God

Chapter Camp: Powerful Moments of Clarity on Character of God

gordon.govier@intervarsity.org — Mon, 01 Jul 2019 14:38:29 +0000

Gordon Govier

Chapter Camp: Powerful Moments of Clarity on Character of God

Deep in the Adirondack Mountains, on the shore of a scenic lake, about 100 ��ñ�� students from New York and New Jersey campuses spent a week in May in the gym at Young Life’s Saranac Village camp. They divided into 12 tribes, “stoned” prophets with paper wads, and engaged in other experiential activities to help them better understand the Old Testament.

They were attending Origins, a survey class of the Old Testament offered during two separate weeks of Basileia, the region’s Chapter Camp. (Basileia means kingdom in Ancient Greek, i.e., God’s kingdom, and Chapter Camp is a week of leadership training and Scripture engagement held during spring break or after the end of the school year.) Jason Gaboury, ��ñ��’s New York/New Jersey Regional Director, shared teaching duties with Lindsay Olesberg, ��ñ��’s Scripture Engagement Director, who developed the Origins class.

“What was really beautiful from my perspective is that students began to see the same character of God in the Old Testament that they see in Jesus,” Jason said. “When students begin to see that, it is really powerful. I think that happened when they began to see that the loving kindness, faithfulness, longsuffering, and generosity of God isn’t a New Testament idea. It goes all the way back to Genesis.”

��ñ��’s Chapter Camps are famous for immersing college students in a week-long, in-depth Bible study of the Gospel of Mark, but other portions of Scripture are also studied. Often students have the misunderstanding that the God of the Old Testament is different than the God of the New Testament. The Origins class shows that God’s character is consistent throughout the Bible.

During Basilea, Jason shared comments on Facebook from students about how their week away from campus was changing their lives, including one from Rutgers student Chenghui: “I learned from Basilea this week that God is gracious and holy, to be revered and feared. But I learned from Origins track that he is not just a God of judgment but also a God of mercy and grace. His love is actually far greater than I could have ever imagined.”

Jason described another student who made the connection at the beginning of the last day of the class. “He had one of these powerful moments of clarity,” Jason recalled. “He said, ‘I never really understood the New Testament before; now I get it. I’m so excited to go back and lead my fellow students in studying the Old Testament and understanding who God is from that perspective.’”

Seventy colleges in New York and New Jersey have an ��ñ�� presence. Most sent representatives to one of the three weeks of Basileia. This was Jason’s first chance to teach Origins. “Having seen how transformative it was for the students, we will absolutely teach it again,” he said.

After all, how often do you get a chance to stone prophets?

News Keywords

Good Gifts: Emily’s Story

ashlye.vanderworp@intervarsity.org — Mon, 10 Jun 2019 22:23:45 +0000

Emily Baez

Good Gifts: Emily’s Story

I sat down at a table in the dining hall and texted an old friend from high school. “Are you at orientation?” it read. Waiting for a response, I looked around the room to see groups of people sitting together and joking about their dorms, majors, and what they did last summer. I wondered how they connected so quickly. Was there a team-building exercise I missed? Did everyone coordinate with their childhood pals to go to the same college? Lunch ended, and I decided my goal that weekend would be to make a few lasting friendships, people who could accompany me on smoothie runs or free movie viewings on campus. But I left orientation with that goal unfulfilled.

A week later, someone stopped me before entering the student center. She asked if I heard about ��ñ��—which I had because my brother was a part of it—and handed me a list of small groups. “Thanks,” I said, but no thanks, I thought. I didn’t come to college to go to church. Plus, growing up in church meant I already knew Jesus. Why would joining some group further establish that? I left her with an “I’ll try to make it,” but knew it wasn’t going anywhere near my calendar.

Instead I spent the next two years joining and quitting student clubs, dodging invitations from my brother to come to Bible study, and applying to transfer to another university because I thought it had “better student life.” It became apparent that nothing was fulfilling me. Instead, I envied those who were having the coveted college experience, the years that were supposed to be the best of my life. They weren’t—they were boring and lonely.

When I moved into a student apartment my junior year, I thought I found the remedy. But then, a toxic sense of pride and independence started to consume me. I was convinced I didn’t need anyone else to be content and that happiness was as easy as living closer to campus and going to parties.

But when the novelty of all that wore off, I couldn’t ignore the fact that something was still missing. I couldn’t admit it, but I wanted to connect—to others, to something or someone greater than me.

Making New Discoveries

It was in that place of desperation and failure that I finally gave in to going to an ��ñ�� conference (called “Sonburst” at the time). Even though I didn’t want to go—considering how uncomfortable it would be to hang out with a bunch of strangers for a weekend—I pressed that register button and felt a strange mix of urgency and confusion. Isn’t this what I wanted? Friendship? People to grab smoothies with? But I didn’t want it in a faith-based context. I know about Jesus and don’t need this, I thought. I really did think I knew him—even without prayer, without being challenged or studying who he is and why it matters. But at Sonburst, for the first time, I realized how wrong I was.

