Adam Venters serves as the campus minister for Little Rock Baptist Collegiate Ministry, formerly Metro Baptist Collegiate MInistry.
New Name
On Nov. 9, the Little Rock Baptist Collegiate Ministry (BCM) gathered with students, parents of collegians, alumni and friends of the ministry to celebrate 47 years of ministry to college students in the Little Rock area.
Originally, the name Baptist Student Union was given to ministries that were started on college campuses as a way for Southern Baptist churches to reach college students. In the 90s the name changed from the University of Arkansas-Little Rock Baptist Student Union to Metro Baptist Collegiate Ministry in order to reflect the metropolitan area that had several colleges such as Pulaski Tech, Philander Smith, Arkansas Baptist College, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and other community college or trade schools that make up the diverse urban college landscape.
This past summer the Arkansas Baptist State Convention, the Metro BCM advisory committee and student leaders moved to rename Metro BCM into Little Rock BCM. Maintaining the commitment towards reaching the collegiate population of Little Rock and the greater Little Rock area but reflecting in the name the identity of the city “Little Rock” more than the word “Metro” which can refer to any metropolitan area.
New Mission Statement
The ministry of Little Rock BCM established by the College and Young Leaders Team focuses on the ministry being “From the Church, On the Campus, and For Every Student.” This fulfills one of three essential intents of the Arkansas Baptist State Convention. It also reflects the desire of Southern Baptist churches in the Pulaski and North Pulaski Baptist Associations toward reaching college students.
However, the mission of Little Rock BCM is not just from the churches for the students, but student mobilization towards lostness on the college campus. This fall, student leaders and staff met to discuss what mission statement would best mobilize students towards the vision that God has in order to reach students that do not know Christ on the campus. Out of a series of meetings this mission statement was formed:
The Little Rock Baptist Collegiate Ministry exists to help students exponentially grow in their relationship with Christ, cultivate thriving friendships and be passionately engaged in showing God’s love.
New Goals
The goals that the students and staff helped set for the next five years are as follows:
1. Train/mobilize 250 students for disaster relief work.
2. Mobilize 500 students towards local, national and international missions.
3. Send 65 students to overseas missions.