Six Brewton-Parker College students attended Confluence, an annual weekend conference through the Georgia Baptist Collegiate Ministry, on Sept. 22-24. The conference took place at Eagles Landing First Baptist Church in McDonough, GA. Inman Houston served as the speaker and music was led by Rush of Fools. While there, students participated in a relay race, had disaster relief training, and attended worship services. The theme of the 2017 conference was: “Seek, Know, Follow.”
Confluence 2017 was a first time experience for Abbi Beth Paulk, a senior at Brewton-Parker. Paulk expected the weekend to be filled with learning about Jesus and worship, but her expectations were greatly exceeded due to the fun she had participating in the relay and playing other games. The most memorable experience for Paulk however, was not a message preached or a game played, but instead the people she met.
In fact, one person in particular stood out. A former Brewton-Parker student happened to run into the current student group during one of the activities. “Seeing a former student from Brewton-Parker College out in the world thriving was really special for me,” Paulk stated. “We talked with her about memories and people from Brewton-Parker and everything she had to say about her experience was positive. It showed me that Brewton-Parker must be doing something right.”
For Sarah Batchelor, another senior, the best part of Confluence 2017 was participating in the relay competition. The team from Brewton-Parker ultimately came in fourth place, but beat bigger schools like the University of Georgia and Georgia Southern. “Seeing our little bitty school beat out all those other schools made me proud to be a Baron,” stated Batchelor.
This year’s conference was the fourth one for Batchelor, but she named 2017 as the best Confluence experience. Batchelor explained, “This year I felt more connected than ever before. The experience of standing among friends worshiping God with thousands of other people my age is unlike any other.”