Ethnic Backgrounds

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Ethnic-specific InterVarsity chapters allow students at the University of Texas—Austin opportunities to connect with other students from the same cultural and ethnic traditions.

The participants in ethnic-specific (Asian American, Southeast Asian American, Latino, African American), and multiethnic chapters gather together to worship God and study Scripture. But InterVarsity students from all these groups covenant to work together to reach the whole campus. They meet as a group once or twice a semester.

During fall and spring conferences, InterVarsity’s staff members encouraged participants from each ethnic-specific chapter to attend seminars with people from other ethnic groups. Such collaboration among the chapters has proven beneficial in forming a larger witnessing community where everyone feels welcomed.

In fact, in April they celebrated the one-year anniversary of a new multiethnic chapter in Jester Residence Hall, one of the largest student dormitories in the country. By creating groups with an ethnic flavor and at the same time teaching students to build strong relationships across ethnic barriers, InterVarsity is reaching more students at UT. The power of the gospel is being demonstrated on campus as students with different backgrounds love each other.

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