That weekend, I discovered a community I never knew I needed: a group of people that genuinely cared for me and wanted to understand who I was. We gathered in small groups one morning and someone made a confession with complete vulnerability. The way others responded made me realize I could be honest and vulnerable too. I didn’t need to hide any part of me. For the first time since starting college, I was connecting in a way that surpassed small talk and group projects.

I also discovered a new knowledge of who Jesus is. I realized that the gospel was this radical, redemptive truth, and I was excited about it. I wanted to find out what it meant to be “missional.” I wanted to dig into scripture and learn as much as I could. I wanted to know Jesus and to have the closest of bonds with him. Because as it turned out, there was more to Jesus than what I thought I knew—more that needed to replace whatever I settled for before.

Saying Yes

On the last day of the conference, a feeling of peace and belonging overwhelmed me as we met in campus groups to make “I will…” statements. In that moment, I was ready to erase the boundaries I spent years drawing between myself and others. I was ready to surrender my overzealous need for independence. I was ready to accept the love I was experiencing and reject the notion that a superficial relationship with my maker, and with everyone else, was somehow enough.

When it was my turn, the words “I will commit to Bible study and embrace this new group of friends” spilled out. The room cheered. I was saying yes to community. More importantly, I was saying yes to Jesus.

Committing

The commitment I made four years ago meant I had to adjust my schedule to go to small groups. But sometimes, committing to Jesus meant living in places or cities outside my comfort zone. Other times, it meant staying put when I really wanted to go or leading a small group when I didn’t feel equipped. Last year, it meant volunteering to lead another chapter in my hometown. It’s meant and continues to mean trusting Jesus in every decision and every step I take post-college.

Now, I’m reminded constantly that we have a good Father who wants to give us good gifts. The gifts of understanding, community, and a promise between a Savior and his people, were offered to me time and again. For too long, I said no to those gifts. Finally accepting them meant finding what I was missing. It meant I wasn’t alone.

There are many students just like me who enter college thinking they know who Jesus is but pursue other things over him. But ��ñ�� wants every college student to have the opportunity to experience God's good gifts of community and a deep walk with him. Find an ��ñ�� chapter near you by clicking the button below.

Find an ��ñ�� Chapter

News Keywords

Giving All The Glory to God

gordon.govier@intervarsity.org — Fri, 23 Sep 2016 16:32:21 +0000

News

Ben Sturgill, Associate Director, Athletes ��ñ��

Giving All The Glory to God

Top athletes give most of their life to their sport to get the win, the championship, the ring, or, as we recently saw at the Olympics, to stand at the top of the podium. The glory goes to the athlete or team that gives all to the competition and triumphs.

But what about the athletes who give all they have and still aren’t good enough? What nobility is there in defeat? Or what about those who do receive acclamation from excelling but then find that the feelings of fulfillment and satisfaction are fleeting?

This was the experience of the most famous and successful U.S. Olympian, Michael Phelps. During the Olympics we learned that despite his many gold medals and financial rewards, despite the fame and the glory, Phelps contemplated suicide in 2014.

At his rock bottom, Phelps was given the book “The Purpose Driven Life” by Rick Warren, which pointed him to a new relationship with God, and gave him a peace he had never before experienced. As we heard his story during the Rio Olympics, we also heard many other athletes including—Allyson Felix, Laurie Hernandez, and Maya DiRado—express that their Christian faith has freed them to compete for God’s glory rather than their own.

As Athletes ��ñ�� reaches out to college athletes of all levels across the country, we find many who are also expecting something from their sport that they will never receive. In my ministry with college athletes in New England, I have met many who—through injury, lack of playing time, or even personal crises—have become eager to hear about the hope, purpose, and fulfillment that is only found in the gospel. Many of these athletes have happily traded the pursuit of their own glory for that of God and have then returned to their teams, friends, and family committed to loving them with the same dedication and consistency that they bring to their sport.

I met one such athlete a few years ago named Kaylee, an international student from Canada who came to the University of New Hampshire to play basketball. A few years into her college athletics career she began to ask hard questions about life and God. She struggled with what it meant to “be a good person” and if that was enough. This led to other hard questions and ultimately what God says about it all through the gospel. Kaylee came to recognize the hope of the gospel and began a relationship with Jesus. Soon after she started a Bible study on her team which continues to this day though Kaylee has since graduated.

She is now a professional athlete in Europe, planning to go to medical school after she retires from professional basketball. But she’s not ready to retire yet. “Now I play because God has gifted me with the talent, and I want to share His light with teammates, opponents, and spectators,” she said. “I want them to see the joy I experience when I play, to be inspired to ask the tough questions, and to start their own relationship with Christ.”

We must, as Athletes ��ñ�� ministers to these campuses, go to this very public part of college life—sports—with the same heart we bring to the rest of the university world. Do we believe that these athletes, though they seemingly have all the world says they need to find happiness are actually just as desperate for the gospel as any other college student. Will we go, as Jesus prayed we would in John 17:18, into this world, though it can feel intimidating, to live as ambassadors for God’s glory among people who seek their own? It’s my hope that we will, and, in doing so, that we will have the opportunity to see lives changed, captives freed, and in the end, God receive all the glory.

News Keywords