Tom Lin brings diversity to InterVarsity Christian Fellowship.

By May 17, 2016

USA (ICF) — InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA announces that Tom Lin has been selected by the InterVarsity Board of Trustees to become the next president of the campus ministry. He will start on August 10.

(Photo courtesy InterVarsity Christian Fellowship)

(Photo courtesy InterVarsity Christian Fellowship)

Tom has been vice president and director of missions for InterVarsity since February 2011, and also director of Urbana 12 and Urbana 15, InterVarsity’s triennial student missions conference. He succeeds Jim Lundgren, who has served as InterVarsity’s interim president for the past year.

In InterVarsity’s 75 years of campus ministry on U.S. college and university campuses, Jim and Tom are the first InterVarsity presidents to begin their InterVarsity careers working in campus ministry. After graduating from Harvard in 1994, Tom planted a chapter for Asian American students at Harvard, and another chapter at Boston University. He led numerous student missions projects in the U.S. and overseas, and helped design national training for InterVarsity staff.

In 2002, Tom and his wife, Nancy, left the U.S. to answer God’s call to go to Mongolia to help launch and direct a new student movement with the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students. In their four years there, they saw 500 people become Christians, when there was only one known believer in the country just 15 years earlier. Tom then served as the regional director for InterVarsity’s central region, leading a team that covered four states, and planted 16 new chapters between 2006 and 2010.

Tom has leadership experience with a number of Christian ministries, serving the Lausanne Movement as the international deputy director for North America, and serving as a Board member for Missio Nexus and The Crowell Trust. He has also served as vice chairperson for the Board of Wycliffe Bible Translators. He is the author of Pursuing God’s Call and Losing Face & Finding Grace, both published by InterVarsity Press. He has a master’s in Global Leadership from Fuller Seminary.

Tom and Nancy live in Madison, Wisconsin, with their two daughters, Abby (11) and Olivia (9).

InterVarsity Board president Ron Williams made the announcement of the appointment and noted that InterVarsity has much to be thankful for as the ministry enters its 75th year.

“We have seen record numbers in evangelism, we’ve seen growth nationwide, we’ve been able to lead important conversations in society, and we’ve seen God’s action through us in the lives of hundreds of thousands of people,” he said. “I believe God has cultivated wisdom in Tom that will be used to lead InterVarsity into even more fruitful ministry on our ever-changing mission field, the college campus.”

Pray for a smooth leadership transition at InterVarsity, and for continued growth in their ministry.

3 Comments

  • Master says:

    Lord keep everyone to be humble in Spiritual matters

  • Praying for wisdom, humility, grace and mercy and you lead a blessed organization to reach more for Christ!

    Hasnah Pearce

  • I was a member of the IV at Illinois State University. We had open meetings and extended opportunities for Christians to participate in services at the Home Sweet Home mission in Bloomington. Helena Lampi BS in Ed 1961.

    What are IV groups doing there now?

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