College students gathered at Camp Paron recently for a BCM Fall Retreat. (Submitted)
PARON, Ark. – More than 300 college students gathered this past weekend, Sept. 19-21, at Camp Paron for a Baptist Collegiate Ministry (BCM) Fall Retreat.
“We called it a retreat, but it is really an advance. BCM Fall Retreat captures the momentum of first of the semester outreach and helps multiply evangelism efforts for the rest of the fall,” said Lynn Loyd, Arkansas Baptist State Convention (ABSC) BCM strategist.
On Instagram, multiple BCMs collaborated on a post, sharing, “We’ve had the BEST time worshipping, partying, learning, and praying together. We’re praying how we’ve experienced God this weekend challenges us to make in impact for the Kingdom on our campuses!” It was also shared that this year they doubled their overall attendance for the retreat.
In another Instagram post, Arkansas Tech University BCM shared, “Our students had so much fun this weekend diving into the word, attending breakout sessions, and being in fellowship!! We cannot wait to see how these students take what they learned and apply back at @arkansastech.”
Attendees, representing students from a dozen Arkansas campuses, worshipped together and heard spirit-filled messages from Tom Richter, pastor of Cullman First Baptist Church in Alabama, and incoming ABSC Executive Director Mark Dance.
“A retreat like this is perfect for mass evangelism and spiritual growth, and we certainly saw this across our campuses. But if you look under the hood and ask an Arkansas Baptist campus minister, some other important things happen at a trip like this,” said Luke Dawson, BCM campus minister at University of Arkansas Fort Smith (UAFS). “Freshmen are incorporated into our ministries in a deeper way. Relationships are formed within our ministry and across ministries from around the state. Leaders are being developed. New leaders are being identified. The impact this weekend will have on eternity and our ministries around the state cannot be overstated.”
ABSC BCM and Church Health Strategist Chris Larmoyeux said he sees God at work in this generation of college students.
“We are recognizing that God is doing something unique, deep, and real among this generation of college students. They are all-in for the Gospel,” Larmoyeux said. “The times of worship, preaching, student testimonies, breakouts led by entity and seminary leaders, and even the recreation time help student leaders connect relationally and challenge them to walk more closely to Christ. But even more, the ripple effect of the weekend goes well into the fall as these students return to campus to live on mission.”
