The Sam Houston State student describes finding a faith community in Huntsville and serving fellow students through the Baptist Student Ministry.
Sam Houston State University student Brian Morales-Delgado says a Bible study with a former high school acquaintance helped him find a faith community after he arrived in Huntsville, a change he now connects to his work with the Baptist Student Ministry on campus.
Delgado shared his account in an episode of Students of the Kingdom, a Hello Huntsville program hosted by Joshua Mahshi. The conversation centered on his move to Huntsville, his Christian faith and the role he says discipleship and service have played since he began college.
His story is tied to a campus organization with a visible presence near Sam Houston State’s Old Main Pit and Lowman Student Center. The Sam Houston BSM describes its mission as reaching students with the gospel, helping them grow in Christ and sending them into the world after graduation.
A Bible study becomes a turning point
Delgado said he grew up in the Monterey, California, area and attended Catholic church as a child. His family stopped attending when he was in elementary school. As a teenager, he began spending time with peers who introduced him to drugs and alcohol.
He described periods of isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic and said he used video games, movies and late night hangouts to occupy time. After moving to Huntsville during high school, he again found himself in social circles built around drinking and smoking.
Delgado felt especially unsettled near the end of high school. On Aug. 23, 2024., Mahshi invited him to read the Bible at the library. Delgado accepted the invitation.
The pair read biblical passages and talked through stories that were unfamiliar to him. He recalled reading Romans 10:9 and described that meeting as the moment he committed his life to Jesus.
“I felt God’s love for the first time,” Delgado said. He had sought acceptance in parties, drugs and friendships, then began to view that experience differently after the Bible study.
The account is a personal testimony, and Delgado described his faith and recovery in his own terms. He said the change did not remove every struggle at once. He described a longer process of learning to pray, read the Bible independently and make different choices.
Discipleship and service at Sam Houston
Delgado said he initially depended on reading with Mahshi and did not establish a regular independent habit right away. He began asking for help developing that routine, then gradually spent more time reading and praying on his own.
He stopped drinking after a lapse several months after his conversion and now spends time in ministry and at his church.
Mahshi said he had prayed for Delgado before their college Bible study. He keeps seeing his friend’s changes over the years and is joyful for the transformation that only Christ brings.
For a student navigating a new campus, Delgado said the BSM offers an opportunity to meet people and talk with fellow students. He said college can be a period of added independence, when some students move away from the church routine they knew at home while others encounter Christian faith for the first time.
A family conversation and a campus focus
Delgado also described returning home over the summer and sharing his faith with family members. He said most of his relatives do not share his beliefs, but he was able to talk with a brother he described as reluctant to have those conversations.
The conversation happened during a drive to In-N-Out and that he had also shared the gospel with other members of his household. The interview did not report outcomes from those conversations. Delgado said he continues to pray for his family.
In discussing the BSM, he said its work includes meeting students on campus, building relationships, supporting believers and taking part in outreach. The organization’s official description similarly identifies relationship building, Bible studies, leadership development and mission opportunities as parts of its work.
Delgado said his personal motivation is connected to the welcome he received from another student. “I want people to know that love,” he said, referring to the faith experience he described in the interview.
Students who want to learn more about the Sam Houston BSM can find its building at 1715 Ave. J. The ministry lists 936-295-2962 and bearkatbsm@gmail.com as contact information. Its official site also provides its meeting schedule and details about student involvement.
Delgado’s interview is one account of how a peer invitation and a campus ministry relationship shaped his time at Sam Houston. He said he now sees service, prayer and conversations with other students as ways to carry that experience forward while he completes college in Huntsville.