Finding Home on Campus : Black Campus Ministry at Michigan State University

At Michigan State University, Brittany, InterVarsity Black Campus Ministries (BCM) staff, says, “There are many Christian organizations on campus, but they don’t necessarily celebrate Black culture in Christianity. They don't carry the same intentionality around reaching Black students on campus.”  

Michigan State has a relatively small community of Black students, with less than ten percent of students being Black. Often, these students feel the need to mask parts of themselves and who God made them to be, and they struggle to find Christian spaces where they feel accepted. 

“I think about [how] Black students like to talk back to the pastor, or they like a different cadence in how the speaker is connecting,” Brittany said. "Students [can] more freely enter into the worship and surrender. They can more readily think about what the Lord is inviting them to do or what he's doing in their heart." 

BCM’s mission is to “[equip] Black students and faculty to lead with faith from the fullness of their identity.” This allows students to not have to choose between being Black and Christian –– they can celebrate both. 

Additionally, many BCM students at Michigan State are also part of other campus clubs and organizations, which opens doors to influence so much more of the campus culture. 

A’Lvinia and Neveah are two BCM student leaders who are well-connected like this on campus. They desire to see their friends and the whole campus find a place where they can experience the love of Jesus. 

A'Lvinia: Healing and Finding Her Voice 

At a young age, A’Lvinia lost her mother, leaving her feeling abandoned, sad, and angry. One night, she reached a breaking point. 

Alone in her dorm room, she sat crying on the carpet. “I can't keep walking around with this much anger in me,” she said. “It's harming me [and] my relationships with people.” In her desperation, she cried out to God.

A’Lvinia thought she could grow in her walk with God on her own and didn't expect there was a place for her to do that on campus, at least not a place where she could fit in. “Sometimes, it can be intimidating to be one of the only people of color or one of the only Black people when you go to an event on campus,” she said.

Not long after, A’Lvinia went to an organization fair on campus. From across the way, she saw a table of giving away free ramen noodles –– one of her favorite foods. She met an InterVarsity staff who invited her to fill out a contact card.

When her schedule didn't enable A’Lvinia to make Bible study, Shaylen Hardy, National Director of BCM and former Michigan State staff, offered to disciple her personally. As they met for coffee, Shaylen explained what InterVarsity was and the vision for BCM.

“It just clicked with me,” A’Lvinia shared joyfully. “I wanted to be part of this community.”

Through the intentional investment of Shaylen and Brittany, A’Lvinia found a place where she could authentically be herself and grow with Jesus, surrounded by other Black students with similar experiences. Over time, God replaced her anger and despair with his joy and love that she wanted to overflow to others on campus.

As A’Lvinia leaned into the fullness of who God created her to be, something even more surprising happened. She began to believe he could call her to lead. 

“We’re conditioned from a young age to believe that we are not able to be in leadership positions…But when you see a Black person leading, it's like, ‘oh, maybe I can do it!’” A’Lvinia said. 

Now A'Lvinia is the president of BCM at Michigan State and hopes the ministry can be "the most welcoming Black community on campus."

A'Lvinia's leadership extends far beyond the ministry as she connects with other campus clubs and organizations, including the campus's African Student Union. She is influencing campus culture in profound ways, inviting students to Bible study or getting her community together to offer prayer to strangers on campus.

And the positive reception from Black students on campus has been overwhelming. When students learn that BCM exists at Michigan State exists –– not only as a place to discuss religion without judgement, but also as a space created specifically for them –– their excitement is contagious. 

“I really feel like there is [spiritual curiosity on campus]. There’s so much going on in the world that people have to turn to something,” A’Lvinia said. “People are searching for community, especially Black people on campus."

Four years after that night in her dorm room, A’Lvinia has seen God move in incredible ways, not just in her chapter's growth but also in her own transformation. She’s prayerfully considering where God is calling her after graduation, and she’s excited to pass on a legacy of servant leadership in BCM to other students like Neveah.

Neveah: Welcome Like Jesus

Before college, Neveah often felt invisible. She went to a Christian school she describes as a “very mixed environment” that sometimes made her feel lost in the crowd, unnoticed and pushed to the side.

When she started college at Michigan State, she was determined to experience something different. 

“I appreciate[d] all of the spaces for Christians here [on campus],” she said. “But I wanted a space that feels like home.” 

Neveah scrolled Instagram one day and saw a post from a friend about BCM. Her curiosity quickly became an answered prayer, as started attending Bible study and making friends. That feeling of home she had never received before is exactly what she got. 

“It felt like a safe space, not just a Bible study that meets once a week,” she said. 

Neveah for the first time felt cared for by other students like her. She watched how Shaylen and Brittany poured into all of them, answering their questions about Jesus, showing up for the big and small moments in their lives, and celebrating how God was moving. 

In this environment of true belonging, Nevaeah felt called by God to do create that belonging for others. 

“I'm going to try to provide warmth for people or try to provide some type of comfort,” she thought. “[That’s] the same love Jesus showed me.” 

Even with this call, however, doubt and self-consciousness crept in, as Nevaeah felt like no one would trust her or want to listen to anything she had to say. 

But one day, that all changed. Freshmen began coming to Nevaeah, confiding in her about feeling lost or having trouble making friends on campus. They then each told Neveah how thankful they were to have her around as a listening ear. 

Through this, Neveah started to see herself differently and believe in the gifts of empathy and hospitality God had blessed her with. Her BCM community affirmed this, with Brittany even telling her, “I would have loved to have a Neveah when I was in college!”

Now, Neveah no longer sees herself as invisible, but instead sees herself the way God sees her. She understands the unique and essential role he has for her in the BCM community, to help others find a home where they're seen and known. 

“It's cool to see new people come and bring their friends,” Neveah said, excited for her chapter to grow and for more people to experience the same God-affirming community she has. She understands that there is something profound about what BCM offers and the way it's meeting a great need on campus. 

“As students, we spend a lot of time in our rooms, thinking, I'm here alone. I think people on campus need a reminder that God is there for them.” 

--

InterVarsity’s Black Campus Ministries is working on college campuses across the country to reach Black students with the gospel and send them out as leaders who can impact everywhere they go with the hope of Jesus. To learn more about and support BCM, go here.