staff, and faculty all contribute to making the ministry what it is. I provided the means and the tools, and the rest of the community grew. I only allowed them to have access and grow their gifts. In turn, they put the gifts back into the church. Leadership, teaching, praying, service, music, discernment, evangelism, organization, charisma, laughter, love, grace, and much more was returned and flourished in this ministry, but it all began with fellowship.

Our identity of fellowship roots itself in the Trinity. The fellowship, bond, and unity are shared in the Trinity is the source of our identity. We sought to live this relationship out. We rooted ourselves in our connection to the trinity and expanded it to each other. This made us, not just image-bearers of God, but people joining the beautiful dance of God.

Our calling is to invite others into our fellowship. As I said, we have grown together in our relationship and knowledge of Jesus. In doing so, we have journeyed and begun to live life together in transformational ways. BCM is called to extend that fellowship. We cannot be a special club, but we must reach out to new people to invite them into our lives and the lives we are living with Jesus. We do not wish to grow for growth sake, but instead, we wish to grow because the more people equals the more life, learning, and gifts that are shared. We recognize that God moves and works through all people. In reaching out to people, we get to see the Holy Spirit and her work in new ways. Ways that can possibly help us grow and know God more.

Our mission is to NIU. We seek to be witnesses of Christ to the campus. In our life of fellowship rooted in the trinity, we attempt to fulfill this mission. To bring not just God’s love to the campus, not just to bring Jesus to individuals, but to invite the campus of NIU to live and dance with us as we fellowship with God. Christ does not call his disciples to be free of sin individually, but to follow him and live life with him. Let me clarify. Jesus does not save you to be by yourself, he saves you to join him and the church. You are saved to be part of the community of the saved. You are saved to be a part of something. In our bond and relationship with Jesus we have salvation. By connecting and holding on to Christ, we to can participate in life to the fullest, being fully forgiven, and receiving grace we never knew existed. Our mission is to invite people into our fellowship with God. To have them know and learn about Jesus. Whether the person has been living as a Christian their entire lives or they are just getting to know him, our fellowship calls all to grow deeper into a relationship with Christ Jesus.

For eleven years now I have been a part of the life at Baptist Campus Ministry. I have seen miracles, answered prayers, felt the Holy Spirit, made lasting bonds, fell in love, felt the power of the gospel, reached out to the less fortunate, eaten with people from around the world, and lived life with a taste of the Kingdom. If you are seeking a new way of life. If you want to love deeper, know what it means to live life to the fullest, and journey together with people to know God, I encourage you to visit Baptist Campus Ministry. I do not promise perfection, but I do promise the kingdom. I do promise that God is present here, working, moving, loving, and living life with us here. I know this because God has transformed my life in this place. I invite you now to join in our dance with God. I invite you into our fellowship.

For those who are already part of this fellowship, I encourage you to live out your calling. I encourage you to remember your mission. Live life to the fullest. Embrace God with open arms and dive deep into the mystery of God. Continue to seek the glory of the Lord in the scriptures, in worshiping together, in prayer, and in life in our community. If you are faithful to your calling, blessings will abound.

All the grace and peace to you I give and pray for you in your journeys my friends. May the grace of the lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you always my sisters and brothers.

AMEN