CONWAY, Ark. – The Arkansas Baptist State Convention (ABSC) recently hired Brandon Moore as Conway Baptist Collegiate Ministry’s new campus minister. Moore most recently served at Christ Community Church in Huntersville, North Carolina where he was the College & Young Adult Director.
Moore was born and raised in Van Buren, Arkansas, so he is not new to the natural state. He graduated from the University of Arkansas where he played baseball for the Razorbacks. He came to know Christ while he was there. After playing professional ball for a few years, he returned to the U of A as the baseball team’s chaplain.
“I retired from professional baseball in 2015 and became the Razorback’s chaplain in 2016. Basically, what the chaplain does is organize speakers before the games on Sundays during the season and coordinates Bible studies and then disciples players who want to go deeper,” Moore said of his experience as chaplain.
“It was a really unique transition because I was now ministering to some of the guys that I used to play with,” he said. “A lot of those guys had seen me on a day-to-day basis genuinely follow Christ so when I got into that ministry role, there was credibility there. I immediately won favor with the older people and therefore was able to win favor with the younger people. I had a shared experience with a lot of them – being a player as well – and I think that really helped with Gospel conversations as well.”
Moore knew the position in North Carolina was only temporary when he moved in February 2020, so he and his wife, Jackie, began to pray and ask God to lead them to where they needed to go next.
“Both of us, at the same time, said that we thought God was saying, ‘Conway.’ He was putting Conway on our hearts,” he said. “And that was really weird because we’re Fayetteville people through and through, but we were open to what God was doing.”
When it became clear that they were being called home to Arkansas, they began praying for God to open the doors for them to somehow come to Conway quickly.
“After a week and a half of praying, we got connected with Bruce [Venable, College+Young Leaders team leader] through Larry White at Woodland Heights Baptist Church. I had an interview with Bruce and then about a month and half later, I was offered the position,” he said. “It wasn’t initially on our radar, but God made it clear that it was Conway, and it was this BCM position.”
Moore has a heart for college students and college ministry. He believes it’s a transitional time in their lives, both good and bad, and he loves meeting those students where they are with the Gospel so he can help equip them to send them out.
In North Carolina, his position was at a church and not necessarily on a campus or near one. So being able to do life with students where they were was a little more difficult – especially after the COVID-19 pandemic hit and no one was on campus for the year.
“One of the things I’m really excited about is that the BCM house is right on the edge of campus, so I’m excited to be able to do life with college students and be around them a lot,” he said. “College students ask a lot of really good questions, seeking out, they just want to know God – especially after the Gospel transforms someone’s heart, they’re just so passionate about knowing God and knowing the truth. So just being able to sit down with students and have long conversations about life and the Bible…and just making disciples is something I’m thrilled about.”
“We are elated that the Lord has brought Brandon and Jackie to central Arkansas. Brandon’s leadership and partnership with our churches will be incredibly impactful in the spiritual formation of our collegians,” Bruce Venable, College+Young Leaders Team Leader at the ABSC, said. “One of his references said, ‘Brandon is a hard worker that will figure things out and make it happen.’ I am already seeing this come to fruition. Brandon and Jackie are a fun couple who have cultivated a deep walk with the Lord. They are going to be an awesome fit!”