As InterVarsity's Faculty Ministry is faithful to its mission
over the next thirty years, we hope that our prayers, labor,
and resources will have contributed to the fulfillment of the
following vision. As part of Graduate & Faculty Ministries,
we desire to realize this vision in concert with the Emerging
Scholars Network and in partnership with all other ministries
of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA; various movements
of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Student (IFES);
and all like-minded organizations who affirm the InterVarsity
Doctrinal Basis, Faculty Ministry Mission Statement, and Graduate & Faculty
Ministry Core Commitments.
The Vision of InterVarsity's Faculty Ministry is that Christian faculty have a redeeming influence within higher education as they:
· Establish witnessing communities of Christian
academics that reflect the diversity of the body of Christ
A fuller description of this Vision includes:
· InterVarsity's Faculty Ministry establishes, develops,
and encourages vibrant local campus or inter-campus communities
of Christian faculty, available to all faculty in the United
States.
· InterVarsity's Faculty Ministry establishes,
develops, and encourages vibrant Christian societies in
every academic discipline.
· InterVarsity's Faculty Ministry fosters these
communities to reflect the diversity of the campus or discipline
in age, ethnicity, and gender.
· InterVarsity's Faculty Ministry fosters these
communities to provide rich fellowship and mutual support
among the Christian faculty involved and corporate witness
to the academic community.
· InterVarsity's Faculty Ministry facilitates national
and international networking among faculty within each
discipline and nurtures inter-disciplinary dialogue and
discovery.
· Follow God's call in spiritual formation and
vocational discipleship
A fuller description of this Vision includes:
· InterVarsity's Faculty Ministry aids each faculty member
to whom we minister in maturing as a follower of Christ.
· InterVarsity's Faculty Ministry aids each faculty
member to whom we minister in embracing the intrinsic value
of loving God with our minds, and thus the cultivation
of an intellectual life, as a vital part of a deepening
spiritual life.
· InterVarsity's Faculty Ministry is a valuable
aid to faculty as they incarnate the gospel in the university
by serving students and colleagues, seeking to lead others
to faith in Christ, helping others grow in Christ, and
seeking justice on individual and institutional levels.
· InterVarsity's Faculty Ministry fosters a culture
of affirmation: (1) for the calling, craft, and scholarship
of teaching; (2) for the pursuit of new knowledge through
research; and (3) for responsible service in a spirit of
humility.
· Balance excellence in life, research, teaching,
mentoring, and service, for the glory of God
A fuller description of this Vision includes:
· InterVarsity's Faculty Ministry aids faculty to understand
academic life as a call from God.
· InterVarsity's Faculty Ministry helps faculty
members discern God's callings and priorities among them,
and how to be faithful to these callings.
· InterVarsity's Faculty Ministry understands and
is sensitive to how demands upon faculty change during
different stages of academic life and nurtures the health
and well-being of faculty members in light of their specific
circumstances.
· Practice their disciplines from a profoundly Christian
viewpoint
A fuller description of this Vision includes:
· InterVarsity's Faculty Ministry facilitates an ever-increasing
number of faculty engaged in continuing theological education,
resulting in deepening theological acuity.
· InterVarsity's Faculty Ministry facilitates faculty
among whom we minister having a redemptive influence on
the prominent ideas of the academy such that everyone in
the academy (including students, faculty, and researchers)
regularly encounters a Christian worldview in the context
of their academic work.
· InterVarsity's Faculty Ministry encourages, challenges,
and supports Christian faculty as they bring forth scholarship
which becomes essential to their colleagues, students,
and experts in their field.
· InterVarsity's Faculty Ministry encourages, challenges,
and supports faculty as they practice mentoring as a dimension
of disciplinary engagement.
ratified September 1, 2005
