By Brian Blackwell, Baptist Message staff writer
BATON ROUGE, La. (LBM) – The Louisiana State University Baptist Collegiate Ministry welcomed back students for the fall semester, including 39 who made decisions for Jesus, according to LSU BCM Director Blake Grundy.
The decisions, including 16 who placed their trust in Jesus, took place during the final day of a week that included a Cajun lunch, waffles and trivia gathering, a freshman fest and a worship night attended by 300 students that included a steak and potato supper.
Grundy said he was excited to see the Lord move during the week. “It’s been really encouraging,” Grundy told the Baptist Message.
“When we arrived over the summer, the campus felt empty. We didn’t see many students around. We spent those months preparing, reaching out via text, and praying, all without much face-to-face interaction. But then during Welcome Week, seeing so many students come through, and witnessing the decisions made — it was incredibly rewarding.”
Grundy asked for continued prayers as they disciple those who made decisions, and as they seek to obey Christ’s call to reach a campus of nearly 40,000 students with the Gospel.
“Just like every other campus, ours is in desperate need of the Gospel,” he added. “But the encouraging part is that students are actually open and receptive to Gospel conversations. Scripture reminds us that the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. So, we spent the summer praying to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His field (Matthew 9:37-38). We specifically asked Him to raise up students who would boldly step onto campus and share their faith, and we’re beginning to see that happen.”
Louisiana Baptist Collegiate Ministry Team Director Mark Robinson said he is seeing spiritual renewal among students on campuses throughout the state.
“What’s happening at LSU is a glimpse of what we’re praying for and is happening across Louisiana — students awakening to the Gospel and stepping into bold faith,” Robinson said. “These stories aren’t just encouraging; they’re catalytic. They remind us that the harvest is real, and the time is now.”
