Growing in Love Since 1941

For more than 80 years, InterVarsity has been spreading the hope of Jesus on campuses throughout the country, and across the world.

It started on November 14, 1941, when InterVarsity Christian Fellowship was officially recognized as a nonprofit organization in the United States. Since then, God has been using us to reach college students through seasons of war and revival, division and peace, sickness and hope.

Today, our movement is still as determined as ever to see witnessing communities among students and faculty who are growing in their love for God, his Word, God’s people of every ethnicity and culture, and his purposes in the world. 

Beginning with a Love for God 

Formed in 1877 at the University of Cambridge, a small group of students met despite university disapproval. They prayed, studied Scripture, and shared their faith, forming the British Inter-Varsity — “inter” meaning between, and “varsity” referring to university students.

Their movement spread to Canada and then to the U.S., when Stacey Woods, a young Australian passionate about reaching students with the gospel, landed at the University of Michigan in 1938. There, he started the first InterVarsity chapter in the U.S.

Quickly, the 1940s and the Second World War set a challenging stage for ministry. But even amid tragedy, InterVarsity grew as we found a need to bring hope to students. By 1946, 277 InterVarsity chapters were planted across the country.

That same year, students from InterVarsity USA and Canada gathered for a missions convention in Toronto, the beginning of what would become our triennial Urbana Missions Conference. In 1947, InterVarsity USA met with Christian student movements from nine different countries to discuss a plan to reach students of every nation and tongue. Out of this meeting came the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students (IFES), a movement now uniting more than 160 countries under this mission. 

Rooted in a dedication to evangelism, discipleship, and missions, these partnerships continue to shape how we express our love for God on campuses today.

Love for God’s Word

By the 1950s, as secularism and modernism reshaped universities, InterVarsity focused on grounding students in God’s Word, and staff launched a “Year of Evangelism,” inviting Bible teachers to campus events. 

Then came one of our most forefront ministry practices: Manuscript Bible study. InterVarsity staff Rosalind Rinker and Paul Byer wondered what connections could be made if pages of the Bible were torn out and laid side by side. Pinning pages on a wall, they drew lines to connect repeated words and themes that seemed to communicate meaning to readers. By using a mimeograph to copy pages of Scripture, students discovered the joy of marking up Bible passages with colored pencils. 

We began studying Scripture inductively rather than deductively and began relying on leader-facilitators who would guide students to engage in communal discovery —generating questions together, sharing what they see and think, and discovering Scripture’s meaning for themselves. This became a hallmark of how InterVarsity helps students grow in their love for God’s Word.

Love for God’s People of Every Ethnicity and Culture

While segregation was still the norm in the US even until the 1970s, InterVarsity’s Board forbade racial segregation at our events as early as the 1940s. Despite the backlash, our ministry remained dedicated to keeping unity. New staff, who began ethnic-specific ministries, were hired in the 1980s and 90s, solidifying our commitment to multiethnic witnessing communities. 

These fellowships, which focused on specific corners of campus, would come to be known as InterVarsity Focused Ministries. Today, we have a focus ministry for nearly every corner of campus, including: 

• Greek (sorority and fraternity) InterVarsity
• Athletes InterVarsity
• InterVarsity Arts Ministry
• Graduate and Faculty Ministries (GFM)
• Asian American InterVarsity (AAIV)
• Black Campus Ministries (BCM)
• Latino Fellowship (LaFe)
• South Asian InterVarsity (SAIV)
• Native InterVarsity 

And more, both official and unofficial! 

Through these focused ministries and our commitment to follow God even when it was unpopular, we grew students in love for God’s people of every ethnicity and culture. 

Love for God’s Purposes in the World

The 1970s brought a renewed dedication to the campus mission field, staff training, and movement-wide unity in fighting for justice. The first Urban Program, now called Justice Programs, took place in New York. Now over a dozen Justice Programs exist in various U.S. cities in partnership with local communities. 

By the 1980s, InterVarsity’s global connections were expanding rapidly. The InterVarsity Link Program, launched in 1981, connected staff with IFES movements across the globe. And we continued giving students and staff even more unique training and opportunities to see God at work through the establishment Global Programs, allowing them to embark on mission trips to experience a greater sense of the kingdom of God and the Global Church. 

Programs like these continue to help students express their love for God’s purposes in the world today.

God’s Faithfulness Through Every Generation

Throughout the decades, trusting in God’s faithfulness has not always been easy. We have held fast through political turmoil, a world-wide pandemic, uncomfortable transitions to digital community, economic downturns, and discouraging setbacks in our community. We’ve had to adapt to changing times, new generations and mindsets, and creative ways of ministry. But InterVarsity students, faculty, and staff have remained committed to these four loves, and God continues to move. 

Were you an InterVarsity student sometime during our 84+ year history? Whether it’s been a few years or a few decades, you are still a part of our story –– reconnect with us by joining our alumni network!