2018-2019 Annual Report

Prayer, it’s often said,
is at the heart of revival.

In our 78 years of ministry, we’ve found that to be true. Prayer is the foundation of InterVarsity’s ministry—a humble dependence on the Holy Spirit whom we welcome each day on campus. And now, as we look to catalyze gospel movements on 2,500 campuses by 2030, we’ve anchored ourselves to this foundation like never before. We’re longing for revival on campus, and that drives us to pray.

This is not to say our 2018–2019 fiscal year, the first year of our current Strategic Plan, was not also full of hard work. Staff spent hours adopting new campuses to plant, collaborating to reach underserved geographies and universities, praying, and deciding about next steps. We continued work on new systems that will help us serve our mission field and partners better. We researched and tested new tools. We began to scale up all that we have learned about planting over the past 15 years. We visited new campuses and areas of the country, developed relationships with more churches, and began new initiatives to engage alumni. We explored methods we’ve never tried before and continued to do the deep Bible study that, like prayer, is foundational to who we are.

Our prayers have been answered in exciting and unexpected ways by God’s grace this past year. In the coming pages, you’ll see the fruit of those prayers and, even more, how prayer is taking root on campuses, paving the way for even more growth among students and faculty. As you read, I invite you to join us in prayer and praise, thanking God for all that he did in the last year and all he will do in the year to come.

Tom Lin
President

Seeing the Campus through God’s Eyes

Prayer walking new campuses was an essential part of our year. Staff, student leaders, and alumni, like JD Mercado, spent hours driving to nearby campuses with little or no ministry presence. As they walked, they asked the Lord to open their eyes to the culture of the campus and for connections with students hungry for hope.

After graduating from Northern Arizona University, JD, a Native InterVarsity alumnus and worship leader, felt like his faith was stagnant. He longed to follow Jesus beyond Sunday morning services after graduation, and he still felt called to serve God’s mission on campus. But how?

Struck by the example of John the Baptist, JD began prayer walking four unreached campuses—three in Arizona and one in New Mexico—as an InterVarsity volunteer, praying for revival among Native and Indigenous students. He plans to return to one of those campuses, Coconino Community College, in the fall to continue building relationships with students. He is also part of the planning team for the upcoming Would Jesus Eat Frybread? conference for Native InterVarsity students.

Alumni partners, like JD, are crucial to seeing more chapters planted on new campuses in the years to come.

Innovating for the Future

Innovation is a key part of seeing witnessing communities established on 2,500 campuses by 2030. Last year, we began to more intentionally grow a culture of innovation, so staff can more easily test new ideas, refine them, and then implement them on other campuses.

Toward this end, we held our first ever Innovation Summit. Staff broke into eight groups, each dedicated to one section of our Strategic Plan, and began brainstorming new possibilities for ministry. One result of the Summit was the development of a toolkit to help faculty start their own prayer meetings, which is being piloted this fall. With all of the tactics and skills we have gained over the last nearly eight decades of ministry, we trust that instilling a culture of innovation at the start of our new Strategic Plan will help us yield even more fruit. We also believe this will equip us to reach every campus with the gospel of Christ.

As InterVarsity student leaders at California State University, Bakersfield, Katie and Socorro knew a bit about the Bakersfield College Delano Campus. It was 45 minutes away, had no ministry presence—no student groups at all, really—and was where they felt God calling them to plant a chapter.

Receiving remote coaching from an InterVarsity Campus Staff Minister in Kansas City—1,634 miles away—they began making weekly trips to campus to start a Bible study using the Adopt-a-Campus Toolkit. Despite having only two people (both non-Christians) at their first Bible study, Katie and Socorro kept going.

Following God to Underserved Institutions

While every campus is unique, we have found (as have virtually all other national campus ministries) that our tried-and-true approaches tend to work best at certain types of schools in certain locations. We need specialized approaches to effectively reach other kinds of institutions. 

This year, we increased our efforts to meet this need for intentional, strategic ministry at institutions serving crucial future leaders—places like Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs), community colleges, and commuter schools.

Prairie View A&M University, an HBCU in Texas, educates 8,000 emerging leaders each year, including over 2,000 graduate students, with alumni numbering over 70,000 from 41 states and 43 countries. Chelir Grady, who was the Campus Staff Minister at Texas Southern University, felt led to plant a chapter at Prairie View A&M to ensure that, alongside a great education, students also had the opportunity to encounter Jesus and grow in faith.

