Other buildings say that no one will ever read my journal, but I still keep writing because even a pile of bricks has dreams. I know Virginia Baptists care about missions and about stewardship, so my dream is that the Herald will print this journal so folks can see the great things going on here at Virginia Tech, just like they are at my other Baptist Collegiate Ministries Center friends around the state.
Friday, February 23—Debbie, an alumnus of the BSU/BCM ministry that lives in the area, threw a surprise birthday party here tonight. Debbie and her daughter, Catherine, planned the party for Adrienne, a girl in Catherine's class. Debbie and Catherine just wanted to be a blessing to their family since Adrienne's mom has been sick and is going through treatments in Durham right now. I always like a good party, but a party like this one that communicates compassion and love is my favorite kind.
Saturday, February 24—A lot of people think we BCM Centers only hang out with university students. Au contraire! (I learned that phrase from a little French Colonial townhouse down the street.) We hosted two church groups today. Mount Olivet Baptist in Bedford brought a group of GAs in this morning to do a servant evangelism project on campus with some of our students. Tonight BCM students are leading a social here for the youth group from Cambria Baptist in Christiansburg.
Sunday, February 25—Sunday's my day of rest, so not as much going on today. The only real action has been the BCM praise band practicing this afternoon. They're a little too loud for my tastes, but it seems God is using them in a lot of neat ways this year. In the fall they led worship at a youth retreat for Second Baptist of Richmond and in a few weeks they'll be leading at BCM's statewide Collegiate Leadership Training Conference at Eagle Eyrie.
Monday, February 26—Today the staff here was working on all the last minute details for spring break mission trips. As break begins, over 30 people will gather here to launch out into a week of service in Jesus' name. Some will go to Port Sulphur, La., to do disaster relief with other Virginia Baptists. Some will go to Quito, Ecuador, to do outreach and evangelism. Still others will go to Toronto to work with some church planters. I may look like an ordinary brick building, but I like to think of myself as a missions launch pad.
Tuesday, February 27—Tonight was the annual BCM Celebration Banquet. Not only did the students have a prayer time to commission the three spring break mission teams, they also installed 36 leaders who have made one year commitments to serve in areas like discipleship, missions, evangelism and mentoring. I have quite a few friends that are church buildings; it is so exciting to think about how many of these students will be leaders in those buildings in the near future.
Wednesday, February 28—There's a lot of energy around here every Wednesday. Around 120 students gather for Bible studies. With the new leaders in place, they hope to have at least 15 small group Bible studies meeting here each week after spring break. Northstar Church, a local VBMB church plant, adds to our energetic Wednesdays by using a couple rooms for children's choir practice in the afternoon.
Thursday, March 1—Today they were preparing my guest room and a couple side rooms for a mission team that is coming through to spend the night here tomorrow. The team is from the BCM at Georgia State University and they are heading to New York to work with Megan Redd, a Virginia Baptist who is a missionary there. Megan used to be involved here as a Virginia Tech student, but now through Virginia Baptist's Venturer program, she is reaching out with Christ's love to students at Cornell University and Ithaca College.
Well, that's a look at my week. Some would think it would get boring to stand on the same street corner for 40 years, but the world comes to me here and almost everyday I witness one person or another investing in God's Kingdom. Please come visit me sometime and see for yourself all the great things God is doing here through the Kingdom investments of Virginia Baptists!
About the author: The Baptist Collegiate Ministries Center at Virginia Tech was completed in 1969 and ministers year round in Blacksburg. This is the Center's first time to write for the Religious Herald. It was assisted by Darrell Cook, Baptist collegiate minister at Virginia Tech.