USA (MNN) — College campuses are buzzing with students again now that the summer hiatus is over. And while freshman may be memorizing campus maps and seniors reminisce about the past, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship’s campus ministries are in full swing.
Vision for the Year
(Photo courtesy of InterVarsity via Facebook)
InterVarsity’s vision for this year is to reach every corner of every campus in the United States. Despite the past few years being the ministry’s most fruitful in reaching students, there are still about 2,600 campuses that are unreached.
“We want to see a movement that calls every corner of every campus to follow Jesus. From arts departments to engineering departments to the Latino student associations to the athletes and Greek fraternities and sororities,” InterVarsity’s President Tom Lin shares.
InterVarsity has been seeing this vision begin to come to life through the passion of the students the ministry serves. Within the past 76 years that InterVarsity has been on campuses, last year was their highest number of chapters at colleges as well as first-time decisions for Christ.
Not to mention, InterVarsity is working to break barriers and reach students of all backgrounds. InterVarsity saw a 46 percent growth in the number of Native students the ministry serves as well as now serving a record number of African American students. And this year InterVarsity wants to continue building on this growth.
Reaching College Campuses
So how is the campus ministry reaching these students? Well, through a few methods. For starters, InterVarsity wants to follow God’s plan for the ministry, and deciphering what that plan is as well as the guidance and strength to carry it out begins and continues with prayer.
InterVarsity seeks to train students on how to engage their peers with the message of Jesus and to become effective leaders beyond college. (Photo courtesy of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship)
Secondly, InterVarsity partners with others in the Body of Christ. For example, the ministry is partnering with other campus ministries and learning from sister movements abroad to reach the rest of the currently unreached US college campuses.
And finally, the third way InterVarsity is reaching students is through the students.
“We’ve seen student leaders who are catching this vision to reach every corner of every campus. There’s a phrase that we often use: ‘The students are not simply sheep to be gathered, but seed to be scattered,’” Lin explains.
“And when we believe that students can actually plant new ministries, reach fellow students with the Gospel, and we encourage them, we come alongside them, we develop them as leaders, we’ll continue to see tremendous growth in student ministry across the country.”
Join in Prayer
So please, will you pray?
Pray for freshman students to make decisions for Christ as well as the student leaders who are walking alongside them. Please also pray for InterVarsity staff and student leaders on campuses, for their perseverance, strength, and boldness in the Gospel. And finally, pray for God’s protection over these students, student leaders, InterVarsity staff, and the college campuses as a whole.
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Is there an InterVarsity presence on the campus of Embry Riddle Aeronautic University in Daytona FL?