Eight students were baptized following a fellowship meal at Second Baptist Church in Russellville. (Submitted)
God’s spirit is moving among high school and college students in the Russellville area.
Second Baptist Church in Russellville has a long history of deep involvement with college students. Pastor Chris Russell said it is in the DNA of the church, which started in the 1950s.
“When I came seven years ago, we started praying about where the Lord might use us to reengage college students,” Russell said, noting they approached it from a missionary mindset in the terms of who is unreached and unengaged.
“We started praying for open doors and just through a series of events the Lord really answered our prayers and opened a lot of doors to be involved in trying to minister and be a blessing to athletes on campus.”
Those open doors have allowed the church and Russell to serve many athletic programs at Arkansas Tech University (ATU) in a variety of ways. For instance, Russell serves as character coach for the men’s basketball team through an organization called Nations of Coaches. He also served in similar roles with the football and volleyball teams. His wife, in the past, has held Bible study with the cross-country team. Additionally, Second Baptist Church in Russellville often hosts team nights where they host teams, feed them, and offer team building activities. The church’s college ministry is a registered student organization on campus.
“We prayed for open doors and God opened a whole bunch of them,” Russell said.
On Sunday, Aug. 17, Second Baptist Church in Russellville held its Tech Sunday service, which started a few years ago, and stems from ATU’s Spiritual Connection Sunday, as a way to engage students. Though Tech Sunday is open and available to anyone, it has been heavily geared toward athletics. This year, Russell said they had over 150 students in attendance, with roughly 90% of those being student athletes.
“There is a hunger for truth. There is a hunger for what is authentic and real,” Russell said. “We had students here this Tech Sunday that said this was the very first time they had ever attended a church service. There just seems to be an openness, and the Lord is at work in a lot of different ways.”
During the Tech Sunday service, 19 individuals came forward in response to the Gospel. Another young man spoke with Russell following the service. Twenty prayed to receive Christ that day.
“I really sensed that God was going to do something special,” Russell said. Following the service, students were treated to a meal and fellowship. Having set up a baptistry in their fellowship hall, Russell invited those who surrendered to Jesus to follow in believer’s baptism.
“I told those who responded, ‘we’re not trying to force anything … but if you gave yourself to Jesus and you want to follow in baptism you have that opportunity’,” Russell said. Eight followed in baptism that day.
Later in the week, Russell had the opportunity to lead three others who attended Tech Sunday to Christ. One of those young men has since been baptized.
In total, they saw 23 make decisions to follow Christ as a result of Tech Sunday and baptized nine.
“God was just really at work in that,” he said.
God’s presence was also felt Sept. 5 during First Baptist Church in Dover’s first 5th Quarter of the fall, where students are invited to the church following high school football to hang out, eat, and hear God’s Word. Nathan Reynolds, minister of youth at First Baptist in Dover, invited Russell to speak at the event. He said there were more than 100 students in attendance.
Russell preached on John 3:3 and the idea of being born again.
“I shared the Gospel as simply as I could, gave an invitation, and out of that invitation there was an overwhelming response of individuals that came forward,” he said. Russell was told 47 students made professions of faith that night. “It’s just an incredible work of God.”
“We rejoice in what God is doing in our young people. There certainly is a movement of God’s Spirit among our students in high school and college as well,” said First Baptist Church in Dover Pastor Jeff Paxton. “We currently are praying and following up individually with the decisions made at the 5th Quarter in order to help the students find a church home and begin their discipleship journey with Christ.”
Reynolds said they usually host around five 5th Quarter events each year.
“We’re very blessed to have great relationships with the Dover school faculty, and even the announcer at the football games, who announces when and where 5th Quarter will be every home game. Our church is located about a block away from the school, which makes it very convenient for students to walk over directly after the game,” Reynolds said. He said they typically have around 120-180 students attend their 5th Quarters.
“God has certainly been doing some extraordinary things in our 5th Quarter ministry,” Reynolds said. “I’ve already been able to have a lot of great conversations with some of those that made a decision. I also have a lot of help from adults and even teachers at Dover that attend our church that are helping me in reaching out to some of these students. If there is anything anyone can do, is just pray for the students here in Dover, that God reveals Himself to those that don’t know Him personally, and continues to do an amazing work through the youth ministry here FBC Dover. And pray that each of these decisions were authentic professions of faith, and that they desire to take their faith seriously and grow in a deeper, more interment relationship with Jesus.”
These are just a couple instances of the incredible work of God happening in Arkansas.