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Hey man, could we talk soon? As a campus minister with Greek InterVarsity at Indiana University (IU) for six years, Jimmy had received texts like this before. But never one from someone like Matt, who’d been gone from IU for five years.

I’ve begun to see how fundamental hospitality is within God’s DNA. And since we’re God’s kids, called to follow his example (Eph 5:1), I see how hospitality needs to be a high priority—whether that’s how we approach freshmen on campus, the new person at work, or visitors to our congregations or small groups, just like Scripture says in Hebrews 13:2

These are tiny little beauties that, when added up, create the culture of campus that I missed so much. Campus life is back, and with that, so is in-person ministry.

Saying goodbye to summer can be difficult. Here's how we can do it and have hope for the fall. 

The Class of 2021 is longing for summer after a long, lonely winter. We yearn to unify ourselves around a common goal. We pant for revival, to patch the lonely holes in our own hearts with real connection.

This strong blend of butterflies, anxiety, and excitement that accompanies a freshman’s first day on campus has always been there. But COVID took things to a whole new level. Many freshmen never even had the chance to tour campus.

I am keenly aware that our bodies have absorbed a gauntlet of grief throughout this traumatic year. And some of us, for the first time since March 2020, are stepping onto campuses that have been closed for over a year. How then, when we are committed to seeing God’s kingdom come on campus, do we enter NSO well?

As much as I cherished the moment, I wish I had known that it would be the last football game I’d ever attend as a student. Actually, there were a lot of “lasts” that came sooner than I expected.

As we prepare for a new school year, I believe Jesus’ invitation for us is to see and care for these first-gen students’ unique experiences while also recognizing the agency and gifts they bring—to the campus, our ministries, the world, and the kingdom of God.

I would like to start an InterVarsity group on campus. How do I go about doing that? Michelle, InterVarsity’s North Florida Area Director, had to reread that message a couple times.