The
CORPUS CHRISTI BAPTIST
STUDENT MINISTRY
P.O. BOX 3754
CORPUS CHRISTI, TX 78463
361.882.4989
[email protected]
MATT. 11:28-30
“Come to Me, all who
are weary and heavyladen, and I will give
you rest. Take My yoke
upon you and learn
from Me, for I am gentle and humble in
heart, and you will find
rest for your souls. For
My yoke is easy and My
burden is light.”
Students often find
themselves overwhelmed with
school, work, and
friends and family
responsibilities. We
bring to them the
message of the One
who brings ultimate
rejuvenation and
lasting peace for
their souls.
INSIDE THIS
ISSUE:
Spring 2012 BSM
Highlights
2
Reaching the Nations at TAMUCC
2
BSM’ers Go to the
Ends of the Earth
2
BSM Mission Trip:
Miami, FL
3
Intern’s Insight
3
Prayer Points
3
V O L U M E
B
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I S S U E
Come see us! 205 Glendale Dr.
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M A Y
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Partners in Ministry: Reaching College Students Shapes Our Future
What a remarkable year this has been for me. From the
moment I arrived in Corpus Christi, my BSM journey took
off at lightning speed. I have deeply enjoyed meeting students, investing in our leadership team, serving the
churches and community of Corpus Christi, communicating God’s Word, loving all those God placed in my path,
and sharing the life-changing Gospel of Jesus Christ.
However, none of this would be possible without our tremendous partners. I want to express my sincerest appreciation for all of you who provide a warm meal to our
students, who get to know our students personally, who
invest your time and energy in this ministry, and who give
financially to see this work continue.
As we end one school year and look ahead to the next, we
see big things in store. Student involvement is increasing
and our leaders are passionate about how God is moving
among them and their peers.
If you are reading this newsletter, it is because you believe in ministry to college students. Would you prayerfully consider how you might further give to see that
ministry expand? As funding is down, student numbers
are up. A weekly free lunch attracts many college students, providing the opportunity to share with them the
saving message of Jesus Christ; however such meals are
free only to the student. Each lunch at TAMUCC costs
$600, and $100 for Del Mar. We are also in desperate
need of financing for a ministry intern and an administrative assistant. Praise God this ministry is too big for just
one person! God bless you for your support.
—Eric Bean, Director
Sharing the Gospel with Spring Breakers
Every March, 50,000 college students descend on South Padre
Island with one goal in mind: have
a blast at one of the biggest weeklong party destinations in the
country. Unfortunately, what
most of these students do not
realize is that this will never bring
them the kind of lasting fulfillment
that they are seeking. That’s
where we come in!
As followers of Jesus Christ, we
have been given the message of
abundant life. We eagerly want to
share it with our peers who are
searching for it in all the wrong
places. This Spring Break, 10 of our
BSM students joined over 700
other Christian students on Beach
Reach, a mission trip to South Padre Island. They spent their week
providing free van rides and pancake breakfasts in order to find
inroads to share the Good News of
Jesus Christ.
obvious. It is then that people are ripe
to hear the Gospel and our students
are there to share it.
TAMUCC students share the love
of Christ at South Padre Island
Admittedly, sometimes the spring
breakers are too inebriated to know
what is going on, and in such cases
we take comfort knowing they were
safely driven to their destination - in
a church van, no less - and received
a filling meal from a trailer labeled
“Texas Baptists Disaster Relief”.
However, the moments for which
we serve are those when the buzz is
wearing off and the hole in one’s life
and heart is making itself blatantly
Tiffany Miller, a sophomore and second year Beach Reacher shared, “On
the main party beach an artist creates
a giant Christ-centered sand sculpture
each day. Beach Reachers stand around
the sculpture and talk to Spring Breakers about its meaning. I spoke with one
guy who eventually opened up about
what he believed, providing me an
opening to share my faith with him. He
was very attentive and had lots of
questions. Unfortunately, one of his
friends dragged him away as we were
really getting into the conversation, but
I know I planted a seed that will stay
with him forever.”
This year at Beach Reach, 12,000 people received free van rides, 16,000 ate
free pancakes, 20,000 Gospel-centered
conversations took place, and 77 people were baptized in the Gulf of Mexico.
PAGE
2
Spring 2012 Highlights
Provided free lunches at Del Mar
and TAMUCC, reaching around
150 students each week.
Studied the book of Mark at
FOCCUS, our weekly Bible study
on TAMUCC campus.
