Connecting Christians on Campus

gordon.govier@intervarsity.org — Mon, 08 Feb 2016 19:12:18 +0000

Gordon Govier

Connecting Christians on Campus

Texas appears dry and dusty. But Leon Fillyaw has found Texas to be fruitful for chapter planting twice in the past. In his current job he hopes to plant more chapters in and around Texas.

Twenty years ago Leon drove his 1966 Mustang from North Carolina State University in Raleigh to Texas Tech in Lubbock. He’d worked as a volunteer staff member with ��ñ�� for a year at NC State, and was about to give up on campus ministry. But a friend on staff told him that the Texas Tech chapter needed replanting and some of the faculty had raised enough money to support a campus staff member for one year.

“It felt pretty risky to drive out to Texas,” he said. He knew no one there. His experience at NC State had not convinced him he could cut it in campus ministry. But as a volunteer, and before that as a chapter leader and during a summer mission trip, he had experienced the fulfillment of taking risks for ministry. He was ready to take another risk.

Replanting the chapter was slow going—a lot of trial and error. “I kept being faithful in doing what I knew I could do,” Leon said. Four years later the chapter had grown to about 60 students, which is close to average size for an ��ñ�� chapter.

Then he moved to San Antonio, got married, and began replanting another chapter at Trinity University.

“I loved the work; I found it very rewarding, challenging, and stimulating,” Leon said. “At the same time those were lean years in Texas. Our ranks were decimated and we were struggling. But I had a strong sense from the Lord that I wasn’t finished yet.”

Leon nurtured the Trinity chapter for six years, and then nurtured Trinity campus staff for another four years as area director. The chapter continued to grow—even after Leon moved his family to Africa to join a church planting mission for a while—eventually peaking at around 100 students. The Trinity chapter also became known as one of the most consistent sources of new ��ñ�� staff in the region, year after year.

Today, he is area director for Graduate and Faculty Ministries (GFM), covering Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas, a job he’s held for the last three years. Leon’s passion for campus ministry has not diminished through the years. His main charge is to recruit more staff to work with graduate students and faculty members at the key research universities in the area. Only one campus currently has GFM staff.

He’s met with Christian faculty at Texas A&M, and hopes to have a chapter operating in College Station soon. There are a couple of other schools where grad students have organized chapters but a lack of Christian community is common. “Being faculty and being in grad school are isolating experiences; you might not know any other Christians,” Leon said. “We’re seeking to build outposts for faithful presence throughout academic departments at these institutions.”

Leon was inspired by the story of a group of grad students at the University of Texas who met together several times to discuss how the Christian faith influences the development of virtue. Through the experience of reading a book with some fellow PhD students, one student who had been an atheist began to embrace the Christian faith.

“Because everybody is so busy, they only met three or four times, but some relationships formed out of that,” he said. “People weren’t as isolated as they were before. It was a light in a dark place, and it was beautiful to watch.”

Leon is hoping that as the number of campuses with GFM staff grows in his area he will get to see many more lights emerge from the darkness.

News Keywords

Texas

Oklahoma

Graduate and Faculty Ministries

Arkansas

The Future of Chapter Planting

gordon.govier@intervarsity.org — Fri, 03 Jan 2014 16:26:51 +0000

News

Alec Hill, President of ��ñ��

The Future of Chapter Planting

“We don’t think of students as sheep to be gathered, but as seeds to be scattered.” - Shawn Young

Over the past eight years, planting chapters has become a major focus of the Fellowship. With so many unreached students and faculty across the nation, establishing new witnessing communities is central to our mission.

In a recent conversation with Shawn Young, our National Director of Chapter Planting, I discussed the future of this initiative. Where do we sense the Spirit leading us next? How is our model changing? How enthusiastic are staff about moving to new campuses?

Our Dream
��ñ�� chapters currently exist on about 600 campuses. While we have committed to a specific plan for the next five years, we dream of planting even more chapters. While this is certainly ambitious, our vision has precedent. After establishing Christian communities in the eastern half of the Roman Empire, the apostle Paul looked west:

From Jerusalem and as far around as Illyricum (modern Croatia) I have fully proclaimed the good news of Christ. Thus I make it my ambition to proclaim the good news, not where Christ has already been named, so that I do not build on someone else’s foundation… when I go to Spain…”¹

Someday we hope that every one of the 4,000 American campuses will have a significant Gospel witness. While reaching out to more campuses will be a stretch, Shawn is deeply encouraged by a meeting of 25 Area Directors in Chicago last month. This relatively small group alone identified 281 campuses where they hope to plant in the near future.

Refining the Chapter Planting Model
In 2006, our first national chapter planting cohort was launched. To date, 134 chapters have been planted via eight national cohorts. Cumulatively, these chapters have added 4,116 core students and faculty and 1,384 new believers.

While Shawn plans to continue recruiting 20-25 planters for the national cohort each year, he is also expanding the model to include new ideas. Five stand out:

Regional planting – in a pilot project, four teams have received grants to plant 10 chapters each. These include: Florida, Red River, Faculty, and the Western Cluster (Northwest, Rocky Mountains, Pacific, Southern California).
“VISA” (Volunteers, Interns, Students and Alumni) – we want to expand our leadership teams. At Florida Atlantic University, for example, super-volunteer Deb Cusick has pulled together a team of fellow-volunteers. This fall, they have seen more than a dozen students come to faith.
Part-time staff as planters – this approach is proving particularly effective at commuter schools.
“Plus one” – current staff add another campus (e.g. a community college or small private school) to their ministry. “VISA” helps to distribute the work load.
Study Abroad – our vision even extends overseas. American students may now partner with select sister IFES national movements to plant witnessing communities during a semester abroad.

U of Arkansas
In late November, 51 Red River region staff boarded a chartered bus for a four day trip to the University of Arkansas (see photo above). Their goal: replant our chapter in Fayetteville. Fifteen gracious families hosted them in their homes.

For a full day, staff descended on campus – interacting with hundreds of students via proxe stations and informal conversations. Not only were 25 missional students identified, but great contacts were made with faculty and administrators who serve athletes, Black, Latino, Greek and international students.

In the near term, the chapter will be served by volunteer staff member, Joseph Pao-Wu. Bless you Joseph! And bless you Red River staff!

Ambition Conference 2015
Two years ago, Shawn hosted our first ever national conference for chapter planters. Expecting 150 participants, he was stunned when 330 staff, student leaders and volunteers showed up. A second conference, Ambition 2015, will be held next year at this time, January 15-18, 2015 in Tampa.

At Orientation for New Staff last summer, I was pleasantly surprised by the number of incoming campus staff who felt called to plant new chapters. I see this as the Lord’s renewing hand on our community. And it is wonderful!

¹ Romans 15:19-20,24

News Keywords

Planting

Arkansas