Fruitful Conversations on Campus

gordon.govier@intervarsity.org — Fri, 04 Sep 2015 16:59:41 +0000

Fruitful Conversations on Campus

(Madison, WI) – ��ñ�� Christian Fellowship students are starting the 2015-2016 school year by quizzing fellow students about their bucket list. Conversations about goals and aspirations are not new among students on the college campus but ��ñ��’s queries are aimed at helping reveal deeper motivations.

At the beginning of this semester, on more than 100 campuses across the country, ��ñ�� students are asking, “What’s on your bucket list?” (Watch the video here.) These conversations are taking place around what ��ñ�� calls Proxe Stations, artistic displays designed to encourage deeper conversations about spiritual topics. Students who are interested in further discussions about purpose and meaning in life will be invited to participate in small group Bible studies, a hallmark of ��ñ��’s campus ministry.

Campus conversations can be trivial. They can also be life-changing. This past year, many ��ñ�� chapters engaged in conversations and activities as a part of the national dialogue in response to events that have highlighted social and systemic issues affecting the Black community. ��ñ�� values racial reconciliation and multiethnicity, and as we deal with questions that students have, students open up to spiritual change in their lives because they want to make a difference in the world.

In a major study released ten years ago by UCLA’s Higher Education Research Institute, 75 percent of responding students said they were “searching for meaning and purpose in life” and they expected their college education to help them with their emotional and spiritual development.

��ñ��’s experience in the past year has been that more students than ever are finding meaning and significance through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. A total of 4,269 first-time professions of faith were reported by chapter leaders in 2014-2015, up 21 percent from the previous year and up 172 percent from the same number ten years ago. ��ñ�� has more chapters (985) on more campuses (649) than ever before.

Jim Lundgren, ��ñ��’s interim president, noted, “College students are the leaders of tomorrow. We hope that they will lead with the skills they gain in college, but also with a purpose that comes from discovering Christian values that aren’t always taught on campus.”

��ñ�� Christian Fellowship has been active on U.S. college and university campuses for 74 years. ��ñ�� is a charter member of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability, ranked as a 4-Star Charity with Charity Navigator, and a founding member of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students.

For more information:
Gordon Govier
ggovier@intervarsity.org
608/443-3699

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Students Seek More than Facts

gordon.govier@intervarsity.org — Mon, 27 Aug 2012 15:42:52 +0000

Press Room

Students Seek More than Facts

News Release
For Immediate Release

(Madison, WI) – The search for God and spiritual significance is alive and well on U.S. college and university campuses. ��ñ�� anticipates a record year of campus ministry in the 2012-2013 school year that is now getting underway.

During the 2011-2012 school year just past, ��ñ�� saw 3,354 new believers come to faith in Jesus Christ. That’s an increase of more than 700 over the previous year, and more than double the same figure from seven years ago.

Fruitful Campus Ministry

“In our 72 year history, we have never seen such a season of fruitfulness,” said ��ñ�� president Alec Hill. “God’s Spirit is moving on campus and this is an exciting time to be involved in campus ministry.”

The growth is occurring at the same time that ��ñ�� is experiencing increased resistance to its ministry on a small number of campuses. During the year just past ��ñ�� chapters were de-recognized at Vanderbilt University in Nashville and the State University of New York at Buffalo. The de-recognition at Buffalo was overturned this summer by a student judicial body but Vanderbilt officials have not reversed a policy that led to more than a dozen Christian student organizations losing their recognized status.

Faithful to our Beliefs

"��ñ�� believes that a diverse campus environment requires the presence of groups which authentically and faithfully reflect religious beliefs,” said Hill. “We will vigorously defend our right to be on campus and to contribute to campus life. At the same time, losing recognized status as a campus organization will not end our ministry on any campus.”

��ñ�� Christian Fellowship is a campus ministry which has worked with students and faculty on U.S. college and university campuses for more than 72 years. ��ñ�� has almost 900 chapters active on 576 U.S. college and university campuses, from Ivy League universities to community colleges. In December 2012, ��ñ�� will host the twenty-third triennial Urbana Student Missions Conference at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis, with an anticipated attendance of 18,000.

For more information:
Gordon Govier
ggovier@intervarsity.org
608-443-3688

News Keywords

Evangelism

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