JMU BCM Changes Building Name to Reach Community

For many years, the Baptist Collegiate Ministries (BCM) building at James Madison University (JMU) in Harrisonburg, VA, has stood on the corner of Main Street and MLK Jr. Way (previously Cantrell). Facing the building, the city of Harrisonburg is to the right; to the left is the JMU campus. The BCM sits at a critical juncture between the city and the campus.

According to Scott Anderson, campus minister, “A dream has been bubbling up in our hearts for a couple of years. What if we could use our space to better serve the city? So much of our efforts are (rightly) on the campus. We serve students; this is our mission. But what about our other neighbors?”

“We began to dream about what it might look like for the building to become a resource for the community,” he explained, “so we started to listen to needs.”

A CPR group needed a space to train (mostly) college student nursing majors. A LEGO® robotics group needed a place for summer camp. Local women wanted to host a clothing swap, so people in need could get clothing in a sustainable way.

“As a result of all of these connections, we began to realize that our building needed a name that is distinct from the ministry (BCM),” Scott recalled. “We began to see that the building itself could have an identity that could enable us to use it in ways not connected directly to the campus and expand our ministry and our reach.”

They took this idea to the students, who understood the vision immediately. After several brainstorming sessions and tons of thought and prayer, they created a name that they believe aligns with the vision: The Hope Center.

The name change doesn’t mean any change to the ministry itself. All BCM activities take precedence on the building calendar, and students remain the priority. But now, The Hope Center can be presented as a community meeting place to local groups who need space to rent. This will be a helpful income stream for the ministry budget. We can position ourselves as a building that has tremendous value—not only to Christian college students—but to the community of Harrisonburg itself. “Our community needs the hope of Jesus, and we are striving to use our resources to that end. We invite you to join us in praying to this end.”