Every generation is different. Generation Z is the youngest generation that we have data on and have been able to study their habits. If your church wants to connect better with youth and young adults here are two shifts to pay attention to. 

Over 33,000 students will graduate from Arkansas High Schools this year, according to the ADE Data Center. Even more students will finish their coursework through homeschooling, private schools and co-ops in the state. The transition that awaits a student as they cross the graduation stage is one of the most important transitions in their lives. In many ways, these students are graduating from more than just high school. They are graduating from a life and a schedule that has been somewhat routine, predictable and charted for them into an unknown.

 “Be sure to invite your friends!”  These are words that we often hear when it comes to church-related activities and services.  We hear those words so often that they probably go unnoticed.  But for one student, it turned a life of turmoil into a life surrendered to God.  

I firmly believe God uses BCM ministries to raise up and call out students to a variety of ministry callings. Below, I’ve asked Kayla to share just how that began to happen in her life. I hope you will pray for her and many other college students God will use to reach the nations!  

It is impossible to overstate the importance of our Baptist Collegiate Ministries (BCM) on campuses around our state. The microcosm expression of cooperative missions is treasured in the hearts of thousands of current and former collegians who fill our pulpits, serve on the mission field, sit in our pews, teach our classes, lead our Bible studies and raise families in the communities of Arkansas and around the nation. But I was personally reminded of the depth of their impact when one of our very own, Jeremy Woodall, was recognized by the University of Arkansas at Monticello (UAM) athletic department and inducted into the UAM Sports Hall of Fame for the Spirit Award.  

August 17 marked the beginning of a new school year at the University of Arkansas at Monticello (UAM) and my seventh as Campus Minister for the Baptist Collegiate Ministry on this campus. It also marked the beginning of a 40 Days of Prayer initiative started by my neighbor, Teresa Stark. Mrs. Teresa is the wife of Dr. Robert Stark, a 26-year professor of agriculture at UAM.  

It’s no secret that we have trouble slowing down to rest these days. For those of us who didn’t have jobs essential to being in person during the COVID-19 pandemic, it seems like a lifetime ago that we were staying home, moving slow, and finding some much-needed rest from the hustle and bustle of life.  

Arkansas Baptist Disaster Relief (DR) is known for going into difficult places to serve those in the crisis of disaster. On August 17, a team of DR volunteers from across the state assembled to serve in a different way! In the early hours of the morning volunteers started driving from all over the state headed to the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, making the same trip to campus that over 7,000 incoming freshmen had made just days before. While the freshmen had moved to start life in their new home, Disaster Relief volunteers were mobilizing to make them feel welcome.

It is late August and fall is quickly approaching, signaling for some the anticipation of football and hunting seasons. But, for over 160,000 University students, it signifies the start of classes on our Arkansas campuses. Students from all the states and from many countries have arrived in Arkansas seeking higher education.