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Unfortunately, moving from a plain cheese fellowship to being "The Works" isn't as easy as tossing on basil, green peppers and sausage. However, it can be done, and at Wayne State University in Michigan, God is molding the InterVarsity chapter into a tasty pizza of diversity. In the chapter's two years of existence, it has grown from five to fifty-five members. Now the group is almost exactly half caucasian and half African-American. Wayne State's staff worker, York Moore, verifies that "if anything, blacks dominate this chapter in membership and leadership, even though when I came, there was just one black student, along with one Asian and three white students."

According to students from the chapter, the process began with York. "Last summer, when we met to plan for the 1996-97 school year, York said he wanted the chapter to become more multiethnic, so we tried to pick up his vision and make it our own," states Jill Marklin, last year's large-group coordinator. "And we did. We had to realize we are different; we come from different backgrounds and have different attitudes and interests. We had to come to terms with our own prejudices and with hurtful things that had been done or said in the past."

Not only did York get the leadership team thinking, he began drawing African-Americans into the chapter. Travis Davis, a small-group leader, says, "York is dynamic; he saw me walking past and just invited me to be part of the group. He kept inviting me to attend different functions, so I met more people."

York notes, "A turning point in black involvement came as I began to network with area churches, visiting black churches in the city of Detroit and subsequently spending time meeting black students' families. This is important in order for them to feel free to be involved on campus." At the same time, he gives God the credit. "Multiethnicity is born out of a movement of God's Spirit as a result of prayer (Acts 2), and I believe that this is . . . what truly has happened at Wayne State. I prayed for days on end, fervently, that God would make our chapter different in this area, that we would represent his body more accurately than I had been accustomed to. He arranged divine appointments, such as with Travis, and he just dropped leaders like LaKesha into the group. The Lord deserves all the glory and praise."

It didn't stop there. York then convinced African-Americans to take on leadership positions. How? ShaCha Nalls, who participated in the gospel choir and prayer group, laughs, "He threatened us. No, he brought us in gently, showed us how the chapter ran and then asked us if we would help. York can be very convincing."

York may have gathered the materials for a spicier pizza, but the students put it together. After dealing with their own personal issues, the leadership team redesigned the large-group meeting. They mixed gospel music with choruses and hymns and invited many different ethnic speakers. "Some were from the inner city, like Reverend Al Calvert," Jill recalls. "He comes from a black church and is a vibrant, loud speaker who expects audience participation. I'm not used to that, but it was great to have him with us."

The chapter also worked together to start a gospel choir, the only gospel choir on the Wayne State campus. Only one of its eight members is white. They performed on campus for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, and they're looking forward to more performances this year.

Spices were mixed into the tomato sauce through casual social activities. LaKesha Bynam, who emceed a few meetings and helped start the choir, points out the importance of these events. "We would have get-togethers just to hang out and get to know each other, instead of meeting to study the Bible and not knowing people." As personal relationships developed, they turned around to invite more students into the group. "The bottom line is that you have to go out and get people to come back in; you can't wait for them to come on their own. It's the only way," says Travis.

As an African-American looking into a largely white InterVarsity, LaKesha initially felt intimidated. "But as soon as I went, I could feel their love," she says. "Everyone was so friendly and really wanted visitors to be involved." At the same time, ShaCha didn't feel singled out or like they were trying to overly impress her. "They were easy-going and welcoming. I felt like just one of the group."

Travis admits, "I was uncomfortable at first, and sometimes I still have to deal with feelings of being uncomfortable. We're all raised with ideas about people and things we don't know about . . . . But it can be done!"

The chapter may have made only a few changes, but those changes had great impact on the students. Both white and African-American students struggled with the mixed worship styles, and a few members left. However, as LaKesha says, "At first, I thought, 'What's this?' with the different worship, but I learned that no one particular form of worship is the only way."

Jill agrees, "At first I thought everyone should be used to what I was used to, but then I realized, 'Hey, it's not just me here!'"

Though difficult and sometimes uncomfortable, the process of becoming diverse has taught the students a lot about God and his family. ShaCha learned that "we are all people of God, not just people of different races." LaKesha says that "it's given me more love and open- mindedness for everyone, no matter who they are."

Jill observes that "I feel more comfortable around other people than I used to; I'm not an outcast if I'm the only white person because I think of them as my brothers and sisters." At the same time, Travis realizes that "I still have to continue to grow as far as my perceptions and how I deal with people of different races and cultures."

Is the Wayne State chapter settling down, content to be a pepperoni and sausage pizza? No chance of that. The chapter is continuing to diversify both the worship and atmosphere of large-group meetings. As Jill says, "We've been praying that Arab-, Asian-, Indian-, Hispanic- and Native American groups will also be represented." As they grow to better reflect the diversity of God's people, the Wayne State chapter will be a pleasing aroma to all those hungry for unity.