They’re everywhere. They impact our daily lives in ways we probably don’t even comprehend. We pay attention to some of them—the price of gas, groceries and interest rates. But most of them go unnoticed and we’ve become almost immune to their power and influence.
In campus ministry, looking at numbers can be incredibly important because each number represents a life changed and influenced by the work and power of the Gospel.
If we put the face of a student on each of these statistics, it helps us understand the power of the Gospel and the imperative of reaching lives on our college campus mission field.
With nearly 12,000 international students from 130 countries and 50 states studying on campuses across Alabama, the mission field is great! Here’s a quick sketch of some of the numbers:
DISCIPLESHIP
- SBC WIDE CAMPUS MINISTRY EFFORT – 1 in 2 students involved in BCM is involved in discipleship and small group Bible study
- BAPTIST CAMPUS MINISTRY IN ALABAMA – 1,749 students in BCM Bible study and discipleship groups
EVANGELISM
- SBC WIDE CAMPUS MINISTRY EFFORT – 1 in 4 students involved in BCM is involved in evangelism on campus
- BAPTIST CAMPUS MINISTRY IN ALABAMA – 864 students from Alabama BCMs were involved in evangelism on campus
DECISIONS FOR CHRIST
- SBC WIDE CAMPUS MINISTRY EFFORT – 9,251 decisions for Christ by students and others through BCM
- BAPTIST CAMPUS MINISTRY IN ALABAMA – 176 decisions for Christ by students and others through Alabama BCM
MISSIONS THROUGH BCM
- SBC WIDE CAMPUS MINISTRY EFFORT – 27,859 BCM students were involved in short-term and summer missions experiences
- BAPTIST CAMPUS MINISTRY IN ALABAMA –1,987 BCM students involved in short-term and summer mission experiences
INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS
- SBC WIDE CAMPUS MINISTRY EFFORT – 1 in 5 students involved in BCM is an international student
- BAPTIST CAMPUS MINISTRY IN ALABAMA –725 international students involved and impacted by Alabama Baptist Campus Ministries
IMPACTED BY MINISTRY THROUGH BCM
- SBC WIDE CAMPUS MINISTRY EFFORT – 1 in every 42 students (based on 23 million college students in North America) was impacted by Baptist Campus Ministries
- 8 students on campus were impacted for every 1 student involved in BCM
- 543,457 students impacted by Baptist Campus Ministries nationally
- BAPTIST CAMPUS MINISTRY IN ALABAMA – 44,152 Alabama college students impacted by Baptist Campus Ministries on 48 four year and community college campuses
I haven’t highlighted the more than 500 students who are preparing for ministry-related vocations as a result of BCM in Alabama or hundreds of other decisions made.
That’s a lot of numbers: thousands of students who have heard the Gospel story and been touched by the ministry of Southern Baptists and Alabama Baptists. They represent the investment of hours and months of one-on-one relationships and conversations—all in an effort to reach students with the Good News of Jesus Christ. Pay attention to them—these numbers represent changed lives!
