MOBILE, Alabama – “The University of Mobile is not just a beautiful, special and sacred place – it is a place that will change you,” said new UM President Dr. Charles Smith during the presidential inauguration on August 16.
“For decades, thousands of men and women have followed you and left us changed,” Smith told the nearly 300 new students and their families gathered on the university’s Great Commission Lawn for the President’s Commissioning. The event is the first in a two-part Great Commission tradition that concludes each student’s college journey.
At the presidential inauguration, new students touch the mission globe in the center of the mission lawn to symbolize the beginning of their college career. Years later, they touch the globe again at graduation to symbolize the next step in their journey: entering a worldwide mission field to fulfill their calling for the glory of God and the good of the world.
Your first mission field
After a devotional led by UM’s student ensemble Worship Collective, Smith encouraged the new students to embrace the journey ahead and make the most of their time at college – to get involved, to strive, to make friends, to serve, to learn and to lead.
Using Matthew 28:18-20 – the Great Commission – as its theme, Smith said the University of Mobile challenges its students to help others and share the hope of the gospel with them – “but only if that is truly your hope.”
“Your first mission field could be your own heart. How might God be calling you to trust and follow Him? How might this time help strengthen your faith?” he asked.
God’s Messenger
Smith said the University of Mobile prepares its graduates for meaningful careers while challenging them to see the world as it really is from a biblical perspective.
“It is a world that God created. A world full of men and women who bear His image and are called to steward their God-given gifts. A world destroyed by our sin, full of people walking in darkness in need of God’s truth, love and restoration.
“It is a world that God loves, into which he sent his Son so that we might live the life we could not live and die the death we deserve, so that in him we might be reconciled to God, taken up into heaven and sent out into the world as his ambassadors.
“One of the most remarkable things about the Christian faith is that God not only saves us, but he invites us into his family and commissions us – the saved – to join him in salvation,” Smith said.
Classes began Aug. 19 for students enrolled in more than 75 degree programs at Baptist University leading to associate, bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees. For more information about the University of Mobile, visit umobile.edu or call Enrollment Services at 251.442.2222.
Pictured above: The University of Mobile welcomes new students for the fall 2024 semester.
About the University of Mobile
The University of Mobile is a Christian-centered university with a vision of “Higher Education for a Higher Purpose.” It was founded to honor God by preparing students for their future professions in an environment where they are known. Located 10 miles north of Mobile, Alabama, the university sits on a campus of over 880 acres and offers associate’s, bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in over 75 academic programs. The University of Mobile was founded in 1961 and is affiliated with the Alabama Baptist State Convention.
For information about the University of Mobile, areas of study, admissions and more, visit umobile.edu. You can connect with UM on social media at @univofmobile or call Enrollment Services at 1.800.WIN.RAMS or 251.442.2222.
Kathy Dean uses her passion for storytelling and “playing with words” to tell the stories of people, places and destinations that make the University of Mobile unique. As the assistant vice president for university communications, she manages media relations, publishes the TorchLight alumni magazine and oversees university communications. A former award-winning journalist, she has twice won the Baptist Communicators Association’s top award for feature writing. Kathy and her husband, Chuck, live with three extremely loud miniature schnauzers.
