The Enduring Legacy of the Baptist Student Union: A History of Faith and Service

The Baptist Student Union (BSU), now often known as Baptist Collegiate Ministry (BCM), boasts a rich history of fostering faith, leadership, and service among college students. From its humble beginnings in the early 20th century to its continued impact on campuses today, the BSU has played a vital role in the lives of countless students, shaping their spiritual journeys and equipping them to make a difference in the world.

The Genesis of an Idea: Planting Seeds in the Southeast

By 1920, the concept of a unified Baptist student movement was gaining traction among students in the Southeastern United States. This burgeoning interest led the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) to take action, voting in 1921 to establish an Interboard Commission tasked with coordinating a student work program. In January 1922, Dr. Frank Leavell assumed the role of Executive Secretary of the BSU, operating from an office in Memphis, Tennessee.

Leavell's vision for the BSU was built upon four core values: being Christ-centered, Bible-based, church-related, and student-led. Of these, the emphasis on student leadership proved particularly resonant with college students throughout the organization's history.

Early Growth and Challenges: The BSU at the College of William & Mary

An example of the BSU's early development can be seen at the College of William & Mary. In the 1920s, Williamsburg Baptist Church (WBC) already had a vibrant Baptist Young People's Union (BYPU) for college-aged individuals. This group focused on discipleship, outreach, and training church members for Christian service. However, the BYPU was largely adult-led and church-based.

In 1925, a freshman named Thomas Hervie Christie arrived at the College of William & Mary and became involved with Williamsburg Baptist Church. Inspired by a national conference for Baptist college students in 1926, Christie spearheaded the establishment of a BSU at the College. His vision and charisma were evident as he organized a Virginia-Maryland Conference of Baptist students just a year later, in October 1927.

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This conference, held at Phi Beta Kappa Hall (now Ewell Hall) and Williamsburg Baptist Church, drew representatives from fifteen colleges across Virginia and Maryland. Notable speakers included Frank Leavell and Arthur Stovall, the VA Student Secretary. Christie served as president of the BSU for three years before graduating in 1929.

The BSU at the College of William & Mary faced challenges during the 1930s, with the Great Depression and the looming threat of war impacting its activities. References to the BSU in the College's yearbook, The Colonial Echo, were scarce until 1942, when annual summaries of the organization began to appear.

The Cooperative Program and the Depression

According to the book “Southern Baptist Student Work, A History,” by Lynn E. May Jr. and A. Ronald Tonks, the financial crisis of the late 1920s also resulted in Southern Baptist student work being transferred from Memphis to the Baptist Sunday School Board in Nashville. Publisher of the ministry’s magazine, “The Baptist Student,” since its inception in 1922, the BSSB was instructed in 1928 to accept all financial obligations for the work and serve as the “official agency for student activities of the Southern Baptist Convention.”

A National Movement Takes Root: Milestones and Expansion

The BSU's influence extended far beyond individual campuses. The Southern Baptist Convention recognized its potential and, in the mid-1920s, launched the Cooperative Program to unify denominational efforts and channel church offerings towards missions. The CP struggled to gain momentum until Leavell inspired college students, who delivered messages in churches across the country, advocating for the program and promoting loyalty to the local church. The Cooperative Program became a success, supporting missionaries worldwide.

Throughout the mid-20th century, the BSU experienced significant milestones, including:

1934: Beginning of worldwide cooperation with student work through the Baptist World Alliance.
1936: BSU work begun in China and Japan during a visit by Leavell.
1939: BSU work begun in South America during a visit by Leavell.
1947: BSU-sponsored student summer missions initiated.
1948: 20,000 students enlisted to do Vacation Bible School work.
1949: Student summer missions to foreign fields begins; Leavell dies.
1950: G. Kearnie Keegan named secretary of the Student Department.
1953: On-to-College Day initiated as a way for churches to recognize graduating high school seniors planning to attend college.
1960: Circulation of "The Baptist Student" reaches 30,000; Keegan dies.
1961: David K. Alexander named secretary of the Student Department.
1968: SBC authorizes a three-year study of student work.
1969: Charles M. Roselle named secretary of the Student Department.
1970: "The Baptist Student" is changed to "The Student;" student department changed to national student ministries.
1972: 50th anniversary of Southern Baptist student work.

