InterVarsity's Atlanta Conference History
Since Atlanta '92, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship's first national Black student conference, God has used these venues to serve the needs of hundreds of Black students. Four national conferences (Atlanta '92, '95, '98,
and '02) have launched new ministries to Black students on multi-ethnic campuses and on predominantly Black campuses. A significant number of our current Black staff would say that attending an Atlanta conference was an integral part
of their decision to join InterVarsity staff. Hundreds of Black students have been challenged in their faith and been sent back to their campuses with a vision for leading their classmates into the things they have learned.
 Atlanta 2002 was our fourth national Black Student conference. It was held from December 27-31 at the Simpsonwood Conference and Retreat Center in Atlanta, Georgia, and over 350 students attended. The purpose of Atlanta 2002 was to implement the objectives of Black Campus Ministries in InterVarsity, which included the development of a generation of Black Christian student leaders and the work for authentic reconciliation in the Body of Christ. The specific objectives for the conference included the following:
- To disciple Black students so that they will disciple others;
- To help Black students develop a Biblical and a practical response to the issues that affect the community and society;
- To build Black student ministries within Black Campus Ministry in InterVarsity Christian Fellowship
The theme of Atlanta 2002 was Discerning the Times: Wisdom in an Age of Deception, with a theme scripture of Ephesians 5:13-19, which exhorts the church to be wise and understand the will of the Lord. Black students embody the future of their community.
Whether they be African-American students in California,
Afro-Caribbean students in New York, or Kenyan-American students in Kansas,
they will be the business people, lawyers, doctors, pastors, social workers,
artists, nurses, and missionaries who will make the difference in this new
century. They need to understand God’s will in order to follow Him completely,
serve Him faithfully, and lead effectively. They will need to be bold in their
witness on the campus and in the community in order to show that Jesus is the
hope for African Americans.
Click here to read the post-conference report.
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