IV Leadership LP

PERSISTENTLY PURSUED

Persistently Pursued

Baileigh ambitiously rose to leadership positions in 14 different organizations and knew everyone on campus. But instead of feeling fulfilled and accomplished, she felt empty.

Meanwhile, InterVarsity never stopped praying for her. Then one day, after resisting for years, she finally said yes to attending one of their events…

Read Baileigh's Story

Baileigh's Story

Baileigh’s primary goal when she arrived at Meredith College, a small, all women’s college in North Carolina, was to earn the respect of others. Before long, she held leadership positions in 14 different organizations and knew everyone on campus.

“My focus was to get to the top as quickly as I could,” Baileigh said. “I didn’t care whose backs I stepped on because I wanted to win the most scholarships and get the most recognition.”

“I was never happy”

Early on, Baileigh attended a few InterVarsity events, but decided it wasn’t for her.

“Everyone was being vulnerable, hugging each other like they knew their deepest, darkest secrets,” Baileigh said. “I was scared that nobody was going to like me if they knew my deepest, darkest secrets.”

Baileigh’s secret was that she was lonely and depressed; she stayed busy so she wouldn’t have to confront this.

“I was just doing it all for me and never felt fulfilled,” Baileigh said. “I was never happy.”

“I felt like the Lord was calling me back”

Robin, the InterVarsity staff minister for Meredith College, continued to seek out Baileigh. For almost two years, the chapter prayed for her regularly and invited her to events when they saw her around campus.

“I felt something in me from the Lord to pray for her and pursue her,” Robin said. “I couldn’t let it go.”

But Baileigh avoided them. She ran away when she saw Robin on campus, and even went as far as dropping a class she had with some InterVarsity students.

Then, on a night when InterVarsity was hosting an event about racial reconciliation, Robin ran into Baileigh again. She invited her to come to the event, knowing that Baileigh was passionate about the subject.

“Baileigh, I know I’ve invited you to so many things, but here’s the deal: Come and stay for an hour, and if you don’t enjoy it, I will quit asking you to come to things,” Robin said.

Baileigh agreed to go and stayed for the entire event, listening as the speaker shared his journey of multiethnicity and explained how racial reconciliation was only possible with Jesus and through his leadership. Afterwards, Baileigh approached Robin with tears in her eyes.

“I felt like the Lord was calling me back, and so I went to the back of the room to talk with Robin and I gave my life to Christ,” Baileigh said. “I was literally the prodigal daughter.”

“InterVarsity...provides a welcoming place”

Now, Baileigh is a small group leader for upperclassmen. She learned to be vulnerable and wants to be an example of authenticity to the women in her group. She also learned a new way to be a leader—serving others selflessly like Jesus.

Knowing everyone on campus enables Baileigh to seek out others who may be “prodigals,” pray for them, invite them to small group, and pursue them the way her InterVarsity community pursued her.

“I love InterVarsity because it provides a welcoming place where everyone is invited and can be free to be themselves,” Baileigh said. “We’re so broken, and the healing I’ve gotten from this experience doesn’t compare to anything. I can be the worst person in the world, and it doesn’t matter how far I’ve gone or what I’ve done. All I need to do is just come back, and God is there.”

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“I became a Christian in 1970 through InterVarsity at a college in central Pennsylvania.”
—Tim Keller

Tim Keller is The New York Times bestselling author of The Prodigal God, The Meaning of Marriage and many others. He is the founding pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church, which now has an average Sunday attendance of 5,000 people at its different locations throughout New York City. Tim also founded Redeemer City to City, helping launch more than 400 churches in 56 cities worldwide.

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Promoting responsible stewardship of God’s gifts and grace

For eight consecutive years, InterVarsity has been awarded 4 stars (in a 4-star rating system) by Charity Navigator, a nonprofit rating organization. This rating recognizes InterVarsity's strong fiscal management, and is based on InterVarsity's program stability and low fundraising expenses.

InterVarsity pledges financial accountability through our charter membership in the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA). The ECFA seal assures donors that their gifts will always be used appropriately for InterVarsity's ministry.

"Only 3 percent of the charities we evaluate have received at least eight consecutive 4-star evaluations, indicating that InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA outperforms most other charities in America. This exceptional designation from Charity Navigator sets InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA apart from its peers and demonstrates to the public its trustworthiness."

—Michael Thatcher, President, Charity Navigator