Spiritual Renewal Month at Baptist University: Bearing Fruit for Our Community

Spiritual Renewal Month at Baptist University: Bearing Fruit for Our Community 

Throughout February, Baptist Health Sciences University dedicated time to Spiritual Renewal Month—an intentional season of reflection centered on the Fruit of the Spirit and how those qualities shape us as future health care professionals. Through campus-wide gatherings and breakout sessions, students, faculty, and staff explored what it means to cultivate love, joy, peace, kindness, and self-control in both personal faith and professional calling. 

Moments That Mattered 

When asked what felt especially meaningful this year, Rusty Woods, Director of Faith and Service Integration and University Chaplain, pointed to a powerful moment of shared vulnerability. 

“Our Psychology Professor Andria Wilson’s discussion of peace seemed to hold students’ attention in a special way. She had students practice ways of nurturing peace and invited students, faculty, and staff to share what disrupts their peace. Hearing one another—and even their professors—open up about struggles helped students realize they weren’t alone in the challenges they face as they prepare to become health care workers.” 

That shared honesty created a sacred sense of community. In a field as demanding as health care, the reminder that struggle is universal and that peace can be cultivated intentionally resonated deeply. 

Fruit That Resonates 

This year’s theme, the Fruit of the Spirit, aligns with the university’s broader academic focus on forming compassionate, Christ-centered health care professionals. According to Rusty, that connection made the month especially impactful. 

Students explored the source of joy with Residence Life Specialist, Tiera Tyler, learning how to guard it against comparison and external pressures. They examined self-control in financial stewardship with Financial Aid Director, Theresy Yosef, gaining practical wisdom for managing money as students and as future professionals. In a Spanish-language session, Student Success Coordinator, Laura White, led a thoughtful conversation about how love for self, grounded in faith, creates the foundation for healthy relationships and meaningful service in health care. 

The month also highlighted the strength of the campus community itself. 

“I want to note that this year only one of our speakers was from outside our campus community,” Rusty said. “It was great to have so many people from within our own university sharing wisdom with the health care community we are all committed to.” 

That guest speaker was George Nixon, Director of Catholic Charities, who reminded attendees that the fruit of kindness is meant to bless others, especially the most vulnerable among us. 

Faith in Action: Serving Our Community 

Spiritual Renewal Month also moved beyond the walls of the Campus Hub and into hands-on service. In partnership with Catholic Charities, students helped assemble and distribute food boxes for families experiencing food insecurity, putting the fruit of kindness and goodness into action. Rusty and a group of students also visited the Catholic Mobile Food Pantry, meeting neighbors face-to-face and offering both practical support and compassionate presence. These service projects reminded our campus community that the fruit we cultivate is meant to nourish others, especially those in greatest need.

Carrying the Spirit Forward 

Rusty shared encouraging words for students, faculty and staff as Spiritual Renewal Month comes to a close.  

“Fruit is born in seasons. It won’t appear in every season of life. If we feel we are lacking in a particular fruit, it may be that the quiet work of preparation is happening right now. Be patient.” 

At Baptist University, Spiritual Renewal Month is more than a series of events. It is a reflection of who we are becoming: healthcare professionals whose character is shaped by faith, whose compassion is rooted in Christ, and whose fruit is offered freely for the good of the world.