Category: Draw Students (Page 8 of 13)

Draw Students and Faculty to Jesus as Savior and Lord

Why Didn’t You Share this with Me a Year Ago?

March 1, 2017 / Howie Meloch / 0 Comments

Kevin, a student leader at K-State, was all set for launching a spring bible study. He’d been praying for weeks, listening from God for the people he would invite to join him in the study, and his friend Mike came to mind. Kevin was really nervous about the prospect of the invite: the two had only known each other before Kevin dedicated his life to Jesus and their previous relationship had been centered around using marijuana together in high-school. Kevin was praying for change in Mike’s life, but there was serious fear about how he would come across to his old friend.

On the day that Kevin held the first bible study meeting, Mike suddenly got a strong sense that he needed to go be a part of it. Unbeknownst to Kevin, Mike was at home, two hours away, and preparing to fly out the next day to study abroad. Yet, he responded to a “gut-feeling” and joined Kevin’s small group anyway. That night, Kevin presented the gospel and made a call to faith in the small group, and Mike said yes to following Jesus! All Mike could say afterward was, “Dude, why didn’t you share this with me a year ago? My life would have looked so different.”

As much as this story highlights the Spirit at work in Mike’s life, Kevin was also being shaped by the Lord. Kevin later reflected, “I was really convicted when [Mike] asked me why I took so long to talk with him about spiritual stuff. I was honestly terrified of being rejected and I was even more terrified of owning up to my past. I really feel like God is calling me to just be bolder with more of my friends.”

All for a Reason

February 14, 2017 / Howie Meloch / 0 Comments

“I always thought the moment that I accepted Christ would be utterly life changing. That all my questions would be answered and I would stop having doubts” began a recent student post to the Washington University InterVarsity facebook page. The student, nicknamed “Mountain,” recently attended the Ohana conference- one of four conferences held together in Kansas City at the end of January. He continued:

To be honest though, when I finally stood up and accepted Christ I didn’t feel different. I still had questions and I still had my doubts. But what had changed was that I finally realized one thing: I believe that everything happens for a reason. Me coming to Wash U was for a reason, my childhood friend convincing me to come to ACF was for a reason, Me meeting all my wonderful brothers and sisters in this community was for a reason. On 1/28 I decided that I could no longer accept that these events were just products of chance. On 1/28 it became clear to me that it was the will of a higher power, of God, that has brought me to where I am today.

On January 28th, Mountain joined over 100 other students from around the region in committing or recommitting to follow Jesus. He and his InterVarsity community at Wash U have been reminded that even though questions may remain, Jesus can be trusted to lead you exactly where you belong.

19 Years in the Making

February 13, 2017 / Howie Meloch / 0 Comments

If you had told 22-year-old Howie he’d one day be attending a 400 person conference primarily consisting of the region’s Black, Asian and Latino movements, he probably would have laughed. Or cried. And yet, two weeks ago, I found myself in the ballroom of a hotel in Kansas City listening to Black, Latina, White, and Asian American staff issue a call out of Revelation to students from these corners to reach all of their campus.

I spent much of my sabbatical reflecting on my time on staff so far and what it looks like to empower students from every corner. It has long been a dream of mine to create a space where all students can know they are seen and heard. There were times early in my staff career when I hesitated to even invite black students to certain events for fear they would not feel welcome.

Two years ago, our region choose to embrace the cross-cultural call of Acts 1:8 and has been making this a ministry priority. As I returned from sabbatical and found so many staff working together to make this conference a success, I was struck by how much this commitment to ministry in the corners has transformed our region. Seeing this long-time dream of mine realized is an amazing way to step into this season.

75 years and counting

January 30, 2017 / Howie Meloch / 0 Comments

In early January, 1400 InterVarsity staff gathered in Orlando to be challenged, trained, encouraged and celebrate InterVarsity’s 75 years of ministry so far. Several themes from InterVarsity’s history arose during the week, such as our commitment to prayer and in-depth Scripture study and our countercultural embrace of students of all ethnicities and cultures. There was also a repeated theme of our staff members’ willingness to say yes to God in risky ways.