Navigating the Vietnam Era: Faith, Dissent, and Social Change

The Vietnam War era presented unique challenges and opportunities for the BSU. While the Southern Baptist Convention generally supported American involvement in Southeast Asia, the BSU became a platform for more progressive voices.

Through its monthly magazine, The Baptist Student, the BSU published articles critical of the war. Contributors, including clergymen, professors, and students, argued for peacemaking, the right to dissent, and conscientious objection. Some BSU chapters participated in the national moratorium against the Vietnam War in 1969.

Baptist Students Concerned, an organization founded by BSU students in North Carolina, staged a demonstration at the 1968 SBC Annual Meeting to promote dialogue about race relations and the Vietnam War.

Despite its engagement with social issues, the BSU remained committed to traditional Baptist values, such as salvation, believer's baptism, and ethical living.

Ministry to African American Students

One of the first efforts to reach Negro American college students for ministry from an organized standpoint took place in 1936, when a group of Negro American pastors in Houston, Texas set out to organize a “Baptist Student Movement” at Prairie View A&M University, a historically Negro American institution. It seemed that other denominations had set up programs to reach their students, and the Baptist pastors of Houston decided it would be appropriate to create a ministry to Negro American students. The Baptist Student Movement at Prairie View organized Bible student groups, prayer service, worship services and other supportive programs to meet the needs of the Baptist students at Prairie View. Apparently, the Baptist Student Movement at Prairie View was the only official Christian campus organization in the country for Negro American students until the mid 1940’s.

In 1944 the Reverend E. W. D. (Negro American), and Reverend Harold D. Gregory, Superintendent of Missions of the Nashville, Tennessee Baptist Association, of the Southern Baptist Convention (Caucasian), were among the first Baptists who sought to organize a National organization to minister to Negro Baptist college students. Nashville seemed to be the ideal place for this nation movement to be born. Negro American and Caucasian Baptists had publishing boards in Nashville and the city was a citadel of higher education for Negro Americans (Meherry Medical College, Fisk University, the American Baptist Theological Seminary, and Tennessee State University). In 1944, Reverends Isaac and Gregory with others persuaded the National and Southern Baptists pastors in Nashville to organize a “Joint Committee” on Baptist work. The Committee elected Mr. S. E. Grinstead, Sr. as the Executive Secretary with the responsibility to organize Baptist Student Unions on historically black college campuses (HCBU).

Baptist Student Unions set up by Mr. Grinstead were similar to those for Caucasian students. Christian students would meet on campus for prayer, fellowship, Bible study and worship. On July 10, 1945, a Baptist Student Union was organized at the American Baptist Theological Seminary in Nashville. Apparently Mr. Grinstead was unaware of the Baptist Student Movement at Prairie View. Mr. Grinstead organized the first “national retreat” for Negro American students on the campus of the American Baptist Theological Seminary in the spring of 1946. Students from several other schools attended. Other Baptist Student Unions were organized at Tennessee A&I, Fisk, Meharry, and the National School of Business in Nashville.

Mr. Grinstead served part-time for several years, but became full-time in 1953 as the National Director. A Baptist Center was built at 2023 Jefferson Street in Nashville in 1952. The BSU Center and the fact that Mr. Grinstead was now full-time meant that the ministry of the National BSU Retreat was truly prepared for national work. Beginning in 1945 and continuing for the next 23 years Mr. Grinstead traveled the United States and the world touching and changing lives of countless people. He encouraged students on colleges and university campuses to prepare themselves spiritually as well as educationally and show the Christian life by example. Mr. Grinstead was able to bring diverse groups together in unity and was a great promoter of better ethnic relations.

