Baylor Ministry Groups To Hold Campus Renewal March 18-20
Several Baylor ministry groups and local churches have joined forces to hold a "Campus Renewal" next week at Baylor University.
The campus-wide worship experience, designed to renew the spirits of students and their relationship with God, will be held at 7 p.m. March 18-20 at Waco Hall. Dr. Duane Brooks, pastor of Tallowood Baptist Church in Houston, Baylor graduate and currently a Baylor regent, is the featured speaker, with popular praise and worship band MercyMe leading worship.
The annual event is a cooperative effort between Baptist Student Ministries, University Ministries, Face-to-Face Ministries, Reformed University Fellowship, Highland Baptist Church and First Baptist Church Woodway.
"Our focus is to help students rekindle their relationship with God at a point in the semester where they might be tired and need to know that God loves them," said Rae Wright, assistant director of Baptist Student Ministries. "We want them to share that renewed spirit with others, whether that be in a practical way like missions or something as simple as just talking with a roommate or suitemate."
Brooks and MercyMe also will meet with students during the week on several occasions.
Brooks, who received a bachelor's degree in history cum laude from Baylor in 1984 and his doctorate in philosophy in 1991, will be the guest speaker in Chapel at 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. Monday, March 18, at Waco Hall, and will meet with students at a reception that day from 3 to 4 p.m. in the White-Beckham Room in the Bill Daniel Student Center. Brooks also will lead "Discovering My Calling," a seminar to help students discern their individual calling in life, on Wednesday, March 20, from 3:30 to 5 p.m. in room 201 of the Tidwell Bible Building.
An ordained minister during his undergraduate years at Baylor, Brooks recalled how much he was influenced by such highly respected Baptist preachers as Dan Yeary, Richard Jackson and William Pinson, who spoke at Baylor's renewal services in the early 80s. Jackson and Pinson currently teach at Baylor's George W. Truett Theological Seminary.
"The songs we sang under the tent [near Minglewood Bowl] have stayed with me for 20 years. I remember the sermons that each of them preached," Brooks said. "They really fortified my sense of calling and vocation, that this is what I want to do and want to be."
Brooks considers the invitation to speak at this year's renewal an honor, since the event profoundly affected him as a student.
"Students these days have a real hunger for God and have a heart to touch the world," he said. "I hope that through interaction with them, I'll be more in touch with who students are today." Brooks noted that about 20 students enrolled at Baylor have come from his Houston church.
MercyMe will lead a seminar for worship leaders from 2:30 to 4 p.m. Tuesday, March 19, at the BSM on the Baylor campus. The Dallas-based group also will be the guest performers in Chapel at 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. Wednesday, March 20, at Waco Hall. MercyMe recently signed on as one of the flagship artists of INO Records. Their latest project, Almost There, was the band's first release under the new label.
For more information on the campus renewal event, contact Wright at 710-3215 or University Ministries at 710-3517.