In his book How Christianity Changed the World, Alvin Schmidt makes the statement, “[Jesus’] unique and exemplary life, and his suffering, death, and physical resurrection from the dead transformed his hand picked disciples as well as the lives of many others. . . . The lives that he transformed in turn changed and transformed the world: its morals, ethics, health care, education, economics, science, law, the fine arts, and government” (Schmidt, p. 16).
In the early years of the church, the disciples changed the world through the spread of the gospel. In Ephesus, the local economy was changed as the gospel was preached. And in Thessalonica, the men of the city were upset, claiming that those “who have turned the world upside down have come here also” (Acts 17:6 NRSV).
InterVarsity’s mission is to invest in students so they become people who change the world, turning it right-side up. Mac Smith, staff member at the University of Nevada—Reno, has seen first-hand how evangelism can transform students. He took four students through an evangelistic training event at California State University-Chico. There he saw the students transformed from faithful leaders into passionate witnesses. Mac continues the story: “When we returned to Reno, I knew something had changed in me, but I wondered if anything would come of it for the students. That Wednesday, Jessica scrapped the plans for her small group and trained everyone in the group in how to share the gospel. Boldness was beginning to grow. Jessica had become a witness, and there wasn’t anything more important that she wanted to pass on to her Bible study that week. But she didn’t stop there. She also trained the missions team, and they went out and shared the gospel in the freshman halls.”
In preparation for a visit by Larry Thiel, a staff evangelism specialist, Mac and the four students who had been trained at the event in Chico went on to train thirty more students to share their faith. As a result of the witness of Larry and these students, twenty people made a decision to follow Jesus.
Evangelism was also a world changing activity at Western Michigan University (WMU). York Moore, director of evangelism for Great Lakes East, organized No Ordinary People, an evangelism event at WMU, September 24-October 1, 2005. Staff from eight states converged on campus. The first day staff and students learned to tell the story of the gospel. Over the following week, they presented the gospel in a number of venues. At proclamation stations, posters were used to present the gospel in unique and challenging ways through interactive displays. Students who interacted with the material at these proclamation stations were invited to make a decision for Christ. In addition, three teams of staff and students engaged students and faculty throughout campus in conversational evangelism, a pastoral, process-orientated approach that is sensitive to postmodern issues. Students on campus were also engaged with the gospel and social justice issues during three evening gatherings.
At least thirty-three people made decisions for Christ; almost as many indicated an interest in studying the Bible, and two chapters on campus worked together on this campus-wide event.
These are but two of many stories of God’s great power evident through the proclamation of the gospel as InterVarsity staff and students declare God’s love on campus. InterVarsity witnessing communities across the country are boldly declaring the gospel, and the Spirit of God is turning the world right-side up as a result.
1) Alvin Schmidt, How Christianity Changed the World, Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 2004.
