InterVarsity Christian Fellowship

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For the Canadian organization, see Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship of Canada.

InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA is an inter-denominational, evangelical Christian, student-led ministry which for the past 70 years has been dedicated to establishing witnessing communities on U.S. college and university campuses. In the 2010-2011 school year, 970 staff members worked with over 36,000 students and faculty in 866 chapters on 557 campuses in the United States,[1] with the purpose of developing their love for God, God’s Word, and for people of every ethnicity and culture around the world.

Some campuses may have separate outreaches to international students, sororities and fraternities, and ethnic minority groups, as well as career-specific graduate student chapters. InterVarsity is governed by a Board of Trustees. Alec Hill is the president of InterVarsity/USA, working with a seven-member cabinet.[2] InterVarsity is a charter member of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students, a network of similar campus ministries around the world. InterVarsity is a tax exempt organization under the provisions of Section 501(C)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. In the fiscal year ending 30 June 2010, InterVarsity had $87.7M in revenue (with almost 70% coming from charitable donations) and $85.8M in expenditures. InterVarsity is a charter member in the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA), and uses more than 85% of its revenue for staffworker salaries and other on-campus work, and is rated 4 stars (out of 4) by Charity Navigator.[3][4]

[edit] History

InterVarsity traces its roots to a movement of British university students, starting at Cambridge University in 1877. The movement spread to Canada before reaching the U.S. In 1938 Stacey Woods, the Canadian InterVarsity director, met with students on the University of Michigan campus. As an immediate result of that visit, students formed the first InterVarsity chapter in the United States. In May 1941 InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA became an official organization, with three staff members on loan from Canada and Stacey Woods serving as the Secretary General. In 1947 InterVarsity USA became a founding member of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students, a federation of national Christian student movements. By 1950 there were 35 staff workers serving students in 499 InterVarsity chapters and by the early seventies, the on-campus staff had grown to more than 200.

[edit] Purpose statement

According to InterVarsity's official website, their purpose statement is the following:

“

In response to God's love, grace and truth: The Purpose of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA is to establish and advance at colleges and universities witnessing communities of students and faculty who follow Jesus as Savior and Lord: growing in love for God, God's Word, God's people of every ethnicity and culture and God's purposes in the world.

 ”


[edit] Statement of Faith

On October 20, 2000, the board of Trustees adopted a modified version of their previous statement of faith:

“
  • The only true God, the almighty Creator of all things, existing eternally in three persons Father, Son, and Holy Spirit full of love and glory.
  • The unique divine inspiration, entire trustworthiness and authority of the Bible.
  • The value and dignity of all people: created in God's image to live in love and holiness, but alienated from God and each other because of our sin and guilt, and justly subject to God's wrath.
  • Jesus Christ, fully human and fully divine, who lived as a perfect example, who assumed the judgment due sinners by dying in our place, and who was bodily raised from the dead and ascended as Savior and Lord.
  • Justification by God's grace to all who repent and put their faith in Jesus Christ alone for salvation.
  • The indwelling presence and transforming power of the Holy Spirit, who gives to all believers a new life and a new calling to obedient service.
  • The unity of all believers in Jesus Christ, manifest in worshiping and witnessing churches making disciples throughout the world.
  • The victorious reign and future personal return of Jesus Christ, who will judge all people with justice and mercy, giving over the unrepentant to eternal condemnation but receiving the redeemed into eternal life.
  • To God be glory forever.
 ”


[edit] Ministries

[edit] College ministry

Of the 557 campuses where InterVarsity is present, many have multiple chapters which focus individually on Greek students, international students, nursing students, graduate students, and members of ethnic minorities. These include approximately fifty ethnic-specific chapters ministering to Blacks, Asians, Native Americans, and Latinos. Of the 36,670 active InterVarsity students, 15,329, or 44%, identify themselves as ethnic minority or multiracial students. InterVarsity has 158 Asian American staff, 50 African American staff, 42 Hispanic staff, 6 American Indian, Alaskan Native, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander staff, and 31 "two or more races" staff.

