The Mississippi State University Baptist Student Union has been providing students with an outlet for fellowship and friendship since the 1920s.
Despite the name and the fact that it is sponsored by the Southern Baptist Convention, Director Michael Ball said the group is open to Christian students of all denominations.
“We are here to help provide opportunities for students to get to know Christ and make him known to other people,” Ball said. “Our purpose is to love Christ and love others.”
Emily Wells, the president of the BSU’s Core Leadership Team, said she has enjoyed the four years that she has been involved with the group.
“Our creed makes us stand out,” Wells said. “We have a desire in our hearts that unifies us and makes us a strong organization.”
Senior David Osborne said he has found the BSU to be a spiritual outlet as well as a place to make friends.
“The organization is spiritually based and friendship based,” Osborne said. “It’s a place to grow and learn. It shows that just because you are in college doesn’t mean you have to be spiritually stagnate.”
Freshman Amy Downs said that upon starting school at MSU she also found the organization to be a place to make connections.
“When I first got here I didn’t really know that many people,” Downs said. “The BSU connected me with fellow believers and local churches.”
The BSU offers two major worship services for students through Priority on Tuesday nights and Noonday on Wednesdays at noon. There are also special events and activities organized to strengthen the fellowship and the friendships among members.
Priority services begin at 6:15 and usually revolve around a central theme. The students play a major role through leading praise teams, organizing devotionals and helping choose the evenings’ speakers, Ball said.
“We like to chose speakers that will appeal to the students and their interests,” Ball said.
Some of the guest speakers this semester have included Jim Futrell of the Mississippi Baptist Commission Board and James Thiele of New Orleans who tours college campuses across the nation speaking on religious topics.
Another form of worship service the organization offers is called Noonday. Students meet at the BSU center on Wednesdays from noon until 1 p.m. for a homecooked meal, fellowship and a speaker, Ball said.
In addition to the large group services, the BSU also offers times of worship set aside for smaller, more personal groups, Wells said.
“Small groups are where friendships are made,” Wells said. “Right now we have about 22 small groups of students studying what we call ‘A Purpose Driven Life’ where we all learn about the same things and gain a basic understanding of our roles as Christians.”
In the spring the small groups will switch to more specific focuses on topics ranging from particular books of the Bible to studies of different Bible characters, Wells added.
Members of the BSU also bond through their participation in community service.
“We get to know Christ and spread his word through acts of kindness and service,” Wells said.
These acts of kindness and service include visiting local nursing homes, collecting toys for needy children around Christmas, doing mission work and volunteering with Habitat for Humanity.
In addition to community service and volunteer work, the group also encourages participation in intramural sports and more fun-oriented activities to help bring members closer.
“Every couple of weeks we have what we call TURF after our Tuesday night service,” Osborne said. “There we do some kind of activity that is fun, but really helps us get to know each other.”
Some events the students have participated in this semester as a part of TURF-Tuesday Ultra Random Fellowship-include capture the flag and karaoke, Osborne added.
Wells said that although they are there for all students who want to learn more about Christ, they also encourage students to participate in other Christian activities and organizations, not just the BSU.
“We would love to see everyone come to the BSU,” Wells said, “but we hope that if they choose not to come here, students will grow and seek a heart for God outside of our group.”