World Assembly 2019–What’s It All About?

ashlye.vanderworp@intervarsity.org — Tue, 06 Aug 2019 16:57:49 +0000

Steph Schmaltz

World Assembly 2019–What’s It All About?

Eleven hundred participants made up of college students and campus staff ministers from 170 countries. Seventy seminars. Twenty-two meals together. Thirteen new student movements. And one message of hope to take back to universities across the globe. July 3–11, 2019, this is what 50 staff from across ��ñ��/USA experienced as they participated in a special event that only occurs once every four years: IFES World Assembly.

World Assembly, put on by the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students, focused its delegates on being messengers of hope to the world around them. It provided a unique place for our movements to break bread, listen to front-line perspectives, learn from exposition on portions of Luke and Acts, form new friendships through daily cross-national small groups, lament, rejoice, and pray with our brothers and sisters across the globe. In addition, affiliated IFES members voted on resolutions, welcomed 13 new movements, and had vibrant discussions on issues facing today’s global church. With no shortage of content, World Assembly delegates went home with much to process.

It’s tempting to let this be a standalone event for those of us privileged enough to attend, but what if we instead catalyzed our experience to improve our own movement and better love our IFES brothers and sisters?

As the USA delegation returns to our roles, here are some points to contemplate and implement across our movement.

Learning from IFES movements to further the 2030 Calling: While innovation and ideas are coming from within our movement, we can also learn from IFES movements who have already faced similar challenges. For example, UESI in India empowers alumni to plant chapters, EvaSUE Ethiopia reaches 45,000 students with less than 50 full-time staff, and movements in Europe are finding new ways to reach students in an increasingly post-Christian society. We have a great deal to learn from our IFES brothers and sisters.

Developing world changers: Not only do we long to see lives transformed and campuses renewed, but we also long to see world changers developed. To do that well, we need to educate our students on global issues and help them form healthy cross-cultural relationships. While we can do some of that on our campuses, what would it look like for chapters or areas to regularly connect with another IFES movement? Students could pray for each other on World Student Day (October 18, 2019), share ideas to reach their friends, visit one another (a possible Global Program), and dream of new ways to support and encourage one another.

Establishing and deepening relationships with IFES movements: As a founding member of IFES in 1947, ��ñ�� committed to seeing a Christian witness not just on every corner and every campus of the US, but also in every country! While each IFES movement is independently led, what are ways we can serve and support our global fellowship? Could areas or regions establish and deepen relationships with other movements by praying with, taking offerings for, or even hosting students and staff? ��ñ�� Link currently has 200+ staffing requests from across the IFES fellowship. Could God be calling some of us to go and serve as staff in another movement?

World Assembly brought forth major topics that will require careful thought and consideration at personal, chapter, regional, and national levels. However, we don’t want these topics to paralyze us or stop us from taking a step in the direction the Lord is leading. We pray that World Assembly will instead be an Ebenezer of remembrance for how the Lord moved us.

To watch talks, hear delegate reflections, and get a better picture of World Assembly, watch videos on the IFES World YouTube channel by clicking below.

Watch World Assembly Videos

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International Fellowship Evangelical Students

Seen like Israel: More Than a Middle Child

ashlye.vanderworp@intervarsity.org — Tue, 16 Jul 2019 20:27:58 +0000

Emily Baez

Seen like Israel: More Than a Middle Child

Israel always felt like God’s middle child. Being the fifth eldest in a family of nine children makes him an actual middle child, but with how he felt towards God, the title cut deeper. He struggled to feel seen. “I wondered if I really mattered to God,” Israel said.

But then Israel met Jon, an ��ñ�� small group leader at his school, Hillsborough Community College. While Israel grew up in a Christian home, he felt connected to God only through his parents’ relationship. So he jumped on the chance to go to Jon’s bible study to figure out how to know God himself.

Overcoming Anxieties

When he was invited to attend Focus Week, a regional camp at the end of the school year, a few months later however, Israel was more hesitant to go and had no idea what to expect. On top of that, he was intimidated since he had yet to meet everyone in his ��ñ�� chapter, much less students from other Florida schools. “Social anxiety is real” he said. But some of the leaders of his ��ñ�� chapter told Israel how transformative their Focus Week experiences were, so he decided to give it a chance.

“I went into Focus Week feeling heavy and burdened. I wanted God to fix everything, but I didn’t really believe he could do that in just one week,” he said.

The first few days of Focus Week eased some of Israel’s anxieties. He noticed the intentionality of everyone there and valued the diverse group of people around him. It didn't take long for him to feel a part of the community and to feel at home. Israel loved the multilingual worship, conquered his fears on the screamer (a giant swing on the campground), and enjoyed playing volleyball with other students.

Delivered from Doubt

But Israel still hadn't started experiencing the spiritual breakthrough he was wanting. Did he actually matter to God? And if so, could he be honest about where his heart was and what he struggled with?

Finally, during a retreat of silence, Israel addressed all the doubt that weighed on him throughout the semester. He went to the chapel, and instead of saying his prayers out loud, wrote them down. Holding nothing back, he confronted the tension he had long felt between him and God. “I thought, It’s just you and me, God, and I told him my fears, what I wanted in life, and why I was angry at him,” he said. It was in that space that Israel felt the burden being lifted.

He spent the last thirty minutes of the silent retreat reading Psalm 25. The last verse of the Psalm, “Deliver Israel, O God, from all their troubles,” really hit him. He saw that the nation of Israel was cared for by God and felt in that moment that he—Israel—was also cared for by God. He knew now that his life mattered and he no longer felt like an overlooked child, but one whose troubles were of deep importance to his creator. Israel took refuge in that truth.

After over a month since Focus Week, Israel remains trustful in Jesus. He’s grateful for the community at Hillsborough Community College that he’s grown close to and wants to stay connected to them through their summer Bible studies. He knows he has people who care for him, and he can now be himself with them and with God. “I never really had community outside of my family,” he said. “It’s good for me to have a group of people to relate to and keep me accountable.”

Israel is excited about his future. He hopes to eventually become a leader with his chapter and even someday do missions. “I know God has good plans for me,” Israel said. “And I’m not afraid to be who he made me to be.

Throughout May and June, ��ñ�� students across the country attend end-of-the-year Chapter Camps--times of fun, worship, and deep Bible study away from campus. For being such a brief part of our ministry year, Chapter Camps play a powerful role transforming students' lives, catalyzing new relationships with Jesus, and propelling students for ministry on campus in the coming fall semester. Please pray that Chapter Camp experiences would have lasting impact for students like Israel. And to receive email updates with other ways to pray for ��ñ�� students, sign up for the Intercessor by clicking the button below.

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Hillsboro Community College