FM72 brings students together in prayer & worship just ahead of Holy Week

In the spring of 1945, a group of Baylor students prayed for spiritual renewal for 90 straight days. Their prayers led to a movement that helped inspire ministries on campus and around the world, from the Journeyman mission program to the Passion Conferences.

Last week, hundreds of Baylor students again gathered in Jesus’ name for FM72, a 72-hour on-campus prayer and worship event coordinated by Baylor’s Office of Spiritual Life in conjunction with local churches and campus ministries.

The entire event was once again centered on Fountain Mall, right in the heart of campus. A prayer tent featured round-the-clock worship and prayer, and students gathered four straight nights (Sunday through Wednesday) for special worship services led by a variety of pastors and speakers. [Get a taste of the worship in this short video.] And more than 25 Baylor students were baptized on Tuesday night.

The theme for this year was “Lord, make us ready,” based on Isaiah 62. “Are we awake and watching, expectant for God to be moving and active in our midst?” asked Dr. Charles Ramsey (BA ’97, MA ’00), associate chaplain and director for Chapel and Campus Ministries at Baylor. “Let us be a people who are being prepared and ready for a move of God. Ready to say, ‘yes’ to Jesus’s invitation to Kingdom living.

“The stations in the tent, the themes prepared by student testimonies and the messages presented, are not only about hope and celebration — they are also about lament and loss and the need for repentance, and for the hope embodied by Christ through the righteousness demonstrated on the cross.”

 

As FM72 has become established as a staple on the Baylor calendar, it has also become an example of the intentional ways Baylor seeks to help students grow in their relationships with God.