If you asked Noe Flores to name prominent world leaders and world changers, he would list: actor George Lopez, singer/songwriter Bono, Mexican revolutionary Poncho Villa, and missionary to the Philippine garbage villages Father Ben Beltran as agents of social change. You will never hear Noe talk about the world changer he sees in the mirror when he looks at his image every day before rushing off to one of his sociology classes—Noe is too humble to name himself.
Though born in the United States, Noe is the proud son of an El Salvadorian father and a Mexican mother. As a Sonoma State University junior, majoring in Human Development, Noe enjoys watching movies, playing soccer, and making new friends.
One of Noe’s favorite campus activities is the LaFe Bible study that he leads every Tuesday in his friend Renee’s dorm on campus. InterVarsity’s LaFe chapter at Sonoma State University, one that he and a friend began after attending the first LaFe student conference in San Diego last year, has a start-up membership of eight students. Noe decided it was time to get involved. “I’m pretty self-conscious as a leader—I’m still learning,” he said. “I went to a leadership training event last year through InterVarsity, where I learned about how to facilitate a Bible study and how to lead discussions. I’m excited to step up into this leadership position with LaFe, to use some of the techniques I’ve been learning.” Leading a Bible study for his peers feels a bit surreal to Noe, but he is ready for the challenge.
At the Bible study, over quesadillas and tacos, Noe and his friends share life struggles, discuss global poverty and economic injustice, and relate God’s Word to daily life. They discuss how one person can help transform lives, how entire nations can grow in love for God. Together they are learning what it means to be Latino in Christ.
Familial responsibility is a value Noe learned early in his youth, and it is a value he continues to nurture in his brothers and sisters in Christ. To Noe the campus is a mission field. “I want to see as many people know Jesus as I possibly can while I’m here.” Noe’s urgency for seeing people come to faith is contagious, inspirational.
Noe has experienced transformation in his own life through the work of InterVarsity. Upon entering college, Noe was exploring what it means to be Latino and a Christian, and how to honor his family while pursuing his college career. During his struggle, Noe met Kevin, his current InterVarsity staff worker. “Kevin has affirmed me in being Latino. He always speaks words of truth and encouragement. That reliability, friendship, and trust has been what’s really helped me discover who I am.” Through the ministry of InterVarsity, Noe has learned the importance and urgency of evangelism on a college campus. He has learned the importance of Christian community, of friendships and relationships that turn into teachable moments of spiritual growth. Through the ministry of InterVarsity, Noe has been given his leadership wings, a platform to formulate and test Christian ideas about God, life, and culture, calling his peers to a more meaningful life. This is how Noe serves; this is how he leads.
Noe went to the Dominican Republic this past summer with a group of his peers to help people by building houses, working in day camps, and serving in local neighborhoods. Noe had an advantage over most of the other students who went on the trip: he could fluently speak and interpret Spanish. Noe also befriended a non-Christian Dominican man who worked on one of the worksites with him. Noe and Giovani discussed the politics of the Dominican Republic, the economic hardships of people worldwide, and why Noe and the other students with him would spend their summer vacations building houses in a foreign country.
A few weeks after returning to the United States, Noe heard of Giovani’s coming to faith. “I read an email from one of the site directors in the Dominican Republic who said that after we left Giovani went to church to find out more about Jesus,” recalls Noe. “He gave his life to the Lord.”
Noe’s involvement with InterVarsity has influenced his plans for the future in positive ways. “I have thought of different roles that InterVarsity has played in providing resources and conversations and opportunities—I have thought of becoming a missionary, or a leadership member of a church. I like the idea of working with high school kids and college adults. I think if I ever joined InterVarsity in a staff position, I would be so happy because InterVarsity really helped me out in my four-year stay at college. It has always been there, and I’d be happy to join a team that could help students discover Jesus.”
If you ever meet Noe Flores, you will agree that world changers are not always found on television, they may not be seen behind a microphone speaking to large crowds of people, and they may not always wear suits and ties and employ secretaries. They sometimes wear faded jeans and meet weekly for a Bible study on the floor of a dorm. They sometimes go overseas during their summer vacations to build houses for people they don’t really know in blazing summer heat. They invest in people and know, through practical, relational experience, the urgency of the gospel. World-changers look like Noe. They start with a set of wings and a platform to take off, and they never ask about where or when to land.