Ladies of the BSM at
the year-end banquet
Raised $1130 for missions.
semester missions.
Spent Spring Break sharing the Gospel with fellow college students at
South Padre Island.
Participated as leaders in Disciple
Now for local youth groups.
“Touched” Miami with Love on our
May mission trip.
Met each week in Fathom Groups
for discipleship, accountability,
and community building.
Held a weekly fellowship with International students.
Grew in our understanding of
ministry as a leadership team.
Hosted year-end celebration banquet with over 60 students and
supporters in attendance.
Appointed a leadership team for
next year of 25 students.
Appointed 8 students to summer or
Had fun fellowshipping at Karaoke
night, gathering around beach bonfires, studying for finals at the BSM
and more!
Participated in World Vision’s “30
Hour Famine” and Tom’s Shoes “A
Day without Shoes” to raise money
and awareness for world poverty.
Are involved in at least 10 churches
in Corpus Christi every Sunday.
Reaching the Nations at TAMUCC
FOCCUS worship team
International Student
Bible Study
Each year, some 700 International students representing over 40 countries come to TAMUCC to
study and to experience American culture. These
students return home as their countries’ future leaders. We have a beautiful opportunity to reach the
nations for Christ right here on our own campuses.
One student, Shelly, from China, did not know
Christ when she first came to the U.S. She gave her
life to Him while involved in a BSM on another campus. After moving to TAMUCC she has been involved in our International ministry and a leader
among her peers.
She shared, “BSM means a lot in my life. I met my
best friends in BSM. They are all very kind and very
helpful. BSM brings me love (my friends love me),
and BSM also teaches me how to love others (Beach
Reach affected me to love others). BSM is like my
family in United States, and I have many brothers
and sisters here. I love to stay with them and enjoy
the time to worship with God!”
Regarding International night, the weekly Bible study
and fellowship, Shelly stated, “(E)very international
student here could feel friendship and love. Even
though most of them are non-believers, they could
be touched by our activities and Jesus LOVE.”
May we be a light to the nations right where we are!
BSM’ers Go to the Ends of the Earth
Jessica G.
Kimberly
Kyle
Will
Eight of our students will serve as
summer or semester missionaries.
They are going throughout the
world!
"I'm serving in Wales, learning the language, prayer walking, and building relationships with teens. I'm excited to share
what God has done in my life with them
and to witness the Holy Spirit moving in
theirs."
—Will Bowden, Junior
"I will take part in bringing the good news
of Jesus Christ to the people of Ireland. I
hope that this summer not only changes
the lives of the Irish, but shapes me in my
walk with the Lord!"
—
—Kyle Cooper, Junior
“I can’t wait for my summer journey to
East Asia, where I will work with college
students, build relationships and share the
love of Jesus!”
—
—Kimberly Dussetschleger, Senior
then travel to Venezuela to help with the
Baptist Convention of Venezuela’s annual
revival.”
—Stephanie Wade, Senior
"As I get ready to serve this summer in
inner-city Houston, I'm really excited
about what God is preparing! I can't wait
to see the ways He'll be working in the
lives of the people I'll meet and in my own
life as well!" —Jessica Gaines, Sophomore
“Fall Semester I will be in Portugal
coaching and playing with an American
football team in Lisbon. I will use football
as a way to share the love of Christ with
men who might otherwise be unwilling to
listen.”
— —Joel Bowden, Senior
"In Ethiopia we will repair homes and do
outreach activities with children and widows. I am excited to see how God is going
to break me and make me new and change
the lives of people around me."
—
—Jessica Reynolds, Sophomore
“I will be in Fort Worth for the Fall semester with an organization called World
Relief. We will help international refugees
find homes and adjust to life in America.”
—
—Hannah Harper, Senior
“My team and I are serving in the Rio
Grande Valley for three weeks by facilitating VBS’s and youth rallies. We will
Read on about the five students who
served together on the Corpus Christi
BSM mission trip in Miami, Florida.
VOLUME
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ISSUE
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PAGE
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BSM Mission Trip: Changing A Community with the Love of Christ
This May a team of five students and
director, Eric, travelled to Miami, FL,
to work with the organization,
“Touching Miami with Love” (TML).
TML’s mission is to offer hope, opportunities and resources to Overtown,
the poorest community in Florida.