In one session Nebraska Area Directors, Eric and Stacy Rafferty, told their story which embodies all of these values as they seek to empower student leaders throughout their state. It was a blessing to have Area Directors from our region testify to God’s work. Please watch this testimony and celebrate with us God’s work in our region!

Corner’s Conference 2017

January 24, 2017 / Howie Meloch / 0 Comments

Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, over 300 students from around the midwest will meet in Kansas City for the first ever Central Region Corner’s Conference. Designed as a place for students from all “corners” of the campus to come together. It will be four parallel conferences that engage together throughout the weekend – Imani a Pan-African student conference, Ohana an Asian American Conference, Mi Gente a Latino/a conference and Being White a white student conference. Each conference will explore our redeemed identity and God’s invitation into mission to every corner of the campus.

InterVarsity staff from around the region and the country will prepare students to continue to reach all parts of their campuses with the gospel. As the first time running such a unique event, prayers for logistics, travel safety and that God will speak to all who attend are much appreciated!

Photo Credit: Dana L. Brown Flickr via Compfight cc

Preparation

January 20, 2017 / Howie Meloch / 0 Comments

Our region*, like the rest of country, is increasingly growing more diverse. As a White man a choice I (and some of you) have is Continue reading

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The best kind of e-mail

January 9, 2017 / Howie Meloch / 0 Comments

A part of summer for many InterVarsity staff is receiving e-mails from excited new students heading to their campus in the fall. While some of these students never end up getting plugged in, International Student Ministry staff, Brenden Graczak, got to see that enthusiasm turn into fruitful ministry this semester.

Sophie is a first year Singaporean social work student at Washington University in St Louis. She had friends connected to International Friends before, so she emailed him over the summer about wanting to get involved. Her first day in the U.S. she jumped into mission with International Friends at their core group retreat. In the past few months, she has sought where God is leading, and connected with a lot of students. She is an expert inviter, is leading their worship team, and consistently challenges the core group to remain mission-focused.

Photo Credit: Perzec Flickr via Compfight cc

Open doors on campus

January 4, 2017 / Howie Meloch / 0 Comments

Good working relationships with campus administration are crucial to the ministry of InterVarsity. Late this fall, Maria Rolland, campus staff at Lindenwood University in St Charles, Missouri had the chance to meet up with the director of the English as a Second Language (ESL) department and another professor. They both happen to be Christians and are very excited about partnering with InterVarsity to help serve ESL students.

As a result of this interaction, InterVarsity graduate student, Tolis, and volunteer,Kim, will be leading a culture shock presentation for new international students in January. This is a wonderful opportunity to make these new students feel welcome and begin building relationships from day one.

Would Jesus Go Greek?

December 22, 2016 / Howie Meloch / 0 Comments

Instead of encouraging students to leave their sorority or fraternity, InterVarsity tries to say, “Be Jesus to your sisters or brothers.” One of the student leaders at University of Northern Iowa is in a sorority and longs to see Jesus infiltrate Greek life. Earlier this semester, she and IV staff, Tate Offenburger, hosted a Greek Meet to try to connect with other Greeks who might be interested in Bible Study. They had terrific conversations with those who came and found out that one of them was already hosting a Bible Study in her sorority. She was excited to hear that there was an actual ministry who cared about Greek students and could offer resources. UNI’s goal has been to see a Bible study in every sorority and fraternity. Even though the semester is ending without a new leader in place, who knows what doors God will open next.

Photo Credit: *_* Flickr via Compfight cc

Faith and Chai

December 12, 2016 / Howie Meloch / 0 Comments

Twelve months ago, R, an Indian-American student, decided to start following Jesus at InterVarsity’s Urbana missions conference. As he began his semester at KU this fall, R saw the hundreds of South Asian students all around him. They were like sheep without a shepherd—and hardly anyone was reaching out to them. R started wondering how he could be their shepherd and bring the gospel to them. Fighting his internal fears and hesitations, R decided to start a weekly discussion group called “Faith and Chai” where South Asian students could talk about faith and spirituality.

Thanks to his faithfulness and persistent inviting, that group has officially launched! Every week, there are about 10 South Asian students gathering together, from undergrad students all the way up to PhD candidates, all wanting to talk about faith questions! R is now praying that the Lord would grant him an apprentice, someone whom he could train up to be a leader for this group in the future.