Because of InterVarsity’s presence at Prairie View A&M, students like DonaVon are being transformed. As a homesick freshman, she accepted an invitation to a Bible study. Then Chelir began to disciple her. With Chelir’s help, DonaVon developed a deep relationship with Jesus and learned to share his love with others, regularly participating in the chapter’s weekly outreaches. Now God is using her to reach this important campus with the gospel.

With these strategies, we anticipate making even greater strides in reaching an increasingly diverse generation of college students with the real hope of Jesus.

2018–2019 InterVarsity Core* Student Participants of Color

* Students who participate in over half of chapter activities

Inviting Fellow Ministries to Partner

Campus ministries are more effective for the kingdom when we partner together. No one ministry has the resources or expertise needed to reach all 2,500 US campuses with over 1,000 students with the gospel—so, in dependence on the Spirit, we are inviting peer ministries into partnership. While maintaining our unique ministry identity, organizations like Cru and The Navigators are coming alongside us to share best practices and pray for revival at colleges and universities. From these partnerships, and working particularly closely with staff from Cru, EveryCampus.com was launched this past year: a website specifically focused on mobilizing prayer walks on every college in the US. And students and volunteers are catching the vision.

At Urbana 18, thousands prayed for revival on an EveryCampus map of the US. A group of students from Maine committed to pray for every college in their state. The group had connections with various college ministries and local churches, and the spirit of partnership was strong. Over this past semester, they prayed regularly together via video chat, added more interested students, and hosted two live worship and prayer gatherings with 15 to 20 students. In just six months, God used EveryCampus to begin a student-led, statewide campus prayer movement.

Transforming Culture among Faculty and Graduate Students

Graduate students and faculty are uniquely positioned to be a redeeming influence among the people, ideas, and structures of the university. But they also frequently face rigorous academic pressures and teaching loads. When they find spiritual community on campus, the results are far-reaching and powerful.

Ruth Castro, the first person in her family of Mexican immigrants to attend college, is one such emerging leader. As a graduate student at the University of Chicago (UChicago), she faced many struggles common to first-generation students. Alone on campus, Ruth realized that she needed something more: a real relationship with God.

She accepted an invitation to a Graduate and Faculty Ministries Bible study, where the Lord transformed her life. The UChicago Graduate Christian Fellowship, she found, was exactly what she needed. “We’re able to empower and uplift each other during hard times in graduate programs,” she said. “We create an environment of trust where we’re able to create long-lasting friendships with each other and with members in the community.”

One of Ruth’s long-term goals is to help low-income students who are struggling with academics. She’s thankful for the spiritual grounding she experienced in InterVarsity to propel her forward: “The difference now is that I feel it in my heart to praise God. I feel it in my heart to read the Bible and pray. That’s the huge difference. It’s the drive, the motivation, the passion to commit and live a Christlike life.”

Engaging Alumni in Ministry

This past year, 1,264 graduating seniors from 220 chapters took part in our GAPS (Give, Advocate, Pray, Serve) Program, which invites alumni and new graduates to become long-term partners on campus. In the 5 regions and 11 areas that participated, Campus Staff Ministers led seniors through a special program designed to help them transition to postcollege life and stay connected to the work of InterVarsity.

The GAPS Program, which will continue to be implemented in regions around the country in the coming years, is one of our key strategies for helping staff fully fund their ministry long-term and engage more volunteers on campuses. Plus, as our ministries thrive, we are also able to see alumni thrive as they leave the college campus to wherever they are sent.

The senior programs include three to four gatherings where recent alumni return to talk about their experiences in the workplace, and Campus Staff Ministers share practical tools for living out faith after college. Many have already been greatly impacted through the GAPS Program, including Derek from The University of Texas at Austin.

Derek was involved in the Asian American InterVarsity chapter at his campus. In his last semester, he participated in GAPS, meeting with other seniors in ministry partners’ homes. When the invitation was made to continue serving as volunteers, Derek accepted, having experienced such life-changing growth through InterVarsity. He currently serves his former chapter by mentoring students and helping at retreats, giving more students the opportunity to respond to Jesus.

Alumni Asked to Give, Advocate, Pray, and Serve