ALWAYS

Dear Friend,

As I’ve reflected on our 2021-2022 year of ministry, I’ve kept returning to the promise Jesus gives his disciples in the Great Commission: “I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Mt 28:20).

The goal they’re about to pursue is huge — making disciples of all nations. And to help them do it, Jesus gives them simple techniques and strategies … and most of all, himself. The simple promise of his presence. “I’ll be with you the whole way,” he says. “I’ll never leave. And whatever happens as you follow me, that will be enough.”

I know how deeply you long for revival on campus. We do this because we trust that same promise. In every moment of our ministry with students and faculty, Jesus is there with us. 

This year, after two challenging years of mostly virtual ministry, we reconnected in-person on campus and rebuilt our chapters. Through our chapters, events, conferences, and camps, we reached 48,891 students and faculty members across nearly 700 campuses. Over 13,000 of those students gathered in 2,040 small groups, studying God’s Word and praying together, as did 1,093 faculty. “Every second of Bible study this year was worth it. It was like nothing I’ve ever experienced,” one student said.

We served 30 percent more freshmen than we did last year, and 65 percent more students made first-time decisions to follow Jesus! Just sharing this with you fills me again with awe at God’s grace and goodness. These students are new lives walking with Jesus in the joy of his “I am with you always” promise.

College has always been pivotal in students finding their calling. In a survey of students in our movement, over 50 percent of those interested in cross-cultural missions became Christians in college. 

More than 2,000 students participated in missions this year, growing as whole-life, whole-world disciples — and as we look toward Urbana 22 this December, we hope to mobilize thousands more.

While 20 percent of college students describe themselves as “nothing in particular” spiritually, they’re more open to the gospel than ever before. Isn’t that incredible? At a time when they’re the most likely to become strong disciples, more students are open to the real hope of Jesus. We know that’s the spiritual opportunity on campus right now. It’s the possibility of reaching many more students, like one who said, 

We used the same ministry tools on campus this year that Jesus did with his first disciples: the everyday gifts of Scripture, prayer, evangelism, and relationship.

For 2,000 years, these tools have never failed to advance God’s kingdom. Ordinary means in ordinary moments — a dorm room Bible study, a quiet prayer meeting before class, a simple invitation to come to an event — that Jesus multiplied into extraordinary new life.

This current school year will also be, in some ways, “ordinary”: ordinary ministry with ordinary tools. But, of course, we know no ministry year will ever be ordinary. Not when Jesus is with us as we follow him and make disciples on campus.

I’m so thankful for your prayerful stewardship of our work inviting students and faculty — like the ones in these stories— to put their trust in Jesus.


For God’s glory,

Tom Lin President/CEO,
InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA