Hankamer Hosts Prayer Site on Collegiate Day of Prayer

The Hankamer School of Business (HSB) served as a hosting site for the Collegiate Day of Prayer on Thursday, Feb. 29. 

Organized by Cindy Wu, associate dean of Diversity and Belonging, and Mitch Neubert, senior associate dean of Research and Development, the hosting site served as a space for Hankamer faculty, staff and students to pray, reflect and meditate on God’s word. 

“Prayer is one aspect of our Christ-centered Diversity and Belonging initiatives at the Hankamer School of Business,” Wu said. “We wanted to be a part of the University’s engagement and offer something onsite for everyone.” 

Located in the Foster Campus for Business and Innovation, the hosting site featured four stations for visitors to participate in prayer, named the “Bear Prayers.” The first station, “Bear,” allowed participants to bear witness to God’s forgiveness and restoration by kneeling at a cross in confessional prayer and by meditating on God’s characters. The second station, “Engage,” invited participants to pray for the countries where HSB faculty, staff and students were from, as well as where HSB had conducted a mission or study abroad trip. Facts of these countries and a world map were featured at this station.

“There are Christian brothers and sisters being persecuted for their faith, and there are people in desperate situations, materially or spiritually or both, who do not have the eternal hope,” Wu said. “We wanted to use this time to develop empathy by learning more about these nations and cover them in prayers.” 

The third station, “Adore and Apply,” included four Bibles where visitors could highlight their favorite verses and use them to pray for themselves and others. The fourth station, “Resolve,” had visitors pray over the various departments, centers and institutes at the Business School and challenged them to be Christ’s ambassador in whatever area God called them to be in. 

“We were glad to offer the opportunity for students, staff and faculty to join with others across the nation and the world to pray for this generation and ourselves on the wonderful occasion of Baylor hosting the Collegiate Day of Prayer,” Neubert said. “It served to remind us that our commitment to ‘being guided by Christ values’ means recognizing that every good thing comes from God, we are to seek first the kingdom of God above all else, and there is hope, grace and joy in God’s kindness to all of us in Jesus Christ.”

Throughout the day, the seven academic departments at HSB hosted gatherings for faculty, staff and students to meet and pray together. Students who attended were grateful for the chance to pray alongside their professors and mentors. 

“This was an incredible opportunity for us as students to actively participate in our faith,” Hayden Anderson, a junior Entrepreneurship and Corporate Innovation major from Keller, Texas, said. “I am thankful that the Business School offered a space for us to be in relationship with God.” 

Alex Butler, a junior Finance and Management Information Systems major from Katy, Texas, appreciated how Baylor and the Business School fosters a supportive environment for students to practice their religious beliefs. 

“I am proud to be at a University that allows me to be vulnerable and express my faith in more ways than one,” Butler said. “Baylor has allowed me to change my perspective on faith and how to use it every day.” 

Faculty and staff also found the hosting site to be beneficial in setting a mindful and ground tone for prayer. They believe the event helped encourage a deeper devotion to Christ across both work and life domains. 

“Prayers are Christians’ lifeline with God and a way to help us focus on what matters beyond our immediate daily ‘busyness,’” Wu said. “This event is one of the many ways that helps us focus and refocus on the ‘why’ for what we do at HSB, and thus inspires the ‘how’ for it.”