BCM celebrates 100 years of campus ministry, honors longtime leader Joe Graham

By HENRY DURAND, The Christian Index

Wednesday, November 12, 2025

ATLANTA — Georgia Baptist Collegiate Ministries marked a century of campus outreach Monday night, celebrating 100 years of ministry on the opening night of the Georgia Baptist Convention annual meeting at First Baptist Church Atlanta.

The gathering brought together current and former BCM campus ministers, volunteers and students to remember how God has used the ministry to reach generations of college students.

Beverly Skinner, collegiate catalyst for the Georgia Baptist Mission Board, told the group that BCM has reached an extraordinary number of students in just the past 25 years. From 2000 to 2025, some 150,000 students participated in BCM in Georgia, 19,200 served on short-term mission trips, 10,000 answered a call to ministry, and about 27,000 professed faith in Christ.

Skinner also updated attendees on the board’s partnership with Covenant Capital Investors involving BCM properties at the University of Georgia, Georgia Tech, and Georgia State. Those sites are being redeveloped into multi-story, mixed-use buildings that will still include BCM space but will also feature student housing, cafés, and gathering areas. Proceeds from the sale will be invested, and earnings will be used to send students, fund evangelistic efforts, and upgrade remaining BCM buildings that are not being redeveloped. Skinner said Georgia Baptists “are investing a lot today in BCM and have plans to continue that investment for years to come,” noting that the goal is to keep BCM visible and effective on the campuses where students are.

She added that, should the Lord delay His return, her hope is that another generation of Georgia Baptists will gather 100 years from now to celebrate the “life-changing ministry of BCM on Georgia campuses.”

The evening also served as a moment to honor one of the key figures who helped shape Georgia’s collegiate ministry over the past four decades. Skinner said Georgia BCM “owes an enormous debt of gratitude” to Joe Graham, who served about 40 years in Georgia BCM, including 25 years as state director. She noted that even after retiring from the Mission Board, Graham continued to serve on the national level, working with other state conventions to strengthen collegiate ministry across the country. She read to the crowd a resolution of gratitude recently passed by Baptist collegiate state directors nationwide, saying it reflected what Georgia BCM leaders feel toward him.

Graham, attending with his wife, Gail, thanked the room and pointed to the far-reaching influence of campus ministry, saying that every person present represented “ripples of influence” for the gospel that go far beyond what anyone can see. He recalled a recent national collegiate event where an estimated 225 to 250 students surrendered to full-time Christian service and said such responses are evidence that God is at work among college students. Graham said he believed that “we are in the middle of the next great revival” and encouraged listeners to thank God for the blessing of seeing it and being a part of it. He closed by praying that the collegiate ministry would “far outlive each and every one of us for generations to come.”

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File: 20251112-165918-a2a-BCM 1 s.jpg

Caption: Beverly Skinner, the Georgia Baptist Mission Board's collegiate catalyst, welcomes guests to the 100th anniversary party for Georgia Baptist Collegiate Ministries at First Baptist Atlanta on Sunday, Nov. 9, 2025. (Index/Henry Durand)

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Caption: Joe Graham, who served about 40 years in Georgia BCM, including 25 years as state director, speaks after being honored at the 100th anniversary party for Georgia Baptist Collegiate Ministries at First Baptist Atlanta on Sunday, Nov. 9, 2025. (Index/Henry Durand)

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Caption: Beverly Skinner, the Georgia Baptist Mission Board's collegiate catalyst, speaks at the 100th anniversary party for Georgia Baptist Collegiate Ministries at First Baptist Atlanta on Sunday, Nov. 9, 2025. (Index/Henry Durand)

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Caption: Joe Graham, who served about 40 years in Georgia BCM, including 25 years as state director, speaks with guests at the Georgia Baptist Collegiate Ministries 100th anniversary party at First Baptist Atlanta on Sunday, Nov. 9, 2025. (Index/Henry Durand)

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Caption: Tim Smith, right, associational missionary strategist with the Floyd County Baptist Association, chats with Alan Folsom, adult pastor at Burnt Hickory Baptist Church in Powder Springs, at the 100th anniversary party for Georgia Baptist Collegiate Ministries at First Baptist Atlanta on Sunday, Nov. 9, 2025. (Index/Henry Durand)