By Michael Aguillard
“And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!’” – Romans 10:15
BATON ROUGE, La. – I am four years into my role as the Baptist Collegiate Ministry director with Southern University. The typical four-year degree plan made last spring a bittersweet time in our ministry.
It was bitter because a good crop of students, who had been involved with our ministry, graduated.
They were not students who simply attended our meetings and added to our numbers. They were leaders. They planned outreaches, on and off campus. They fervently shared their faith. They led small groups and even led our large group gathering when I fell ill once.
After spending the past four years pouring into them, watching them grow, and watching them serve the Lord, it was a bitter moment to see them go.
But it also was a sweet moment.
One thing that has been reinforced within me is the fact that college ministry is not an end, in and of itself. Our goal as Baptist Collegiate Ministry directors is not just to reach our campuses. Our goal is to meet students at a critical stage of their lives, teach them to follow Jesus, and equip them to serve the church long after they have graduated.
For this reason, I have worked these last four years with ministry tools that are easily reproducible. One of those is “Seven Arrows.” It is an inductive Bible study method developed by Southern Baptist pastors at Christ Fellowship, Cherrydale. The method consists of seven questions that help students to understand a scripture in its context and then apply its meaning to their lives. I have found that the seven questions used in the method also make great questions for small group discussions. So, we equip our leaders to study the Bible with this method and develop lessons for their small groups from it.
One of the leaders who graduated recently is Julian Sibblies, from New Jersey, who got involved in our ministry in the fall of 2021. He was baptized on Nov. 13, 2022.
Starting in the fall, 2023, he led one of our small group Bible studies in his on-campus apartment. Julian graduated in May of 2024 and returned home to New Jersey. When he returned home, he continued to use Seven Arrows. Leaning on his experience at the BCM, Julian used the method to begin a Bible study with his friends to reach them with the Gospel and to help them grow in their relationships with God.
This is the sweet part of watching students from our ministry walk across the stage to receive their diplomas. As students graduate, we know they are going out into the world to be salt and light. Although we will miss their fellowship and the blessing they have been to our ministry, we know they will continue to advance the Kingdom wherever God brings them.
That is why I am so thankful to Louisiana Baptists for making it a priority to reach college students across the state!
Michael Aguillard is director of the Baptist Collegiate Ministry with Southern University, Baton Rouge.
