About Collegiate Ministry

About Us

Strategic Partnerships

Collegiate Ministry has focused the past year, with great intention, on building and strengthening Strategic Partnerships. Our many Strategic Partners are critical to what we do. Strategic Partners may be area churches or associations, field mission supervisors who strategically use our student missionaries, or key alumni and friends of BSU and college ministry who care about college ministry and want to find ways to network with us and support us. Our BSU programs are seeking to strengthen these strategic partnership connections. They are trying to find ways to share ministry opportunities, especially in missions mobilization. Some are taking partners with them as a part of mission projects. All are seeking more vital relationships with the churches in their area as they connect students on the campus back to the local church.

Personnel Information

October 15, 2008, Beverly Parrish assumed responsibilities as associate director for the Collegiate Ministry Department. She came to this position after serving as associate director for the Texas A & M BSU; prior to that, she had served as associate director for the Ole Miss BSU. Beverly is a native of Houston, TX, and a graduate of Baylor and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

On July 1, 2008, Ben Maddox assumed the position of BSU director for Mississippi College. He is a graduate of the Valdosta State University, GA. and New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Prior to coming to the MC position, he had served as BSU director in Arkansas at Southern Arkansas University, Monticello, and Metro, Little Rock.

Baptist Student Union Staff, Programs, and Facilities

• Department Director
• Department Associate Director
• Coordinator, African-American Ministries
• Department Ministry Assistant

• 29 full-time Directors
• 1 part-time Director
• 2 Volunteer Directors

Currently, there are 31 local Baptist Student Union programs of ministry, and 20 Baptist student centers in the state. Mississippi Baptist Convention Board holds title to 15 of those centers while five are owned by the local associations and churches.

Baptist Student Union 2008-2009 Highlights

• Total local expenditures for all BSU programs-------------------------$1,192,491
• Students reached through BSU programs----------------------------------21,351
• Students involved in BSU programs----------------------------------------4,396
• Students in preparation for church-related vocations-------------------------377
• Churches assisted-----------------------------------------------------------370
• New units (churches or BSU programs) campuses helped start---------------10

State Conference Participation-Students attending major conferences:

• College Student Conference -------------------------------------------------776
• Leadership Training Conference----------------------------------------------563
• African-American Retreat----------------------------------------------------179

Discipleship/ Bible Study

In the area of personal growth, the following numbers of students were involved:

• Numbers of Bible study groups-----------------------------------------------190
• Students in Bible study groups----------------------------------------------2,731
• Students in Discipleship groups---------------------------------------------1,404

Evangelism

As students shared their faith, the following results were recorded:

• Numbers of evangelism projects----------------------------------------------140
• Students involved in witness training ------------------------------------------532
• Student conversions-----------------------------------------------------------73
• Other conversions------------------------------------------------------------154

Acts 1:8 Initiative

The Acts 1:8 initiative challenging all Southern Baptists to be “on mission” was a central goal among our Baptist Student Unions across Mississippi. The following results were recorded:

• BSU summer missionaries – 200 students from 20 colleges; 118 served in 12 international mission regions; 74 served in 20 of the United States; and eight served in Canada. There were an additional 12 students serving in other summer missions assignments, for a total of 212 BSU students serving from Mississippi.
• Semester missionaries - 13 students served in seven regions. Nine served in the spring and four will serve this fall.
• BSU summer missions program expenditures – $185,037. Total raised was $151,788.
• Summer missionaries reported 613 total decisions: 500 accepted Christ; 63 re-commitments to Christ; 50 baptisms.
• Community and local missions - 864 students were involved.
• Short-term mission projects - 477 students were involved with $470,515 raised.
• Short-term projects – 57 sponsored by our BSU programs.

• Total students involved in all missions-----------------------------------------1,565
• Total expenditures for all missions------------------------------------------$532,581

College student involvement in state camps and conference staff positions:

• Central Hills-------------------------------------------------------------------32
• Garaywa----------------------------------------------------------------------41