2010-2011 Annual Report

Becoming a Community that Follows Jesus

The number of InterVarsity chapters seeing 10 or more conversions has doubled, from 36 to 72, over the past five years. As the principles identified by our Chapter Building Task Force are put into place, we are seeing results.

At Tufts University, in Boston, students are responding to the gospel as never before. Tufts students saw nine of their fellow students come to faith this past school year, after years of zero conversions.  

What happened? As this video reports, student leaders realized several years ago that a fellowship is more than just Christians being together. “We didn’t want to be a holy huddle anymore,” they said.

It isn’t always easy to become a witnessing community, willing to engage the campus.  One of the guidelines is, “Look for where God is at work, and then do what He’s doing.” The chapter moved from talking the talk to walking the walk, from studying “Why we share the gospel” to “How to share the gospel.”

From holy huddle to witnessing community

InterVarsity is no longer just another Christian community on the Tufts campus. It is transformed students, renewing the campus, and developing into world changers.

This past year, 55 students came to faith on the Winona campus through the witness of InterVarsity.  Campus Staff Member Jackie Bode encourages her students with Psalm 107:2, “Has the Lord redeemed you? Then speak out! Tell others He has redeemed you from your enemies.”

It’s not just Chapter Building principles that are at work. At the University of Chicago, Lauren Dueck credits the prayers of her campus ministry predecessors for the results that she has seen in the past year.

“We’ve tripled in size over the past two years,” she said. “We’ve seen four times as many people becoming Christians in the past two years as in the past ten years put together. I think God has blessed us with a season of harvest.”