Baptist Student Ministry provides free lunch on Wednesdays

Nathan Martinez

Tanner Conley economics senior, and Josiah Robbins mathematics freshman, Tyler McMurry criminal justice junior. Cooking at BSM pancake dinner. Photo by Nathan Martinez

Shaila Botello, Reporter
December 3, 2018

The Baptist Student Ministry is hosting a free lunch on Dec. 5 from noon to 1 p.m.

“I think that it is a good idea for the [BSM] to provide free lunch for students,” art senior Sara Keeling said. “Behind the food are students who have a passion for Christ and through sharing and smiling faces, joy is spread.”

 

The BSM have hosted these weekly lunches for years now.

“I’ve been here for 12 years and the lunches have been going on longer than that,” BSM Director Ben Edfeldt said. “The ministry has been going on for about 75 years. I don’t know exactly when the lunches started, but it has been a pretty big staple of this ministry. I’m going to guess, maybe not quite 75 years, but [the lunches] have been going on for a majority of the time the ministry has been around.”

On Wednesdays, the free lunch is provided by a different church in the area. The BSM sends out a sign up sheet via email during the summer and local churches sign up for whatever week they want to provide the food.

“We are supported by local Southern Baptist churches and they organize in the Wichita, Archer, and Clay counties,” Edfeldt said. “We have [providers] as far away as Olney, Texas to many local churches here in Wichita Falls.”

This upcoming lunch is going to be provided by the BSM and although the lunch for Dec. 5 hasn’t been officially decided on, Edfeldt said that a chicken taco soup would be a good thing to serve because of the cool weather.

Previous lunches have included smoked brisket, fajitas and homemade lasagnas. Drinks are always provided by the BSM and usually include sweet tea, water, and Kool-Aid.

“The tradition of the free lunches at the BSM is strong and has reached many students,” Keeling said. “I believe it still has presence on the campus and is still influencing students in a positive way.”

 

Other events sponsored by the BSM include:

  • Refuel, Thursdays at 8 p.m.
  • Salt Group, weekly, ask a group leader how to join.