Moraine Valley Community College – Power of Planting in Partnership

“I don’t want partners because they’re not going to do the things I want to do. I realized at the core of that is sin ... It’s lighter when you’re doing things in community versus doing things by yourself.

For years, InterVarsity staff Phil Norquist wanted to re-start a ministry at Moraine Valley Community College. But after getting connected with a local pastor, a student, and a professor, he realized God was assembling a team of people called to the campus together.

Moraine Valley Community College is diverse, multi-site campus in the Chicago suburbs. As a community college, most students commute and are only on campus for a few hours a day. This makes it a hard school to plant ministries at, and students find it difficult to find community. 

“I got here, and it was like, dead,” said Juliet, a Moraine Valley student who was disappointed when she started college that it was nothing like what she saw in the movies. “It [was] hard to seek community.” 

Early Attempts and Divine Connections

Rewinding back to 2007, this wasn’t always the case for Moraine Valley. Back then, Phil had worked to establish an InterVarsity chapter with active students. “I’ve always been one to start new things. It’s a campus that I think a lot of ministries [may have overlooked],” he said. 

However, by 2009, the ministry had fizzled out.

By 2023, Phil was working as an InterVarsity Regional Ministry Coordinator and was wondering where God was calling him to go next. After hearing about and connecting with a few pastors in Chicago who were interested in planting college ministries in their areas, he wondered if there were any more. He thought, What if we had a planting cohort for pastors? So he asked his teammates who they knew.

To his surprise, he found out that a local pastor named Daniel Stidham had been prayer walking for a while on none other than Moraine Valley’s campus. He saw some traction and had a couple of students involved. But that was until COVID happened. 

Phil also contacted his friend, a professor at Moraine Valley, Sam Chen, and asked if he’d like to join them and be their faculty connection to the campus. “There’s a lot of people who want community, period. Why not bring them together with Jesus?” Sam said. 

Something Special

Knowing it would be beneficial to have students involved who could connect well with their peers, Pastor Daniel invited students at nearby Christian campuses to go with him to pray for and share the gospel with students at Moraine Valley. He saw this not only as a way to reach students at Moraine Valley, but also as an opportunity to disciple those who were already Christian and already under his pastoral care to share their faith. 

A student named Andrew from Trinity College responded. “I want to learn how to evangelize. I want to go,” he said. “My heart felt very at peace and very drawn to this place.” 

As God brought this new team of ministers and planters together, as well as other partners who had a heart for Moraine, the first gathering to pray and plan took place. “We just wanted to see Jesus shared on this campus,” said Colleen Degen, Phil’s InterVarsity coworker. 

Even though each person in this group was from a different walk of life, different organization, different type of job, and different age, one thing was the same: a clear sense of joy and confidence that God was up to something special. What brought them all together was a committed love and care for this campus and its students. 

Each Playing a Part 

Finally in September of 2024, the team hosted their first welcome table on campus to invite students to this new InterVarsity ministry. Phil never expected how well it would go. He even felt as though, in all his years ministering on college campuses, this was the best tabling experience he ever had. Students were eager and excited that a community like this was starting at their school. “A place for people to come and grow in community and also with the Lord is awesome,” Juliet said. 

Just in that first semester of ministry at Moraine, 12 to 15 students came to Bible study every week, learning more about who Jesus was and developing deep, Christ-centered friendships on campus.

And none of that would have happened without the humility of Phil, Pastor Daniel, Andrew, Professor Sam, and others putting aside their own desires and instead recognizing how God was calling them to each play a part. 

While Phil and Colleen held the InterVarsity strategy and connection to the organization, they also coached Andrew and thought about how the ministry might be sustained and continue to grow.  Professor Sam was available to sign paperwork and reserve rooms –– the necessary work it takes to be a recognized student organization by the college. And Daniel mentioned how grateful he was to simply be a pastor to Andrew and some of the other students . He said, “We didn’t look like we should be together, which is exactly where the gospel is most visible.” 

Now, in this new school year, Andrew has come on staff with InterVarsity and is assigned to continue serving Moraine Valley. He has another staff leading and helping him, while Sam, Daniel, and other volunteers are still involved. God is continuing to move, and more students will be introduced to his hope and love for them. Pray for them and for the continued partnership that is shaping and transforming this campus for God’s glory. 

Just as was the case for Moraine Valley, hundreds of campuses still have no known gospel ministry. That means no active community discipling students, no one intentionally and regularly sharing the gospel. Many of these, like Moraine, are overlooked community colleges or commuter schools. To find out how you can help reach a campus with no known ministry near you, click here for InterVarsity’s planting coaching. 

And if you’re a pastor curious about planting college ministry or deepening your church’s connection to campus life, join the InterVarsity Pastor Cohort – Online Quarterly Gathering, a space designed just for you. Our next meeting is on October 3, 2025.

• Hear powerful stories of how God is moving on college campuses
• Gain fresh ministry tools to reach students and faculty
• Connect and encourage others in your church who share your heart for the next generation

Whether you're actively partnering with campus ministry or simply exploring how your church can engage the university, this cohort is a welcoming place to learn, grow, and dream together. Feel free to invite other pastors or leaders who might be interested. Email Phil Nordquist at phil.nordquist@intervarsity.org.

Hear more about what it took to start a ministry at Moraine Valley Community College by watching the video below (originally shared at Ambition 25, InterVarsity’s triennial ministry planting conference).