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America's College Town

Baptist Campus Ministries: Brad Simmons
Monday, October 24, 2005

Boston is at the heart of American history. If it's a "first" it's in Boston. It is also known as "America's college town." With a population of around 600,000 people, over 250,000 college students call Boston home from August through May. World renowned universities like Harvard, MIT, Boston University, Boston College, Tufts and twenty others are located in and around the Boston area. It is said that at any given time, 25% of the world's leaders, in business and politics, have attended school in Boston. Boston is truly a city whose influence is felt well beyond its borders.

In January 2005, I was introduced to the Collegiate Church Planting Community in Boston. This community of collegiate church planters, with the support of the Baptist Convention of New England, is seeking to reach students by planting churches on and around the universities and colleges in Boston. This past summer, my wife Jamie and I had the privilege of spending several days with two of the collegiate churches in Boston. They gave us an introduction to the vision that they have for their city. They talked about the roots of the Great Awakening being centered in Boston, and how this once spiritually alive city is now dead. Their prayer is not for revival, for there is almost nothing to revive. They are praying for an awakening in the city of Boston, whose center is in the university community.

This Spring Break, Baptist Campus Ministries (BCM) is traveling to Boston to spend a week working with the Collegiate Church Planting Community. We will be prayer walking, taking surveys, and ministering to both the university community and the underprivileged of Boston. However, in order for this to become a reality, we need your help.

Boston is an expensive place to visit. Each student will be saving for the next several months in order to afford the trip. If you, or your church, would like to help in this effort it would be greatly appreciated. Every dollar you give will go toward paying the way of the students first, and then toward buying groceries for our stay there. If money is given beyond that, we will give it to the collegiate churches in Boston for them to use as they see fit. If you would like to give, please mail your checks, made out to HOKSBA to 3474 South Meridian, Wichita, KS 67217. Write on the memo line: "BCM Spring Break."

Please remember BCM as we prepare for this trip. Pray for us as we reach out at WSU and as we seek to reach out to "America's college town."

For more information about the Collegiate Church Planting Community in Boston, check out their website at ccpcboston.typepad.com.