Few people associate Spring Break and college students with advancing the Gospel, but such is not the case for hundreds of Oklahoma Baptist Collegiate Ministry (BCM) students. In addition to local projects, teams from 22 Oklahoma campuses traveled to six different U.S. states and the Czech Republic this Spring Break with the goal of growing in Christ and sharing His love with the lost.

Multiply Conference

Approximately 200 students from three BCMs attended the Multiply Conference at the Glen Eyrie Castle in Colorado Springs. The conference equips students to become disciples who make disciples by bringing together “big frogs” (mature believers) and “tadpoles” (students desiring to grow in their faith).

“The Multiply Conference really helped me understand God’s heart to draw near to me and use me to make disciples both here and from all nations,” said University of Oklahoma (OU) student Benjamin Edwards.

Though the conference focuses primarily on discipleship, some students also make proclamations of faith there. Caelen Montgomery, who attended with the University of Central Oklahoma BCM, encountered the Lord in a very powerful and personal way. As she was preparing to go to sleep one night, she prayed, “Lord, I know you—or at least I’m trying to—but do you know me? If so, will you give me a visible sign?”

While out hiking the next day, she heard a voice three times say, “John 14:6.” She stopped in the middle of her hike, pulled out her Bible, and read, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” That led her to read further in John 14 and the recognition that God truly knows her. One night after asking God to give her a sign, she had her answer and her life changed forever.

“Wednesday night I fully submitted and gave my life to Christ,” said Montgomery.

Ponderosa Camp

Thirty minutes down the road from Glen Eyrie, students from the Carl Albert State College (CASC) and Eastern Oklahoma State College BCMs got to work at Ponderosa Camp, the state camp of Colorado Baptists.

“Ponderosa serves Colorado and the surrounding region as a light for the Gospel,” said CASC BCM director Clay Phillips. “Our students had the privilege of contributing to this mission through hands-on service projects.”

While manual labor projects are often unglamorous, CASC student Braedy Wardrope appreciated the opportunity.

“To serve in a capacity that isn’t noticed by many yet benefits the Kingdom of God was eye-opening and rewarding—something we will carry with us forever,” she said.

Serving Communities

Manual labor also provided opportunities for the eight BCMs who came together in Beaumont, Texas. The group worked with Nehemiah’s Vision, a partnership that began in 2023 when the Rogers State University (RSU) BCM sought opportunities to help with storm recovery in the area.

Shannon Cross, the BCM Director at RSU, took 33 students that year.

“It was so successful that we kept going back and adding more BCMs and people,” said Cross.

This year, 100 people made the trek to help work on homes affected by natural disasters and build wheelchair ramps at homes of people with impaired mobility.

The group met spiritual needs as well and encouraged students to step out of their comfort zones.

“Our quietest student found his voice,” said Jay Kindsvater, BCM Director at Redlands Community College. “He shared his testimony three times during the trip.”

Another Gulf community, Westwego, La., likewise benefited from Oklahoma BCM students giving their Spring Break to share the Gospel and serve the community. Three BCMs partnered with the Westwego, La., First to meet tangible needs.

Oklahoma City University (OCU) student Carson Patton lauded Westwego for their ongoing, intentional efforts to be a light for Christ in their community.

“I know that the work we did (in Westwego) will help the church continue to reach their community for the Kingdom of God,” he said.

The trip also unified the team, as many of them had never met previously. Northeastern Oklahoma A&M student Raylyn Yoder said that it “was an amazing representation of the body of Christ coming together for one purpose—to know God and make Him known.” This new bond empowered them in their work.

“We could tackle whatever He was calling us to do,” said Yoder, “and by the end of the week we all walked away with a better understanding of how to serve the Lord anywhere we go.”

Beach Reach

Three BCM teams from Oklahoma State University (OSU) and the Tulsa metro returned to Panama City, Fla. to minister to their peers through Beach Reach.

“It’s always very heartbreaking and eye opening,” said Tulsa Community College student Francisco Orbe. “Talking to so many people that are my age, lost, and searching for happiness but not finding it definitely gives me urgency to share Jesus.”

These three groups combined to pray with 950 beach goers, share the Gospel with more than 700 of those and lead more than 30 people to the Lord throughout the week.

“This trip was such a blessing because I got to see how the Lord uses us in so many different ways,” said OSU student Jaycie Adams. “Even when it seemed like we had nothing in common, Christ found a way to speak through me.”

Sacred City Church

While students from the Northeastern State University BCM partnered with local churches to minister in Arizona and the Czech Republic, a group from the BCM at Southwestern Oklahoma State University (SWOSU) headed to Providence, R.I. to work with Sacred City Church in a variety of ways.

“My favorite part of the trip was by far the survey evangelism,” said Sophia Walker. “These surveys really just opened the door to so many Gospel conversations with both believers and non-believers, which was so beautiful!”

Walker will return to Providence this summer, spending six weeks serving Sacred City through the North American Mission Board’s GenSend program.

“There are so many opportunities to share the Gospel and be a light in the darkness, so I can’t wait,” Walker said. “God is moving in and through Sacred City and Providence. I am so excited to see what God has in store this summer!”

Oklahoma Baptists State BCM Director Chad Coleman, who joined the SWOSU team this year, applauds the students for taking advantage of the opportunity to use their Spring Break for Kingdom purposes.
“What makes BCM Spring Break trips so powerful is not just what happens there, but what happens after as students return further equipped and discipled, ready to multiply ministry on their campuses and in their churches,” Coleman said.