Ministries On Campus Give Students Wide Range of Options

Carson-Newman encourages and strives to facilitate ministries on campus. Banners are posted in front of the caf, fliers taped on doors and bulletin boards and announcement on Eagle Net, to name only a few of the ways ministries connect with students. Even with all this, it is often easy to overlook some of the ministries on campus.

BASIC stands for "Brothers and Sisters in Christ" and is a branch of Baptist Collegiate Ministries (BCM). BASIC has a student-led leadership team that works to create and coordinate the events, themes, activities and speakers for BASIC. Rev. Chad Morris, Associate Director of Campus Ministries, says that "BASIC and any other BCM activity are open to all and we would love to have anyone come be a part of us."

BASIC's theme for the semester is "Calling." It explores for areas entitled the "Call to Community," the "Call to Ministry," the "Call to Service," and the "Call towards the Future."

"We picked this theme this year," Morris explains, "hoping that it would directly relate to student's lives." While some are called specifically to vocational ministry, others are called to "live out their Christian walk as a… teacher, dentist, social worker, doctor, lawyer, etc." BASIC meets every Wednesday at 9:00 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall of First Baptist Church Jefferson City.

While BASIC is one of the larger ministries, there are also many smaller, independent ministries as well. PRAY is one such ministry. PRAY stands for People Relentlessly Adoring You. It was founded last year and is lead by juniors Amanda West, an art major, Kali Freels, a religion major, and Faith Long, a journalism major. Together they collaborated to become an official school ministry.

Despite its slow start, PRAY has flourished into a body of close-knit, dependable individuals who live to bring God glory with their lives. "The purpose," West says, "shall be to focus on prayer to help build a closer relationship with God and other people." To open each meeting, they share a verse "for thought" before discussing it. They voice their concerns, prayer requests as well as praises. Then, they take the opportunity to pray to and praise God. "It's a very laid-back environment," West observes. "We would love to have more people at our meetings." PRAY meets every Tuesday at 9:00 p.m. in Swann Parlor. If you do not have access to the building, there is generally someone on the front porch to let you in.

SWIMM, though not officially under oversight of the Campus Ministries as it is co-advised by Rev. Nenette Measels, it is often assumed to be. Along with Measels, SWIMM is co-advised by Dr. Christine Jones, Assistant Professor of Religion. SWIMM stands for Supporting Women in Missions and Ministry. It exists to "encourage fellowship with women and men," says Measels. Contrary to popular belief, SWIMM is open to men as well as women. Each meeting, they have a speaker who shares from their life experiences in missions and/or ministry. This is to show others that people "can be a witness through whatever they do," explains Measels. They network and work to do at least one service project a year. In the past they raised money to buy supplies for birthing kits. They bought and compiled them to send to Haiti.  They also send cards of encouragement to those in the community. SWIMM is welcome to all. They meet the first and third Tuesdays of the month at 5:00 p.m. in the Small Café.

Together, Measels and Morris direct Carson-Newman's Campus Ministries, of which BCM is the large focus. BCM is composed of much more than just BASIC; there are seven main ministries that BCM umbrellas. These are: BASIC, Missions, Growth, Seed Company Worship Band, Communications, InReach and OutReach.  Each team focuses on specific types of ministry.

BASIC provides the opportunity for students to come together for fellowship, worship, instruction and fun. The Missions team works hard to organize the SPOTS trips (Special Projects Other Than Summer). A lot of work goes into these trips. They are available Fall and Spring Breaks as well as during some Mayterms. The Growth team is responsible for discipleship. This is often found in the forms of weekend retreats throughout the year. Seed Company is a team of musicians and vocalists who use their gifts to lead worship. They play at BASIC each week as well as other events.