why the bcm

"Starting my sophomore year at UT as a transfer student, I was nervous about how I was going to find my place on such a large campus. The BCM was an organization where I immediately felt welcome. The Welcome Week events provided me with a great opportunity to meet and get to know a lot of new people. The weekly Connection event was especially helpful for freshmen and transfers, as we had a chance to get to know one another, as well as some of the student leaders, who were more than willing to help us with adjusting to UT student life. The BCM can be a great place to study, hang out, and fellowship with your brothers and sisters in Christ. The BCM is also very good at getting students plugged into churches around Knoxville and helped me find a church that was the right fit for me. The love and support I feel from people at the BCM has been a huge blessing in my life, and I would encourage any student who desires a close-knit community where students strive to grow in their walks with Christ to check out the BCM!

-Mallory Young, Junior

"As a freshman I can remember having so many different emotions coming in as I started a new chapter of my life at the University of Tennessee. One thing that I certainly desired was to not fall into temptation as I left my church home, family, and youth group and entered a campus of 25,000 college students. One of the huge priorities for BCM students is to help freshman find a church home, as it is nearly impossible to maintain your relationship with Christ without doing so. Also, looking back, I understand the importance of finding a group of Christian peers and friends that can guide you and direct you in your Christian walk as you are surrounded by the temptations that can haunt you in college. 

I am very thankful for what the Baptist Colligate Ministry offers college students like me, and the influence it can have on your life. My freshman roommate and I are both living at the BCM next year and I am very eager to find out how God will be working in my life and how he is going to use me to direct and disciple freshman at the BCM just as I was drawn in. You can't go through your freshman year or the 4+ years you are in college in the illusion that everyone does the stereotypical "college" things that you hear about or see in movies. The only way to escape that illusion is to find that group of Christian friends and family and surround yourself in the love of Christ that is shined so brightly through the doors of the Baptist Collegiate Ministry and onto the campus of UT."

-Ryan Dailey, Sophomore