Fifty-eight campuses have a ministry specifically for sorority and fraternity members. InterVarsity also ministers to international students on 123 campuses, either through a specific chapter or as a part of a multiethnic ministry. Over 125 Graduate & Faculty Ministry staff work with 153 chapters dedicated to graduate students, professional students, and faculty.

Nurses Christian Fellowship (NCF) is unique among the ministries of InterVarsity; it is a professional organization as well as a student ministry. In addition to campus ministry serving over 1,300 students, NCF offers continuing education courses and the professional publication, Journal of Christian Nursing, to practicing nurses.

InterVarsity activities on campus are varied. Weekly large group meetings include student led worship, a presentation on a topic of spiritual interest, and a social time. Small group Bible studies are organized around a dorm setting, or like-minded people such as members of a sports team or those interested in a particular topic of study. These are student led and foster a sense of belonging that today’s students desire. Some of the Bible studies are specifically designed for people interested in spirituality but who may not call themselves Christians. Known as GIGs, Groups Investigating God, these studies allow interested students to explore the claims of the Bible in an open, accepting atmosphere where their questions are taken seriously. In the 2010-11 school year through its various outreach activities, large group meetings, and Bible studies, chapter leaders reported 2,615 first-time professions of faith in Jesus as Savior and Lord. Over the past five years, annual conversions have increased by 30 percent.

Recently InterVarsity launched the "2010 Vision Campaign" with the purpose of having more of today's students and faculty respond to the Gospel, taught to walk faithfully with God, and developed into spiritual leaders by the year 2020. The 2020 Vision Campaign was launched to secure additional financial resources to reach future generations of students and faculty with the Gospel. The goal was set to secure $10 million in current gifts and identify an additional $10 million in deferred or planned gifts, primarily through estate gifts. By June 30, 2010 with two years left in the campaign, InterVarsity reported over $9 million in current gift intentions and over $14.6 million in deferred gift intentions. Some highlights of the results of the campaign are that more people have become Christians through InterVarsity in the last 5 years than at any point in their 70 year history, 62 new InterVarsity chapters have been planted around the country, and 2,676 Urbana 09 participants committed to serve two years or longer (the highest number of the past three Urbanas).[5]

[edit] Bible Study

Bible study has always been an important part of InterVarsity's campus ministry. InterVarsity staff worker Paul Byer, is credited with developing the Manuscript Study method of inductive Bible study,[6] a useful tool for inductive bible studies.[7] After graduating from Architecture school in Bellingham, Washington, Paul became one of the leading forces in InterVarsity, as both a campus staff worker and as the West Coast Regional Director, and was the developer of the Manuscript Study method.[8] Through his innovative approach to Bible Study, extensive mentoring, and long tenure he helped shape the theology and culture of the entire movement. The Manuscript Study method continues to be used heavily by InterVarsity as one of many tools to help students investigate and learn from the teachings of the Bible.[9]

[edit] Missions

InterVarsity students regularly participate in both long- and short-term missions projects. During the summer of 2006, over 800 students participated in "Global Urban Treks," working in some of the poorest cities of the world, or "Global Projects," lingua-cultural or service ministries overseas. InterVarsity also sponsored "Urban Projects" in 72 cities in the United States, helping students understand God’s love for all people by working alongside existing ministries in the inner city. InterVarsity, as a member movement, participates in the global student ministry network, the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students (IFES), by sending staff and recent graduates to work under the authority of local IFES staff in countries around the world.

InterVarsity, Inter-Varsity Canada, and Groupes Bibliques Universitaires et Collegiaux of French-speaking Canada co-host Urbana Missions Convention, a triennial student missions convention, named for the campus town where it was held for many years. Since the first Convention in 1946, nearly 269,000 attendees have heard the challenge to participate in God's global mission. In December 2006, approximately 22,500 attendees participated in the convention held in St. Louis, Missouri. The Urbana 09 conference took place from December 27-31 in St Louis, Missouri and had an attendance of 15,800. Of that number, 7,666 committed to serve short-term or long-term in cross-cultural missions. An offering of nearly $900,000 was given by attendees to organizations that assist the physically and spiritually poor.[10] The next Urbana will be held December 27–31, 2012.

