The Bridge gives college and career adults a weekly place for food, worship, Scripture and small-group discussion.
HUNTSVILLE, Texas. Spencer Burkhalter, a former Air Force pilot who says a roadside accident reshaped his priorities, is helping lead First Baptist Church Huntsville's college ministry as it builds weekly connections for students and young adults.
Burkhalter and his wife, Christy, lead The Bridge, a Tuesday night gathering for college and career adults at the church's Family Life Center. The ministry begins with food, followed by worship music, Bible study and small-group discussion. The Burkhalters also help welcome students into Sunday morning study and social gatherings with church families.
Their work comes as First Baptist Church, at 1229 Avenue J, has made college and young-adult ministry a visible part of its programming. The church lists The Bridge College Night among its events.
A Roadside Accident and a New Direction
Burkhalter served 23 years in the Air Force and left active service in 2022, he said. After his military career, he and his family came to Huntsville and began looking for a church home. He said First Baptist Church's welcome and emphasis on Scripture drew the family in, even when its college group was still small.
He began leading a Sunday class after church leaders recognized that college students were returning. Some weeks, he said, the class had one or two students. Other weeks, no students arrived. Burkhalter said the empty-room seasons included prayer as leaders considered how to keep a place ready for students.
Before taking on the broader ministry role, Burkhalter said he stopped to help a woman change a tire on Interstate 10 and was struck while standing outside his vehicle. He said the accident changed his sense of direction. "God kind of changed my priorities," Burkhalter said.
When First Baptist Church asked him and Christy to help continue the college ministry after its previous leaders moved, Burkhalter said the request fit the change he had been considering. "I feel like God had planted us here and it's time to flourish," he said.
That decision placed the couple in a ministry designed for people navigating college, work and early adulthood. The Bridge's written mission calls for a Christ-centered college-age community that is transformed by faith, connected to the local church and prepared to pursue spiritual renewal on campus, at work and beyond Huntsville.
The Bridge Builds a Weekly Rhythm
The Bridge meets Tuesday nights from 7 to 9:30 p.m. in the youth room on the second floor of First Baptist Church's Family Life Center. Food is served from 7 to 7:20 p.m., followed by worship music, Bible study and small-group discussion.
Burkhalter said the schedule makes room for college students to join the church's Wednesday night programming in other ways. He described the Tuesday gathering as a place for conversation about Scripture and everyday choices, including relationships, school and work.
"We provide them food at the beginning and then we follow that with some worship music," Burkhalter said. He said the gathering continues with a message and small-group discussion.
A Sunday morning Bible study meets from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. in the first-floor Parlor of the Family Life Center. The session includes a light breakfast, time to connect and study of Scripture. On the last Sunday of each month, college and career adults gather for game nights hosted by church families. The gatherings include food and yard, card, board and group games.
Burkhalter said church leaders asked the couple to carry the gathering forward after its prior leaders moved this spring. The account describes a group that had a Sunday class before it developed the current Tuesday gathering.
Students Share Leadership and Invitation
Burkhalter said student leadership has become central to the group's weekly work. Adult volunteers and college students help welcome people, sustain the gathering and invite peers into conversations about faith.
"We have great leaders, adult leaders, and we have a ton of college leaders," he said. "They just step up and they show up every week."
He said students have also spoken with classmates on campus about their faith, and the group has welcomed people who recently decided to follow Christ. The account reflects the ministry's stated goal of encouraging students to build relationships within the church while serving and talking with peers in the places they already spend time.
Christy Burkhalter, who also works with the church's youth, said the ministry is paying attention to the transition from high school to college. The group plans to take college students and high school seniors to the Passion Conference in Arlington from Dec. 29 through 31. The trip is intended to give seniors and college students an opportunity to worship together as they move into a new season.
The college group also plans an Operation Christmas Child volunteer trip in the Dallas-Fort Worth area during the third week of November. The activities give students opportunities to spend time together beyond the weekly gathering and to serve through a national ministry.
For Christy Burkhalter, the point remains rooted in sustained study and relationships. "I really want them to delight in the law of the Lord," she said. "That's been my passion, and I hope that that's the passion of these students that we're leading in the college ministry."
Information about The Bridge and First Baptist Church Huntsville is available at fbchuntsville.org.