School supplies being set out at your local store signals something in the InterVarsity world. Continue reading
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Can students lead like staff? Continue reading
InterVarsity in the Cedar Valley of Iowa partners with the college ministries staff of two churches to reach out to their local campuses. One of their joint programs is a weekly large group called BASIC at the University of Northern Iowa.
Over the last few years some small group Bible Studies have begun happening at Wartburg, a private college in Waverly, IA, which is about 20 minutes from UNI. The students in these small groups drive to BASIC when they can and one of the college ministry staff has been going up to Wartburg to coach the student leaders once a month.
Recently, the first BASIC was hosted in Waverly. About thirty Wartburg students came for a free meal and time of worship. Some then stayed to begin praying and brainstorming about what ministry could look like at Wartburg. One student shared that she longed for the ministry at Wartburg to reach out to the diverse groups and communities on campus.
Please pray for the ministry happening at Wartburg and for the staff team as they discern what it might look like to invest more time, energy, and resources in Waverly.
What dreams has God placed in the heart of our community for the next season of ministry in the Central Region?
This month we did a three day offsite gathering to start the process of discerning just that. It was a wonderful time of considering what fruit of this season God was calling us to savor, which areas we needed to steward, and places he was inviting us to sow.
It was a blessing to be together as a familia and dream together about what is next. Please pray and join us in this year of waiting on the Lord for his direction for the Central Region.
The Central Region has an ongoing partnership with the work of SONOKO, a sister movement of InterVarsity/USA in Cambodia. Former Central Region staff, Steph Schmaltz, directs the growing movement there and recently shared about their end of the year training:
“Each May we combine both of our branches (Phnom Penh and Siem Reap) for a leadership training. Over my past five years in Cambodia I have seen this training grow tremendously. This year everything was led by our local staff. From worship, to Bible exposition, to seminar training they planned and executed it all! It was super encouraging to see and reassuring to know that our local staff are ready for more levels of responsibility.”
As a member of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students, InterVarsity/USA is privileged to work alongside national movements that share the gospel with students around the globe. Whether it is sending staff to help those movements develop or having a chance to meet with groups while on service trips or studying overseas, this worldwide network of Christian students is truly an amazing family.
A team of students and staff from the Kansas area recently arrived back from two weeks of fresh fruit, amazing coffee, and learning and working along side the missionaries of Students International in Costa Rica.
The team served in the community of the “desamparados”, or forgotten ones, outside the Capital city of San Jose. This is one of the poorer communities in the area, and many people fall into drug addictions. Students International provides services in the community such as tutoring, sports camps, trade classes, bible studies, and much more free of charge. By being a positive influence in the community, and meeting their physical needs, the missionaries there are able to encourage and equip the community members to make better life choices. It is also a powerful way to share the gospel, as people who have been helped with their physical needs are drawn into community and life in Jesus Christ.
God also used this trip to greatly impact the InterVarsity students and staff who participated. Confronted with culture shock, miscommunications and the frustrations of their own limitations, God was able to reveal His powerful love to those who had gone to serve. As one student reflected, “I can see now God is so much bigger than I had ever imagined. He cannot be contained in a box or defined by the ideas in my head.”
“I can see Jesus, He is reaching out his hand to me. He wants me to give him my troubles and fear,” shared one student after last week’s International Getaway. “I really enjoyed the intellectual conversations on the scriptures. Through our studies I can see the uniqueness of Jesus; no other prophet is like Him. There is something different about Him and I want to read more about Him,” explained another.
60 international students from around the region gathered near the lake of the Ozarks, May 12-16th. While there, friendships were deepened and many met with God in His word for the first time. Six students also indicated that they wanted to begin following Jesus! Praise God for His harvest work during these five days as well as all the seeds planted for the future.
In April, the Kansas Area staff team took an exploratory tour of western Kansas college campuses. They checked out campus bookstores, talked to random students, learned about other student organizations, and asked God to bless and work at each school. They even met with some administrators who expressed eagerness in welcoming InterVarsity to campus.
As exciting as many of the stops were, it was also humbling as they realized that some of these campuses are five hours away from the nearest InterVarsity staff. At the trip’s end, they once again recognized how powerless we are to see the gospel go forward in our own strength.
Yet, we serve a God who can find a way to spread His good news, even to the furthest western parts of Kansas! Please continue to pray with the Kansas team as they ask God to plant a witnessing community at every one of these ten campuses. If you have a contact (student, staff, faculty, or community member) for one of the campuses, please let me know.
Every May, international students who are studying at campuses around the region make their way to a camp on the edge of the Lake of the Ozarks. Here they boat, swim, have campfires and learn about Jesus. International Getaway 2017 runs from May 12-16th and the region is hoping to have more attendees from more schools then ever before.
Most of the students who attend this conference are not yet followers of Jesus and so the weekend is crucial for them to spend time (sometimes for the first time) in scripture, ask questions and build friendships with believers. If you would like more details as this incredible conference takes place, sign up to partner with us in prayer.
We are experiencing the kingdom of God advancing on the campuses of the Central Region.
I am privileged to lead a team that champions work in corners of the campus – Asian, Black, International, and Latino. As I heard their dreams for each corner in our recent meeting, I was excited how they were calling us to move forward.
Vision was shared for every chapter reaching at least 5 international students, expanding our South and Southeast Asian American leadership, raising scores Black apprentices, and fully funding the largest Latino staff area in the country.
By God’s grace and inspiration our staff are leading us to deepen our engagement in each corner as we work to see students in every corner of the campus say yes to Jesus.