Chapter Planting with La Fe at Northwestern University

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This document is part of a larger cluster of articles about InterVarsity
chapter planting at https://www.intervarsity.org/mx/page/chapterplanting

The Campus

Northwestern University is a suburban campus north of Chicago with about
7,000 undergraduates. The student population is predominantly white, about
20+ percent Asian, 7 percent black, and 6 percent Latino.

The Challenges

A major challenge to ministry in general comes from the typical
Northwestern student’s tendency to believe that religion is inferior to
intellect. Many students and professors insist that believing in religion
and creation is intellectual suicide; however, if one is going to practice
a personal faith, he must at least be open-minded toward all religions in
order to maintain his respectability.

The challenges to Latino ministry are similar in some cases; but for the
most part, most Latinos are already inherently “religious,” so the idea of
practicing a faith is not too foreign. However, the bigger challenge with
Latinos is combating the ideas that “Catholics” are not “Christians,” that
Christianity is a “white man’s” religion, that Christians are right-winged
conservatives who don’t show concern toward marginalized populations, and
that Christ’s exclusivity is an intolerant and close-minded belief.

What We’re Doing

A weekly bible study is held for Christians and seekers alike, giving it a
half-Bible-study, half-GIG-like feel. We also occasionally have “outreach
events” in which La Fe works in collaboration with the Latino organization
to discuss issues of spirituality in the Latino community.

The Vision

My vision for La Fe is that it would become a safe-place on campus for
Latino students to explore their faith in relation to their family and
ethnic background. I hope it will become a group that is maintained by a
core of solid Christian Latino students-and that the core will reach out to
non-Christian Latino students on campus, bring them into La Fe to study
God’s word, help them to reconcile their past experiences with religion and
the hope found in the Bible, and help people start a daily walk with
Christ.

What gives me most hope is seeing how other minority Christian groups on
campus have grown over time-specifically House on the Rock. What first
started out years ago as a few Christians reading the Bible together in a
room has now grown into a large Bible study that is a wonderful resource
for the African-American community. Even though the pioneers never got to
see the fruits while they were around, today I am able to see how God has
worked and is still working, and that gives me hope for the future of La
Fe.

God is Working

I see God working in so many ways, even though sometimes it seems to happen
so slowly. Sometimes I get discouraged, but then God reminds me that I am
not responsible for this ministry, he is. He has used La Fe to fill a need
in the Latino community at Northwestern that had never before been met. Not
only have the current members of La Fe grown in their understanding of God,
but La Fe has also served as a resource for the Latino community which
seeks to learn more about the spiritual aspect of our culture.

Help Needed

The biggest help and encouragement would come from other Christian Latino
students at Northwestern, so I am praying fervently for God to provide more
of these students in future years. I also know that connections with other
La Fe ministries around the Chicago area and Illinois would be an immense
encouragement, especially being able to hear what God is doing on other
campuses and knowing that I am not alone. Finally, advice and encouragement
from other Latino full-time ministers would be a great help, whether they
be La Fe or IVCF staff workers, pastors, or anyone who has a heart for
serving the Latino community in Christ.

Chapter_Planting_ME_LaFe_Northwestern.doc