[edit] Training

InterVarsity operates four training centers, Campus by the Sea Catalina Island, CA; Bear Trap Ranch, Colorado Springs, CO; Toah Nipi, Rindge, NH; and Cedar Campus, Cedarville, MI. These camps are used for weekend conferences during the school year, week-long training sessions at the beginning and end of summer break, and faculty and alumni retreats. Cedar Campus is the site of the InterVarsity Leadership Institute, a month-long summer program of Bible study, prayer and evangelism training. In 2009, a total of 21,146 people attended InterVarsity's four training centers.

In conjunction with InterVarsity’s missions program, the training centers offer Student Training in Missions, STIM. This program seeks to prepare students for cross-cultural missions through a series of weekend programs that offer lecture, discussion and cross-cultural simulations.

[edit] InterVarsity Press

In 1947 the InterVarsity/USA Board of Trustees determined that the Fellowship should develop its own publishing arm. With this action, InterVarsity Press (IVP) became an official part of InterVarsity’s ministry, overseeing the publication and distribution of books, booklets and Bible study guides in support of the campus work.[11] IVP's Purpose statement is:

“

As an extension of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA, InterVarsity Press serves those in the university, the church and the world by publishing resources that equip and encourage people to follow Jesus as Savior and Lord in all of Life.[12]

 ”


For over 60 years IVP has published works by many important Christian authors including Francis Schaefer, John Stott, Philip Johnson, and Bill Hybels. The IVP publication list includes many strong academic volumes, an excellent collection of titles dealing with racial reconciliation and a New York Times best seller. Over the years, many of the IVP books have received recognition by Christianity Today, the Canadian Word Guild and Evangelical Christian Publishers Association, among others.

[edit] Bibliography

  • "A Brief History Of The International Fellowship Of Evangelical Students" by Douglas Johnson, Lausanne, Switz.: IFES, 1964.
  • "The Day of His Power" by Pete Lowman, Leicester : Inter-Varsity, 1988, ISBN 0-85110-794-X.
  • "From the Campus to the World: Stories from the First Fifty Years of Student Foreign Missions Fellowship" by Alice Poynor, InterVarsity Press, 1986, ISBN 0-87784-947-1.
  • "Student Power in World Missions" by David M. Howard, InterVarsity Press, 1979, ISBN 0-87784-493-3. (Brief history of North American students in mission beginning with the Haystack Movement through the SVM to the SFMF.)
  • "The Growth of a Work of God" by C. Stacey Woods, InterVarsity Press, 1978, ISBN 0-87784-741-X. (Early history of InterVarsity/USA)
  • Hunt, Keith & Gladys (1991). For Christ and the University: The Story of Intervarsity Christian Fellowship of the U.S.A. 1940-1990. InterVarsity Press. ISBN 0830849963. 
  • LePeau, Andrew; Doll, Linda (2006). Heart. Mind. Soul. Strength. An Anecdotal History of InterVarsity Press, 1947-2007. InterVarsity Press. ISBN 0830833692. 
  1. ^ http://www.intervarsity.org/about/our/vital-statistics
  2. ^ http://www.intervarsity.org/about/our/executive-team
  3. ^ http://www.intervarsity.org/about/our/financial-info
  4. ^ http://www.charitynavigator.org
  5. ^ http://www.intervarsity.org/about/our/2020-vision-campaign
  6. ^ http://madden.customer.netspace.net.au/history.html
  7. ^ http://www.intervarsity.org/bible-studies/inductive-bible-study-hints
  8. ^ http://regions.ivcf.org/training/318
  9. ^ http://bibleseo.com/bible-study-methods/manuscript-bible-study-method/
  10. ^ http://www.urbana09.org
  11. ^ http://www.ivpress.com/title/exc/3369-1.pdf
  12. ^ http://www.ivpress.com/about/

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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