Jesus

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?

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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

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The Price of Life in Michigan

gordon.govier@intervarsity.org — Tue, 21 Oct 2014 20:26:39 +0000

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Gordon Govier

The Price of Life in Michigan

UPDATE: The preliminary report indicates 254 students became new followers of Jesus during the University of Michigan Price of Life Invitational. A total of 419 students and volunteers were trained in evangelism. For more information, check this report by David Ruark.

The University of Michigan’s Price of Life Invitational asked the question, “What if U of M’s iconic football stadium, The Big House, was filled with trafficked children?” The capacity of The Big House, the largest stadium in the U.S., is almost 110,000. That number is comparable to the number of children currently enslaved in the U.S.

The week of October 19-24, 2014, the Price of Life Invitational was held on the University of Michigan campus to draw attention to the issue of human trafficking, and to mobilize a response towards the goal of eliminating it. In other words, the goal was to empty The Big House. More than 70 organizations partnered with ��ñ�� to sponsor over 30 events throughout the week.

“��ñ�� developed this model of justice and gospel oriented campus saturation outreaches and sponsors the Price of Life Invitational to help people explore what God might have to do with injustice and how faith could empower the search for justice,” said Dave Paladino, the Price of Life director. “Our goals are to engage 5,000 people in and around U of M’s campus in significant conversations about human trafficking and raise awareness about human trafficking to 30,000 people in the state of Michigan and see 200 commit their lives to Jesus.”

��ñ�� has been involved in more than a dozen Price of Life Invitationals over the last decade, last year most prominently in New York City. Participants include lawmakers from both political parties who are interested in enacting tougher laws to fight human trafficking. Additional organizations involved include other campus ministries, local Ann Arbor churches, and international humanitarian organizations.

The kick-off rally was held Sunday afternoon at the central campus bell tower, featuring trafficking survivor Danielle Douglass and ��ñ��'s National Evangelist York Moore. As she spoke, Danielle said, “It wasn’t until I got connected to ��ñ�� and the Price of Life that I connected my survival as a trafficking victim to God and I’m so excited to be following Jesus.” Danielle had become a follower of Jesus at York's invitation at a meeting just before the rally started.

Other Price of Life Invitational speakers include professor Bridgette Carr, director of the Human Trafficking Clinic at the University of Michigan Law School; Kelly Carter, Michigan Assistant Attorney General; E. Christopher Johnson, CEO and co-founder of the Center for Justice Rights and Dignity; Ron Soodalter, author of The Slave Next Door; Greta Uehling, a lecturer on international studies at the University of Michigan and hundreds of trained and dedicated students and ��ñ�� staff.

The final event of the week on Friday evening at the Michigan Theater included a celebration with musical artists and rappers Tedashii, KB, and NF; a testimony from a survivor of human trafficking; and a gospel proclamation and invitation by ��ñ�� staff member and Urbana 12 speaker Ram Sridharan. During the week hundreds of ��ñ�� students and other students engaged the campus community with interactive displays that connect justice and the gospel, and invited them to respond to Jesus.

“We hope to saturate the campus with this issue for Jesus' sake,” said ��ñ�� Regional Director Fred Bailey. “While combating modern slavery, we are also explicitly connecting the gospel of Jesus and justice, helping people explore and respond to what God says and does regarding injustice, and how God’s heart and our faith drive the search for justice.”

Original Price of Life promotional video:

For more information:

the U of M Price of Life Invitational website

News coverage:

Michigan Law newsroom

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