{"id":50044,"date":"2025-07-01T08:00:36","date_gmt":"2025-07-01T12:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/flbaptist.org\/?p=50044"},"modified":"2025-11-04T16:25:34","modified_gmt":"2025-11-04T21:25:34","slug":"from-baptism-to-boldness-um-student-steps-into-the-great-commission","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/flbaptist.org\/from-baptism-to-boldness-um-student-steps-into-the-great-commission\/","title":{"rendered":"From Baptism to Boldness: UM Student Steps into the Great Commission"},"content":{"rendered":"

MIAMI\u2014 When Soph Shulse arrived at the University of Miami, she feared what many Christian students fear: being drawn away from the Christian faith. Well-known for its party culture, the campus could have been an obstacle to her spiritual growth. However, it became the place where her faith flourished.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was walking the line between the world and Jesus,\u201d Soph said. \u201cBut God used UM to grow my faith in ways I never expected.\u201d<\/p>\n

At a Christian campus event early in her first semester, she heard a student leader say, \u201cCollege isn\u2019t just about not losing your faith; it\u2019s about growing it.\u201d That insight shifted her perspective, and soon she was fully engaged with Baptist Campus Ministries<\/a> and CRU.<\/p>\n

\n
\n

“I want to live a life full of \u2018glad I dids.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n Soph Shulse<\/strong>
\n college student, University of Miami\n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Andrew Fernandez, director of the Baptist Collegiate Ministry at the University of Miami<\/a>, explained, \u201cPart of the mission statement at the Miami BCM is that it exists for college students to know Jesus and be known by His people. One of the ways we do this is through intentional relational discipleship in the campus ministry and at our local churches.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shulse\u2019s story reflects that approach. \u201cWhen Soph arrived as a freshman, she immediately connected with some of the ladies at the BCM who began to pour into her life,\u201d Fernandez said. \u201cShe also got connected to Reality Church<\/a> where they share the passion to reach and care for college students.\u201d<\/p>\n\"\"<\/a>\n

 <\/p>\n

As her involvement deepened, so did her conviction. In December, Shulse took a bold step and was baptized alongside her best friend. \u201cI\u2019d been baptized as a Catholic,\u201d she said, \u201cbut this was different. It was about letting my old self die. It was one of the best decisions I\u2019ve ever made.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fernandez added, \u201cThe Lord worked in Soph\u2019s heart to bring her to the place of publicly professing her faith in Christ through believer\u2019s baptism. Since then, Soph has had the opportunity to serve in the church, go on missions trips, and join the Miami BCM student leadership team.\u201d<\/p>\n

The baptism was more than symbolic. It marked a turning point\u2014one that led her directly onto the mission field.<\/p>\n

Over the spring semester, Shulse said \u201cyes\u201d to two mission trips: one to Panama with CRU\u2019s Filter of Hope program, installing water filters and sharing the gospel; the other to the Dominican Republic with her church, Reality Miami, to support missionaries working across a variety of ministries, including women\u2019s outreach, education and sports.<\/p>\n

Despite being a new believer and a full-time pre-health student, she pressed forward. \u201cI felt like a baby Christian,\u201d she admitted. \u201cBut being in those environments showed me that obedience is more important than feeling ready. Just saying \u2018yes\u2019 to God\u2014He shows up.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
On mission in the Dominican Republic with Reality Church, Soph Shulse and her team shared the love of Jesus with local students\u2014one classroom, one connection at a time.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

The mission work wasn\u2019t easy. It stretched her spiritually, emotionally and physically. \u201cServing while burned out from school wasn\u2019t ideal,\u201d she said. \u201cBut God used that time to refresh my soul in ways I didn\u2019t expect.\u201d<\/p>\n

Back in South Carolina for summer break, Shulse continues living on mission. She shares her testimony to challenge cultural Christianity, telling friends that following Christ isn\u2019t a Sunday routine\u2014it\u2019s a surrendered life.<\/p>\n

Her encouragement to other students is simple: be available. \u201cYou don\u2019t have to have it all figured out. Just say \u2018yes.\u2019 Like my pastor said, you\u2019ll either look back and say, \u2018I wish I had,\u2019 or \u2018I\u2019m glad I did.\u2019 And I want to live a life full of \u2018glad I dids.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When Soph Shulse arrived at the University of Miami, she feared what many Christian students fear: being drawn away from the Christian faith.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":100,"featured_media":50627,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[230,40,155,23,24,25],"tags":[633,1107,448,997,1108,1109],"class_list":["post-50044","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-college","category-developing","category-next-generation","category-sharing","category-region-southeast","category-stories","tag-bcm","tag-miami","tag-missions","tag-reality-church","tag-soph-shulse","tag-university-of-miami"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/flbaptist.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50044","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/flbaptist.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/flbaptist.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flbaptist.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/100"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flbaptist.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50044"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/flbaptist.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50044\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":67875,"href":"https:\/\/flbaptist.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50044\/revisions\/67875"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flbaptist.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50627"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/flbaptist.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50044"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flbaptist.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50044"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flbaptist.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50044"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}