An Acts-like semester at the University of Houston BSM

“This month has been like Acts. Each week new people are coming and coming back. Our small groups and worship times are growing. We are praying for more not yet believers to come to know Jesus and praying for believers to grow in their faith through discipleship.”

Shannon Lambert, director of the University of Houston Baptist Student Ministry (BSM), has been working at the BSM for six years. During the past month, she has seen exponential growth.

Lambert was a part of the BSM long before taking on a job at the BSM. During that time, she had the opportunity to meet amazing leaders who poured into her and encouraged her to work at the BSM. Those experiences ignited a passion for collegiate ministry that led her to become a BSM director herself.

“I love college ministry and college students. I love getting to pour into their lives and walk alongside them as they navigate adulthood and figure out what faith looks like for themselves,” Lambert said. “[The students] challenge me as college students change over the years. That constant change challenges my own faith. They have taught me to never grow stagnant.”

Before COVID-19, the University of Houston’s BSM was doing well, but when the pandemic hit, 80% of the university went online and this deeply impacted the BSM’s approach to ministry.

“At the end of last year, our student leaders really felt a burden for our campus. Student leaders had a daunting task ahead of them,” Lambert said. “They felt burdened about how they were ministering, and they were wondering what God wanted to do on campus. They felt challenged to pray and ask God how the BSM was going to be a part of His plan.”

Lambert explained that this fall, they were blessed with an amazing student leadership team that was concerned about how they were reaching the campus. She also explained that they were blessed with the number of new students that were walking through their doors and seeking to become leaders on campus.

God answered their prayers on all levels, Lambert said. For example, the BSM was worried because with the new semester upon them, they did not have a full worship team. They started praying and asking the Lord to provide and before they could even post a notice for tryouts, they had more students than they could have asked for. They now have a worship band that is very full; they can rotate singers and musicians out each week.

“This is a small picture of what we have been seeing,” Lambert said. “The Lord provides much more than we asked.”

Lambert has also witnessed students who are excited about the gospel and sharing it with the people around them. The University of Houston has already seen two salvations this semester. The Lord has been working in mighty ways at the BSM, and this is just a small glimpse into His work.

“God has given us the harvest, just like Jesus told his disciples about the Samaritan woman at the well. We are looking at the harvest right in front of us and praying about how we are going to steward it,” Lambert said.

For more information about the BSM and to learn more about ministry happening on college campuses across the state, go to txbsm.org.