BCM hosts event, promotes Christian influence on campus

Baptist Collegiate Ministry (BCM) hosted the second God Belongs On My Campus worship event in the Chapman Auditorium on Jan. 23, featuring live music and teaching.

BCM Campus Minister Kendal Danford, who has worked at BCM for 15 years, said the idea for the event came from a song, which matched their vision for FMU BCM.

“The inspiration came from a song called ‘God Belongs in My City,’” Danford said. “So, we took the concept and made it specific for us. We’re not concentrating on a whole city; we’re concentrating on our campus.”

Danford said Rashad Hancock started the event with core group, a small-group Bible study, and included a live artist to make this year’s event different. BCM’s band assisted in opening the event and showed a presentation with facts and statistics about the presence of religious organizations like BCM and religious faculty on college campuses.

A BCM leadership team member remembered artist Joani Howard from Summersalt, the South Carolina Baptist Convention’s (SCBC) summer camp, where she worked on staff for four years. Howard said she uses her art to make a positive impact on people. During the event, Howard painted a lion.

“I’ve never been confident with my art, but the Lord chose to use it,” Howard said. “I’ve gone about doing it only when the Lord puts it in front of me. It’s encouraging for me to hear that the Lord is using my art. I want to point people toward Him.”

Stephen Splawn, who works for the SCBC, spoke at a BCM event for the second time. Splawn spoke about having courage to make the God Belongs On My Campus vision. By using biblical examples, he explained the statement goes beyond its presence on a t-shirt, which the first 200 students received for free.

After the musical performance and guest speakers, a short video was presented, discussing the mission behind God Belongs On My Campus as well as testimonials from BCM members and leaders.

Sophomore biology major Elizabeth Floyd, who regularly attends BCM events, said the event met her expectations.

“It actually exceeded my expectations, Floyd said. “I couldn’t stay for the whole first event, but I really enjoyed it this time.”

Floyd also said she was shocked to see Howard create a piece of art in such a short amount of time since the entire process was on display, not to mention the nervousness she thought Howard must have felt.