Short Circuit Vol 5 Num 4

Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, was founded in 1809. Located on a beautiful campus 35 miles north of Cincinnati, the 15,000 resident students enjoy what has often been referred to as the Ivy League of the Mid-West. Bicycles far outnumber automobiles, and students enjoy the atmosphere of a state university in a small town surrounding.

Campus Bible Fellowship was active on campus at Miami University during the early and mid 1980's, under the sponsorship of Faith Baptist Church. The church is ideally located for a campus outreach, since its property adjoins the basketball arena parking lot on one side and is surrounded on two other sides by apartments in a section affectionately referred to by students as "the ghetto". A change in pastoral leadership at Faith Baptist resulted in the CBF outreach eventually being discontinued as other ministries were emphasized.

Pastor Brian Alexander has been ministering at Faith Baptist for the past few years, and in the Fall of 2003, the church revived the Miami CBF chapter. Weekly meetings were held at the church, with the students having a significant impact on this small congregation. Pastor Alexander gives this account:

"This past year we restarted CBF after a long absence of the ministry in our church. It is very difficult to put into words just how much of a blessing this ministry was for our church this year.

"Some of the highlights of the ministry were that we had about 10 students that attended CBF regularly. As a group we watched and discussed the 'Song of Solomon' video series done by Tommy Nelson. The videos were amazing and our college students loved them. As those who are in college ministry know, these students are bombarded on a daily basis in class over what 'marriage' is supposed to be about. I think what they learned is the biblical foundation for marriage, dating, courting, etc. It can best be summed up by one of my students who, after attending the conference said, 'It is cool to know that my feelings of wanting to be a wife and mother aren't weird after all!'

"The biggest blessing for me personally and for our church has been watching these students get involved in the ministry at Faith Baptist Church. We are blessed to have 9 music majors who attend regularly and they brought new life into our music services! After all, it isn't every 35 member church that can have a full orchestra every Sunday! The students also got involved in helping with AWANA. The kids loved seeing the students show up each week. We had three students saved and I was able to baptize 6 students on one chilly Sunday afternoon at Hueston Woods lake. What a blessing!

"To close, I would have to say that the students we have reached this year through CBF have really changed the attitude of our church. We see the college ministry as vital to our mission here in Oxford now. It has been such a blessing seeing these college students mature. It has been a blessing to me as the pastor to watch the members and college students get together and minister in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to impact the town of Oxford and the campus of Miami University for Christ.

"Thanks for the opportunity to build into the lives of these young adults."
(Pastor Brian Alexander)

CBF at Miami is an exciting place to be, and the people at Faith Baptist Church are already planning for the students' return in the Fall of 2004. If you know of anyone currently attending or planning to attend Miami University, they can get more information by contacting
Pastor Alexander at Faith Baptist Church,
P.O. Box 550,
Oxford, OH 45056.
E-mail contact is pastorbrian@cinci.rr.com.