The students, Kim Bailey, Senior, Jackie
Culbertson, Junior, Brooke Miller,
Junior, Ian Mills, Senior, and Gracie Muñoz, Junior spent their afternoons playing
with and loving on kids ages kindergarten
through 8th grade in an after-school program. In the mornings the team completed minor construction projects and
supportive administrative tasks, helped
organize a literacy education program,
and the organization in preparation for
their upcoming art show fundraiser.
Brooke Miller shared, “The Miami mission
trip was such a great experience. We got
to show Christ's love to a part of Miami
that needed to be loved. I enjoyed being a
part of an organization that was all about
helping these kids. My favorite part was
spending time with them because even if
it was just helping with their homework
or throwing a ball, they loved it. It really
opened my eyes to ways that we can be
a part of our community and help the
people who need it.”
“God can use
one person
to make a
Ian Mills was inspired by how the organidifference in
zation’s directors were contributing to
their immediate community. For him, he
an entire
realized that “God can use one person
to make a difference in an entire comcommunity.”
munity.”
The team is now looking to how they
might be such change agents in the Corpus Christi community.
—Ian Mills
An Intern’s Insight: Taren Shelton
Taren Shelton, BSM Intern from Premont,
TX. Taren graduated from TAMUCC in 2010
with a degree in Communications. This was
her final semester on staff. She is an invaluable asset to the students, director, and ministry of the BSM, and will be sorely missed!
In her words:
life. I was given opportunities to serve and
lead small groups which pushed me to grow
and didn't allow me to be complacent.
After graduating, I was asked if I would like
to be an intern and have spent the past two
years with this beautiful ministry!
My favorite part of each week was meeting
one-on-one with students. It brought me
such joy to hear them speak of what God
was doing in their life. I was able to see
growth and how earnestly they were seeking Jesus. It was not only a time of growth
for the students but for me as well. God
showed me how mighty and big he is time
after time when I felt overwhelmed or unequipped, which taught me a lot about
trusting him with every little part of my life!
My involvement with BSM the past four years
of my life has forever changed me. When I
joined BSM as a student I was not walking
with the Lord. I was living for myself and did
not have a clue what a relationship with
Christ looked like. When I began coming to
BSM, the contagious spirit of the students
made me want what they had. I could see
their genuine love for Jesus and others and
began to discover how that could look in my
Heard this semester: “I love the way God’s Word is presented to us at
Prayer Points
We deeply appreciate your prayers for the ministry of the Corpus Christi BSM!
•
Over 22,000 college students live, work,
and attend school in Corpus Christi. Ask
God to raise up churches, local ministries, and fellow college students to
reach the three campuses in our area.
•
Eight of our students will be on mission
this summer and fall semester. Pray for
Through our
leaders coming
out of their
shell more and
more,
new
students coming to Christ,
and countless
conversations
with
people
who grew up in a Christian home and believed in Jesus but didn't live their life for
Him, it has been such a beautiful journey
seeing God move and work in each of their
lives and my own. I am so excited for what
God is doing through this ministry and beyond grateful that I was able to be a part of
it!
BSM, making it enjoyable, fun, interactive, and with joy and humor.
I’ve never learned as much about the Bible than I have this year!”
God to do a mighty work in and through
them all around the world.
•
High school seniors are preparing to embark
upon their college journey. Ask that God is
working in their lives to connect them
with the BSM or other collegiate ministries to foster and ignite their faith.
•
A weekly Bible Study will continue through
the summer. Pray for God to use His
Word to impact the lives of college
students this summer in Corpus
Christi.
•
The BSM must raise $30,000 to support
a Campus Missionary and Office Manager.
Pray that God will continue to provide
financially for this unique ministry to
college students.
Corpus Christi Baptist Student Ministry
P.O. Box 3754
Corpus Christi, TX 78463
361-882-4989
Has the Baptist Student Ministry personally impacted you or someone you know? Do you believe in the work of reaching college
students for Christ, then watching those students reach their community and world? Would you prayerfully consider partnering
with us financially to support the ongoing ministry of the BSM in Corpus Christi? All contributions are tax-deductible.
Please detach this portion, and send this form with your contribution to:
Corpus Christi Baptist Student Ministry
•
PO Box 3754
•
Corpus Christi, TX 78463
Supporter’s Name
[email protected]
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Address
Email
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State
I would like to make a one-time donation of: $
I would like to support:
•
General Fund
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Intern/Campus Missionary
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Please make all checks or money orders payable to: CC Baptist Student Ministry
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)