Under Mr. Grinstead’s leadership the annual session of the Retreat was held on a Negro American college campus, beginning on a Friday evening before the last Sunday in April. The Retreat would close on Sunday morning with the students worshiping at a Negro American Baptist Church in the host city. Many of the annual sessions were held in Nashville, Tennessee.

Following Mr. Grinstead’s retirement in 1968, Dr. Emmanuel L. McCall, an official of the Southern Baptist Home Mission Board in Atlanta, became the National Director and served until 1972. Under Dr. McCall’s leadership the Retreat and its ministries continued to move forward. Dr. McCall made new contacts and friends for the Retreat. During the 1972-73 school year following Dr. McCall’s resignation, Reverend John Westbrook of Texas served as National Director. Reverend Westbrook was full-time and served on the staff of the Student Department of the Southern Baptist Sunday School Board in Nashville.

In 1973 after Reverend Westbrook resigned, the Student Department of the Southern Baptist Sunday School Board invited Dr. John H. Corbitt to come to Nashville as consultant for Black Campus Ministries and to serve as National Director of the Retreat. At the time Dr. Corbitt was pastor of Mt. Pleasant Baptist church in Little Rock, Arkansas, which was in the midst of a building program and therefore, Dr. Corbitt declined the invitation. Those in the Student Department asked Dr. Corbitt to “please help us out this one year”, hoping that within the next 12 months a permanent replacement for Reverend Westbrook could be found. Dr. Corbitt accepted. No replacement was ever found, and Dr. T. J. Jemison. Under Dr. Corbitt’s directorship the Retreat has grown and expanded.

Until the mid 1970’s most of the students who came to the Retreat were from historically black campuses (HBCU). With the growth of integration, and with more African American students attending Caucasian schools, the National BSU Retreat found a way to reach these African American students through the Black Student Fellowship of the BSU on these campuses. The Retreat has sent students to work in Vacation Bible Schools, Summer Enrichment Programs, Christian Day Camps and Back Yard Bible Sessions for two to four weeks each summer. For two summers a group was sent to Atlanta to repair houses for poor and handicapped people. The Retreat began to publish special materials designed for the nurture of African American college students. The material subjects include gospel music, leadership development, growing a prayer life, the challenge of Islam, and evangelism.

In 1996 Dr. Corbitt, having served as the National Director for 23 years, relinquished the work of the National BSU Retreat, during the presidency of Dr. Henry J. to Dr. Percy R. With Dr. Chase as director, the Retreat’s posture as the summit time of fellowship and reflection for all campus ministries that attend the annual session has continued.

Growth, Change, and Adaptation: The BSU in Recent Decades

The 1970s marked a period of significant expansion for BSUs across the country, with the number of on-campus ministries and directors increasing dramatically. "Mission '70," the first in a series of national missions conferences, and "Friendship International House," a hospitality program for international students, were established.

Economic pressures in the 1980s and early 1990s led to staff cutbacks, and "Student" magazine was discontinued due to declining sales. However, the BSU adapted to these challenges by rethinking its purpose and structure.

In 1994, Bill Henry became the leader of national student ministry. He introduced "CrossSeekers," an initiative focused on discipleship and global outreach.

Texas Baptists Collegiate Ministries

In the late 1910s, increased college enrollment of Baptist youth in Texas created the need for a new type of student ministry, one that encouraged the expression of faith on campus while students were separated from their home churches.

BSU operations officially began in the fall of 1919 when the Baptist General Convention of Texas named Joseph P. Boone, a Baylor University graduate, as the first Baptist student secretary. In the summer of 1920, Boone held a meeting at the Palacios Encampment with 15 students and five faculty members from colleges across Texas. Here, the small group laid a foundation for the BSU by drafting its first mission statement - one based on evangelism, missions, stewardship, denominational loyalty and the call to service.

A few months later, in the fall of 1920, the first state-wide convocation of BSU members was held at Howard Payne University in Brownwood, TX. The university’s central location allowed over 300 students from 20 schools to gather and discuss what BSU ministries and programs should look like on their campuses.

