InterVarsity Volunteer Partners With Student to Re-Build LaFe at UC Santa Barbara

“For an ethnic minority to walk into that [majority culture] space, it can be super intimidating because you're thinking, I'm clearly the only one that's not of the same culture,” Alison Cuevas, an InterVarsity volunteer staff, said. 

When Alison was a student at Virginia Tech, she learned the importance of having a space on campus for Latino/a students to grow in their faith. After graduating, she spent a few years working for a campus ministry and a megachurch.

That experience was “good and tough for a lot of reasons,” she said. “So, I stepped down from ministry thinking I wasn't going to go back for a while.”

Alison began working for a non-profit that had her move to Santa Barbara, California. Two months after her move, her company decided to go fully remote. 

“I thought, Well, I don't know why the Lord has me here, but we're going to lean in,” she said. 

At her new church, Alison became close friends with Kelsey Schuett, an InterVarsity staff minister at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB). When Alison felt God nudging her to consider getting involved in ministry again, she asked Kelsey about opportunities at UCSB.

“I used to do Latino ministry at my college campus, and I want to support any way that I can,” Alison told Kelsey. 

The Way the Lord Created You

One of Kelsey’s students, Jimena, was working to revive a LaFe chapter at UCSB. Kelsey asked Alison to disciple Jimena, thinking it would be good for Jimena to have a Latina woman to look up to. Alison poured into Jimena by mentoring her, praying for her, and simply being a friend she could talk to about life.

“A lot of times it was just being a cheerleader, like, 'You got this, you could do it!' She's a natural leader,” Alison said about Jimena.

“We hang out and just talk about life. My life is not easy but having someone that can listen and relate is nice,” Jimena said. 

Together, Alison and Jimena hosted Latino/a students for Bible study in Jimena’s home. Through their leadership, LaFe grew dramatically at UCSB and Latino/a students found a spiritual home on campus where they could learn more about their faith and their ethnic identity. 

“A lot of us feel like we have to leave [our ethnic identity] at the door of church, or that it's an accident, or we’re Christian despite our ethnicity,” Alison said. “But the Lord is the Lord of the whole world.”

Understanding the need for contextualized ministry, Alison and Jimena invited LaFe students to do inductive Bible studies in English and Spanish. Reading in both languages helped the Latino/a students in the chapter understand Scripture in completely new ways. It also helped them grow a deeper appreciation for their language and culture. The group regularly prayed and worshiped in Spanish and English as well.

Some of the students that attended LaFe didn’t come from a Christian background at all. Some came from Latino/a church backgrounds and found it comforting to be able to read Scripture in their heart language. Others had only ever been in predominantly white churches, and LaFe was a way for them to connect with their culture.

“There are students that come and say, ‘I don't speak Spanish, and I want to go back to my roots.’” Alison said. “And so, we can say, ‘Yeah, that's a Christian thing. We want you to be proud of the way that the Lord created you.’” 

A New Passion 

Volunteering with LaFe renewed Alison’s passion for ministry and changed her understanding of how ministry could look outside of her day job. 

“It was really awesome,” she said. “I wasn't on staff, so it wasn’t the same obligations, but I could show up to anything.”

Alison’s role as a volunteer gave her the flexibility to take on more or less ministry responsibilities depending on her capacity. When she had more free time her first few months volunteering, she was able to attend almost every InterVarsity and LaFe event. But when work picked up, she prioritized meeting with students like Jimena for one-on-ones and pouring into the ministry that way.  

“The intent is just to be available. It doesn't mean that I'm doing Bible study with them every single time, but as long as they know that they can count on an older sister here in town, that makes me happy,” she said.

Volunteering also gave Alison the chance to do what she missed most from her old ministry jobs, like leading small groups. When she wasn’t doing that, she was also able to stretch herself and try new things, like teaching some of the sessions at a Mark Camp. 

“I remember I was super nervous, and Kelsey did such a good job of really holding my hand through that,” she said. 

Alison wasn’t sure she would ever work in ministry again, much less create a much-needed space for so many Latino/a students, but she’s grateful for all the ways God decided to use her at UCSB. 

On Purpose, For a Purpose

“I'm very passionate about students knowing that they are created in the image of Christ and that those things that make us different are on purpose and for a purpose,” Alison said. 

Through her volunteer work with InterVarsity and LaFe, Alison learned that while all Latino/a students have different lived experiences, God could meet them wherever they were. Her dream is to point more Latino/a students to Jesus, trusting that he will show them the beauty and power of their ethnic identity. 

“They’re not by accident,” Alison said about the things that make her and her students Latino/a. “They're not things that we have to suppress or put down. In fact, the Lord will use those things to make us a bridge to our communities.”