Making Baylor Home, Wherever You Are
Baylor’s alumni live in all 50 states and in countries spanning the globe. They find ingenious ways to stay connected to their alma mater — whether through midnight basketball watch parties on the other side of the world, or by attending a Baylor Alumni event in their hometown. But what if there’s no current Baylor presence in your area?
If you’re Sarah, B.A. ’91, and Rod Bourgeois, of Greenwich, CT, you create it.
When their son, Daniel, was preparing to make the nearly 1,700-mile move to Waco, Sarah and Rod drove to New York and the other side of Connecticut so that he could participate in two Baylor Send-off Parties.
“We were so struck by the way that Baylor showed such love and concern for the new students and the new families,” Sarah said during a recent trip to Waco. “Just instantly, the parties were communicating, you’re one of us, you’re part of the Baylor Family. We love and care for you.”
Sarah was inspired to volunteer their own home. Since then, she has hosted two send-offs and welcomed Baylor students from the Greenwich area. It was only the beginning, though, as Sarah and Rod became more connected to the University.
“When I started meeting people on Baylor’s staff and seeing how missional they are in the way they do their jobs, I started saying, ‘You don’t have a job; You have a mission,’” Rod said. “It challenged me to say, ‘I need to be more missional in what I’m doing.’ So, we started hosting Parents in Prayer.”
Created as a way for Baylor Parents to join together and pray for Baylor’s administration, faculty, and students, Parents in Prayer groups meet and build connections that strengthen the Baylor community in their areas. Currently, about 52 groups meet in 22 states, with groups ranging in size from three people to 25. Sarah and Rod, who have hosted their group for four years and counting, say the relationships formed with other parents have encouraged them in their faith, while at the same time helping them navigate how to parent college-aged children.
“Presenting things to God and getting to see him work — where he’s either changing circumstances or people or both — builds everyone’s faith in the room, which is really exciting, and also it just strengthens the relationships,” Sarah said. “The fact that somebody is going to get up in the morning and take time to pray for my son, that they’re willing to sacrifice that time for me and my family is so meaningful, and it grows my faith, not only in God, but in people. It’s just such an encouragement.”
There are practical forms of support that come from the meetings, too, Rod noted, from carpooling and referrals for movers to internships.
Parents in Prayer groups are helping create the caring, Christian environment that sets Baylor apart — both on campus in Waco, and throughout the country — including Greenwich, Connecticut!