Pauline Boren serves as the director of the Baptist Collegiate Ministry (BCM) at Oklahoma City Community College (OCCC). Her calling is to share the Gospel and to disciple students, training and equipping them to reach others with the Gospel while encouraging them along the way.
Pauline’s life verse is Acts 20:24, which reads, “But I consider my life of no value to myself; my purpose is to finish my course and the ministry I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of God’s grace” (CSB). This is the verse that drives her patient determination to bring students to Christ, though the work can be difficult.
“It seems that students are busier than they have been in the past, so trying to find time to have one-on-one discipleship and to schedule discipleship groups can be challenging,” she said. “Additionally, many students have hardened their hearts toward God and have misconceptions about Christianity. One way we are trying to counter that is through our Bible study on Christian beliefs and why we believe what we believe.”
Sometimes it takes time and patience to wait for God to soften an individual’s heart toward Him. Pauline has just that kind of patience.
“Over the past 13 years,” she said, “there have been many memorable incidents and prayers answered. One in particular is how God softened the heart of a student who claimed to be an atheist. Over the course of a year and a half, I watched God work in his life as we continued to share the Gospel with him. His last semester at OCCC, he surrendered his life to God.”
Pauline finds encouragement in seeing God bring students to Him and seeing those students grow in their walk with God and live it out in their everyday lives.
Pauline asked to pray the BCM will continue to have favor with the school’s administration. Pray the partnership between the BCM and the International Student Association will bring more international students into the BCM. Pray also that new student leaders will step up to replace leaders who graduate or move on to other colleges.
Because of the generous giving of Oklahoma Baptists through the Cooperative Program, an amazing array of ministries are supported. This unified giving encourages fellowship with other believers all over the world. Collectively, Oklahoma Baptists are advancing the Gospel together.
Pauline Boren is featured in the 2023 Missionary Prayer Guide for Oklahoma Baptists. For more information about the Cooperative Program, visit oklahomabaptists.org/cp.
