Here is a collection of ideas to add to your chapter’s evangelism toolbox. What has your fellowship been doing that other students would like to hear about? Send your story to slj@ivcf.org.

Hardcore and Hip-Hop

by Steve Colby

Last spring, more than 120 students and youth came to our “Christian Hardcore and Hip-Hop Music Night” at CSU–Monterey Bay (CA). The group like david opened the evening with its loud punk sound and brought a lot of energy to the event. Even though I couldn’t make out a single word, I was amazed to hear students talk about the lead singer’s testimony and his challenge to live for God.

Hip-Hop artists Inspecta 2211 (who is also the college and career pastor at Calvary Chapel Monterey) and dirt performed next. They preached Christ in a lyrical rap style. After the concert, David Hensler, CSUMB student and member of Otter Christian Fellowship, boldly shared that he was full of hate in high school but the Lord saved him through Christian punk and hardcore music.

The event appealed to many students who would never come to a Bible study, but who came because of their interest in music. I was glad to see our students bringing friends to the event and clearly enjoying the music. This was a great way to preach the gospel creatively!

—Steve Colby is on I-V Staff at Cal State University Monterey Bay. Currently he is on sabbatical finishing seminary. He enjoys coaching his son’s soccer team.

Going For It

by Brian Wilcox

Recently I’ve been thinking about where our fellowship is headed on campus at UNC–Chapel Hill. We generally pride ourselves on the quality of community within our InterVarsity chapter. And though it has been good, I’ve come to wonder if we have spent too much of our energy building a community around ourselves and not around a sense of mission.

I meet regularly with a sophomore named Mike to talk about life and to challenge each other to walk by faith. Mike is a sharp guy who has grown up in the church and to whom many are naturally drawn. He’s a valuable part of the chapter.

In a recent conversation, Mike expressed some disappointment with things he is seeing in our chapter. This didn’t surprise me; in fact, conversations such as this one happen weekly since folks often see me as I-V’s “customer service” representative. As I questioned him further, it was apparent that he felt we weren’t living up to our potential to call others to faith. I smiled and said I agreed. He was a little shocked!

I pushed Mike further and asked what he thought he could do about it through his own life. Mike hesitated, recognized there were many opportunities he was neglecting, and then looked at me and asked, “What if I decide not to show up at large group some week in order to grab dinner with my suitemates? Are you going to give me a hard time?” I beamed and said, “Go for it!”

Mike and I continue to have amazing conversations about what it would mean for him to “go for it” for the sake of the gospel. He is eager to see lives changed by the good news of Jesus’ great love. I know there are others like Mike who often feel chained by the status quo and who need to be set free from other peoples’ expectations. I keep praying for more students like Mike who are itching to “go for it” by loving their friends who don’t know Jesus.

—Brian Wilcox is in his third year on staff at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He works with the South Chapter. He and his wife, Wesley, enjoy hiking, Tarheel sports and their dog, Katie.

Champions!

By Dan Huang

During the course of the year, I encourage students to remain involved in the life of our campus at the University of Illinois–Chicago. Last year, Chris Lee’s small group took that challenge seriously. And before long, they were crowned the champions of the UIC Intramural Volleyball Tournament!

But the students in Chris’s small group made it clear that the championship meant little in comparison to the experience they had along the way. They entered the intramural league with a purpose in mind: to form and build relationships with others outside of the fellowship. As they competed with other students, God gave them opportunities to get to know new people and share God’s love with them.

Through those relationships, the gospel of Jesus is being proclaimed and students are coming in contact with the love of Christ. As a result of the small group’s involvement in campus life, the kingdom of God is growing. Winning the tournament was simply icing on the cake.

—Dan Huang works on staff with InterVarsity at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He likes eating fruit.

Serving with a Smile

By Kevin Offner

Once a month our three InterVarsity graduate fellowships join together and give up half of their Saturdays to be involved in a service project. The grad groups from the University of Maryland, Georgetown University and George Washington University volunteer to help the poor with their physical needs. Last semester we linked up with a Washington, DC, organization that cares for the elderly in their homes by painting, cleaning, organizing, and more. The students find this use of their physical bodies a happy change from the non-stop activity of studying, reading and writing. In addition, they’ve been able to see some concrete ways in which they’ve played a small part in meeting others’ needs.

—Kevin Offner works with InterVarsity’s Graduate Student Ministry in the Washington, D.C., area.

March Madness

After the Urbana 2000 missions convention last year, students from the University of Houston returned to campus with a renewed passion to reach out to their non-believing friends in creative ways. The Bible study groups in two dorms, North and South Towers, decided to sponsor a March Madness Basketball Tournament. They got the entire dorm involved in guessing who would win the final 16 games. On April 2, they sponsored a party in the cafeteria to watch the final game. They even created their own half-time show where they presented the gospel. More than 100 people attended including a few football players. Although many of the students who came did not seem very open spiritually, they listened attentively to the gospel and good conversations followed. It was exciting to reach out to those who generally don’t come to other outreach events!