98 BSM and church collegiate leaders form 2026 State Lead Team, develop skills to “change the culture” of ministry

Jan. 7-9, the Texas Baptist Student Ministry (BSM) announced its 2026 State Lead Team at its annual State Lead Team Summit at Mt. Lebanon Baptist Camp and Conference Center in Cedar Hill. 

State Lead Team is a group of BSM and church collegiate leaders who are making disciples on their campus. Each State Lead Team member has the opportunity to develop leadership skills, choose a leadership experience at the state level, lead the annual Abide Prayer Retreat and connect high school seniors to BSM and church collegiate ministries as they transition to college.

“Being a part of the State Lead Team is a special opportunity [for leaders] to gather with other leaders to learn and share ideas, and express their leadership on a greater scale,” said Ginger Bowman, church & campus consultant at Texas Baptists. 

Each State Lead Team student participates in “intensive training in a priority focus area,” this year’s focus being evangelism. Bowman said the hope is that students will “learn skills that they can take back and share and implement in their local context.” 

“Over the years, we have seen God use State Lead Team as a catalyst to change the culture of ministries around the state,” said Bowman. “Students have gone back to campus and used what they learned to lead others to Christ, or to pray for their campus in a new way and be intentional about ministry.”

64 explore call to vocational ministry

Bowman said there have been “a number of students [who] follow a call to vocational ministry” following their involvement in State Lead Team, with “many of them serving as BSM campus missionaries and many serving in roles of church leadership or on the mission field after graduation.” 

In a recent report, Bowman shared that 64 of those who registered for the 2026 State Lead Team are exploring a call to vocational ministry.

The State Lead Team for 2026 includes the following, listed by university:

Angelo State University: Nathan Anderson, Kaleigh Pierce, Saidee Sanchez; Abilene Christian University: Audrey Brody; Amarillo College: Josh Meason, Molly Riesenberg; Dallas College: Rodrigo Morales; East Texas A&M University: Grace Bediako, Devin Crawley, Estefi de la Garza Escudero, Shane Moncier; East Texas Baptist University: Jace Gauldin; Howard Payne University: Bethany Blair, Michael Jones, Bekah Moreno, Matthew Van Gorp; Houston Christian University: Jade Guillory, Daniel Jacob, Maggie Recinos; Lamar University: Jason Garcia, Alyssa Harper, Jaden Truong, Hayden Womack; Midland College: Jazz Carrasco; Northwest Vista College: Katelyn Bachman; Prairie View A&M University: Maddie Jackson; Sam Houston State University: Isabelle Benner, Rebecca Kelly, Josh Mahshi; San Antonio College: Hector Grant, Sarah Sanchez, Rosa Villanueva; Stephen F. Austin State University: Makenna Stearns; South Plains College: Sydney Stoker; Texas Christian University: Morgan Beauchamp, Colin Wall; Tarleton State University: Laynie Bellue, Jake Black, Grayson Prescott, Kaylee Sims; Texas A&M University College Station: Levi Brown, Tobie Domingcil, Piper Jones; Texas State University: Elijah Cabrera, Noah Fenney, Elianna Knaggs, Sierra Moore; Tyler Junior College: Maddy Corriveau, Josiah McKinley, Abby Osteen, James Stork; Texas A&M University Corpus Christi: Raegan Derrick, Linc Szenasi, Carly Yourman; Texas A&M University Kingsville: Alex Figirova, Zoe Garza; Texas Tech University: Jonathan Idemudia, Kallie Ketchersid, Emma McDougal, Taylor Watt; Texas Woman's University: Dejai Jones; Texas A&M University San Antonio: Emmanuel Lawson; Texas Southern University: Ki’yona Maddox, Ariyah Wilson; Texas Wesleyan University: Estery Uragu; University of Texas at Arlington: Esther Adedire, Oakley Bounds, Tatum Sculley, Braeden Wurtz; University of Texas Austin: Aggie Angeles, Keren De Leon Zapata, Joseph Jeavons, Braden Mann; University of Texas Tyler: Fisher Arrington, Kyle Beason, Alexa Grier, Kaylee Hedges, Matthew Smith; University of Texas Dallas: Jonah Brandenburgh, Regan Spurgin, Jacob Zeman; University of Texas Permian Basin: Hyzaiah Gonzales, Isaac Hensley; University of Houston: Clarke Johnson, Olivia McGaughran, Sara DelaTorre; University of North Texas: Jordyn Machado, Chloe McGilvary, Gabby Taylor; University of Texas San Antonio: Leinad Marichalar, Desiet Stifanos; University of Texas El Paso: Priscilla Monarrez, Jessica Munoz; Wayland Baptist University: Addison Pitts, Kile Thurman; West Texas A&M University: Kaden Brown, Jaz Mckeel, Mindy Self, Zarek Womack. 

To learn more about BSM and State Lead Team, visit txbsm.org.