Prayers become reality for collegiate ministry

TYLER—What was once a hope and a prayer has become a reality at the University of Texas at Tyler.

More than 20 years ago, Bob Mayfield, director of the Tyler Junior College Baptist Student Ministries, looked at the campus and began praying for a place where students could discover, encounter and grow in God. He began prayerwalking the campus and the area around it. His successor, Mark Jones, did likewise, searching for the places where God wanted them to minister.

In the 1980s, the first Bible study was started on the UT-Tyler campus. A free lunch was launched on campus, drawing 15 to 20 students each week. Then the campus exploded with growth, becoming one of the fastest-growing schools in the state and serving roughly 6,000 students.

Increased ministry opportunities

With the growth came increased ministry opportunities. The free lunch grew to serve about 50 students a week, then 100 in 2004. At that point, a student leadership group was established, and small-group Bible studies were launched.

Five years later, lunch attendance has multiplied to more than 250 and four Bible studies are going on across the campus, involving 30 to 40 people.

And now the ministry has a home on the very land Jones prayed over. Recently, Jones and Joe Osteen, who now directs the UT-Tyler BSM, joined a host of area leaders to dedicate a facility that could house worship services, Bible studies, leadership meetings and other ministries.

“We are part of a continuing and unfolding heritage of God using students and others,” Jones said. “God has been ahead of us every step of the way.”

The building sends a message to students as well as the campus, Osteen said: The BSM is here to share a life-changing message for as long as the campus continues.

Permanent presence 

“The growth of the university has created a need for us to establish a permanent presence here to serve the students here,” Osteen said in an interview. “This is a statement to the students and the university that we’re here for you.”

The facilities can serve as place of refuge, Osteen continued. Students can go there to rest, spend time in the prayer garden or relax and let their guard down. In that environment, personal relationships can be built and the gospel openly shared.

“Students know they can come there. We can spend time with them. That allows us to spend a different kind of time with them.”

Bruce McGowan, director of Baptist General Convention of Texas collegiate ministries, said the increased ministry on the UT-Tyler campus exemplifies the spirit of Texas Hope 2010, a Texas Baptist initiative to share the gospel with every person in the state. As a result of the BSM’s efforts, students will come to know Christ and lives will be changed, he stressed.

McGowan encouraged people who attended the building dedication to pray for the BSM and for the campus. In his perfect timing, God may answer those petitions, just as he did prayers over the last two decades, he said.