Over the next 80 years, the BSU saw periods of both growth and decline. At the height of the Great Depression, the organization was completely disbanded. Just a few decades later, it was revived and thriving, reporting 60 active unions across Texas schools.

When BSU participation declined in the mid-90s, a strategic name change was approved to better communicate the organization’s inclusivity. Eventually, the newly-christened BSM emerged into the 21st century growing stronger than ever before.

Today, Texas Baptists recognizes those students who paved the road to the modern BSM, a model which has been adopted by several other states and remains strong throughout Texas. Texas Baptists Collegiate Ministries now reports 134 active BSMs on campuses across the state, reaching 124,165 students every year.

“God continues to use BSM as an opportunity for students to build communities that engage the lost student population on campus,” said Joyce Ashcraft, associate director of Texas Baptists Collegiate Ministry.

Impact on Individual Campuses

An example of the BSU's impact on individual campuses can be seen at East Texas Baptist University (ETBU), where discipleship is an important part of BSM. Junior Christan Phillips got involved his first semester on campus. A strong community of believers helped Christian grow in his faith and gave him boldness to share the Gospel with his roommate. Soon, the seeds that Christian planted in his roommate’s life blossomed into a profession of faith and a call to service.

Texas A&M University senior Ally Conners felt a call to ministry after getting involved with her campus’ South Asian student association. As a BSM member, she was connected to Go Now Missions, Texas Baptists’ student mission-sending program, and made plans to minister in South Asia over the summer. While there, Ally had the opportunity to share the Gospel with the family of an international peer from A&M. “It just blows my mind,” Ally said. “We went there and they didn’t know about the Gospel at all.

Kids Club is an off-campus ministry sponsored by the BSM of Dallas Baptist University (DBU). Senior Marina Love has been serving with this ministry for two years, meeting with the children of a Grand Prairie apartment complex once a week for games, crafts and Bible study. “My favorite thing about serving with Kids Club is our consistency in building relationships,” said Marina. “I believe we are put there to help guide these kids like older brothers and sisters.” Both on and off campus, BSM students from DBU build relationships with people in need of Christ’s love and the Gospel message.

Every Tuesday, BSM students from the University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) serve free lunches to more than 200 students on campus. Andrew VallalGershom, a graduate student from India, serves at this event weekly. “Free Tuesday lunches are my favorite because they create opportunities to talk about faith,” said Andrew. “Some students come for the food, but others are open to discussing the Gospel with our volunteers and become involved with the BSM after attending this event.” Through providing for physical needs, BSM students at UTD are able to affect change in the spiritual lives of students on campus.

The Baptist Collegiate Network

The Baptist Collegiate Network (BCN) is a Baptist college-level organization that can be found on many college campuses in the United States and Canada; many of its collegiate ministries operate under the name Baptist Collegiate Ministry or the Baptist Student Union. The organization, while Baptist, functions as an interdenominational and coeducational fellowship, student society and service organization. The organization was founded as the Baptist Student Union in 1919 by the Baptist General Convention of Texas. Joseph P. Boone, a Baylor University graduate, was the first secretary. In 1920, the first state-wide convocation members was held at Howard Payne University in Brownwood, Texas. 300 students from twenty schools came for the development of programs.

A Lasting Impact

For 75 years, Southern Baptist work among college students has resulted in decisions for Christ, involvement in career or short-term missions projects, and millions of dollars raised for international and North American missions.

“I’m convinced student ministry is one of Southern Baptists’ best-kept secrets,” Bill Henry, director of the Baptist Sunday School Board’s national student ministry (NSM), said.

Last year alone, more than 237,000 students on nearly 1,000 campuses were reached through SBC student ministry. In 1996, SBC student work resulted in 5,500 professions of faith. In addition, students gave $3.2 million to support missions, sent out 27,000 student missionaries and helped start 362 new churches or missions.

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