College Students and Young Adults Go “All In” for Jesus and Boston at BCNE’s Inaugural Momentum Conference
More than 100 college students and young adults gathered October 17-18 at BCNE’s first Momentum Conference for fellowship, worship, prayer, teaching, and urban community service.
More than 100 college students and young adults from sixteen schools gathered October 17-18 at the Hilton Back Bay in downtown Boston for the inaugural Baptist Churches of New England Momentum Conference—two days of fellowship, worship, prayer, teaching, and urban community service.
Students representing twenty-six New England Baptist churches were deployed in downtown Boston for evangelism and compassion ministry in Jesus’s name. They offered free coffee, hot chocolate, smiles, and the gospel.
Students representing twenty-six New England Baptist churches partnered with the Send Relief Boston Ministry Center and were deployed on Saturday for outreach, evangelism, and compassion ministry in Jesus’ name. Their community service, which coincided with the “No Kings” rally in downtown Boston, “blessed the city and gave students hands-on experience living out their faith publicly,” said Fady Ghobrial, the BCNE Boston Collegiate Ministry Director.
“It was an incredible display of cross-church and cross-campus unity as students lifted the name of Jesus in worship,” added Ghobrial, who was joined at the conference by Daniel McGhee, the BCNE New England Collegiate Ministry Director. Both campus ministry leaders were appointed to the BCNE staff earlier this year.
Speaker Calls for “Total Devotion to Jesus”
Adam Mabry, senior pastor of Aletheia Church in nearby Cambridge, kicked off the first Momentum Conference with a call to “make the gospel the main thing” in life again. He reminded attendees that “total devotion to Jesus demands total submission to the gospel.”
Bethany Needham, cohost of the podcast “Slightly Off Script,” taught on Saturday morning from Hebrews 12 and encouraged the students to “run their race in their place” focused on Jesus instead of comparing themselves to others.
The teaching time was “incredibly powerful” at the first Momentum Conference. Time was set aside for prayer and response for unity, courage, and hunger to be on mission that will spark another spiritual awakening in New England.
Send Network Boston missionary Shaun Pillay closed the weekend with a challenge to “go deeper in our relationships” with Jesus. Zach Bolen, lead singer of the band Citizens, led worship at the weekend conference.
The teaching time, which was “incredibly powerful,” was followed by times of prayer and response, led by the prayer ministry team from City on a Hill Church in Brookline, Massachusetts.
“For us, this unity, courage, and hunger to be on mission is the kind of seed-planting that we hope the Lord will use to spark awakening in New England,” commented Ghobrial, an immigrant pastor who was a ministry fellow at Harvard University before joining the BCNE staff.
The joy of seeing groups of young adults from different churches and many college students from different schools come together to collaborate, worship, and serve the city is inspiring and “gives me so much hope for the spiritual future of New England,” he added.
BCNE campus ministry directors Daniel McGhee (left) and Fady Ghobrial at Momentum 2025.
Momentum 2025 participants and leaders are incredibly grateful, and we are also believing God for more—this was just the beginning. We are seeing signs of new life, signs of hunger, and signs of unity that remind us of God’s faithfulness, noted Ghobrial. “God is not done with New England. God is not done with your church or campus. Let’s keep pressing in and seeking God for more together.”
Students Are Praying for Revival
In the 1730s and 1740s, the American colonies experienced what history calls the First Great Awakening.
A time of spiritual revival was marked by widespread repentance, prayer, unity, and an outpouring of God’s Spirit. God worked through many men and women who had given God their “yes.”
The gospel was advanced by preachers, missionaries, students, parents, and anyone who was willing to go all in on seeking Jesus wholeheartedly, making disciples, and obeying The Great Commission of Matthew 28:18-19. New England was home to a significant move of God during those days.
In August of 1806, a handful of Williams College students gathered together for prayer in Williamstown, Massachusetts. This was the birth of the Haystack prayer revival, out of which untold numbers of missionaries were sent out to the nations, and Christians were boldened for the cause of the gospel.
Christians were stirred by this move of God to be all in on the mission of Jesus. New England was again home to much of what God did during the Haystack prayer revival.
These are just two examples of what God has done in New England in the past. We believe that God is not done. We are believing God for more. We are seeking him for a new move in our time. We are seeking God for an outpouring of His Spirit on all his sons and daughters.
We are excited to see what God might do when Christian students gather in united prayer and worship to seek him, to be on mission together, and to go all in. This is our heartbeat, and it was also the theme of the BCNE’s first Momentum Conference for college students and young adults.