Who hosts a Christian Faculty Symposium?

Anyone who desires to minister among faculty on a campus can host a symposium. However, to take full advantage of the resources of InterVarsity Faculty Ministry (including online registration, advertising on the Faculty Ministry website, and the right to promote the event as an InterVarsity Faculty Symposium), the host should meet the qualifications of a Faculty Ministry Catalyst. A dictionary defines catalysts as “agents that initiate or speed significant action.” InterVarsity Faculty Ministry Catalysts are just that. They:

• Believe Christian faculty on campus play a central role in the redemption of the university and desire to be leaders in this process.
• Are persons of character, demonstrating reliance on the Lord and vision for being used by God in the lives of faculty.
• Seek to engage faculty and the university in culturally relevant ways that respect and affirm academic vocations under the Lordship of Christ, and have some experience being “salt” and “light” on their campus.
• Take initiative in personal relationships and commit themselves to working toward establishing or developing a faculty community.
• Share the InterVarsity Doctrinal Basis and the InterVarsity Faculty Ministry Mission Statement.
• Commit to partnering with other Faculty Ministry Catalysts in this endeavor.

For information about becoming a Faculty Ministry Catalyst, visit our Faculty Catalyst Resources page and the Faculty Catalyst Portfolio.

We want to extend an invitation to involvement in these one-day events to all InterVarsity campus staff and area and regional directors and will make every effort to see that these events help you fulfill InterVarsity’s vision to see students and faculty transformed, campuses redeemed, and world changers developed.

Who attends a Christian Faculty Symposium?

The majority of attendees are faculty, yet we recognize that graduate students may desire to attend and would benefit as well. Therefore, we also welcome graduate students following a calling to the academy.

What do we hope these Faculty Symposia will accomplish?

We hope that Faculty Symposia will be:

• Gathering points for faculty to come together in a way that encourages the individual as well as builds a sense of community and a “one another” perspective for future ministry.
• Launching pads for relationships and possibly the development of an ongoing community of Christian faculty on campus, if one does not yet exist.
• Ways for InterVarsity staff to better serve Christian faculty on their campuses.

We expect that the process of planning this event with a few key professors will provide valuable experience in working with faculty, who will continue in leadership roles for future events, helping build the local Christian faculty community, etc.

Why would a professor attend a Christian Faculty Symposium?

• Faculty are interested in knowing other colleagues who share their faith commitment. They are often isolated and unaware of colleagues around them who are followers of Jesus Christ.
• Faculty are often more willing to attend a gathering that is close and short in duration.
• The topics are relevant to all faculty, but seldom addressed in other venues, namely issues of spiritual formation, community, evangelism, service, and whole-life stewardship as related specifically to the academic call.