Graduation day is one of the most exciting times in college ministry! Does that surprise you? Now before you start to protest, it isn’t because of the long graduation speeches or hundreds of people crammed together to watch. Graduation is the launching pad to send out Baptist Collegiate Ministry (BCM) students across the globe for ministry and mission. Colt Booth is one of those students. After working on staff for three years at BCM, he is graduating with his degree from Midwestern Seminary. It is our privilege to launch Colt into his next stage of ministry! Here are some reflections from him on the impact of BCM in his life.      

1. How did you discover your calling to ministry?  

“I first felt the call to ministry in my junior year of college. At first, I did not recognize that call myself. The idea of a “call” was confusing to me. I never had a supernatural calling and working in full-time ministry was for “special people,” not normal guys like me. Then I went to a “Called to Ministry” conference where one of the speakers talked about how they felt compelled to do ministry. They said doing anything else would leave them lacking. I didn’t have a special call, but I knew I had that fire within me that would not allow me to do anything other than teach people about Christ. ” 

2. How did the BCM prepare you for your ministry calling?  

“The way BCM prepared me for ministry is too numerous to name in this article, so I will focus on one key component. Coming into college discipleship was a scary word. I knew I needed to be discipled and disciple others, but I didn’t know what that meant. Over the last seven years, I have learned how to walk alongside someone, teaching them what it means to strive after Jesus. Discipleship is the pathway to growth, and the BCM has taught me how to disciple others well so they can continue to reproduce.”

3. What do you hope to do after being launched out from BCM?  

“I hope to take the lessons I learned in the BCM, like making disciples, sending people on missions, and sharing the Gospel, to college campuses that need more laborers. College students in Arkansas have access to great spiritual leaders through the BCM on each campus, but there are students across the country desperate for the Gospel who have no one to teach it to them. I hope to bring the Gospel to students that have little access to it.”  

4. Why do you want to continue to do college ministry?  

“Author Pearl Buck wrote that “The young do not know enough to be prudent, and therefore they attempt the impossible – and achieve it, generation after generation.” College students have a passion that few other people have. They long to change the world and are willing to do what it takes. Seeing college students harness that passion to spread the name of Christ is one of the great joys of my life.” 

5. What do you want to say to BCM supporters around the state?  

“There is only one thing to say, ‘Thank you.’ Thank you for making the past seven years of my life possible. Thank you for providing a place for me to grow in my faith. Thank you for the opportunities you’ve given me to see my friends Brenden and Marc come to faith in Christ. Thank you for sacrificing so that Landri and Isabella can spend their summer in Muslim countries telling people about Jesus. There are students across the state, across the country, and around the world who will hear and submit to the name of Jesus because of your support. My life, and countless others, would not look the same without you. Thank you.”