Our Past and Present
Our origins as a campus movement began in 1877 with students at the University of Cambridge, England. Some Christian students, in spite of the disapproval of many influential men at the University, began to meet together to pray, study the Bible, and witness to fellow students. From the beginning, they also had a strong concern for world missions, a concern that continues today.
Encouraged by the fellowship at Cambridge, students at other English universities ("varsities") began to hold similar meetings. A confederation of these groups was then formed. It is from this first alliance of different campuses that we get our name "InterVarsity."
In 1928, British InterVarsity helped the formation of student groups in Canada. Soon after, in 1938, Stacey Woods, the Canadian InterVarsity director, met with students in the United States to discuss their concern for the Gospel reaching their campuses. The following year, Canada appointed three staff members to work in the United States. In 1941, IVCF-USA was officially born as its own staff workers began to itinerate.
In 1946, InterVarsity became one of nine founding student movements of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students (IFES). Joining together to reach the future leaders of their countries and the world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, more than 90 active national student movements are now affiliated with IFES.
Today, InterVarsity is engaging the American college world with the Gospel in a number of different ways. We are present on over 600 campuses across the United States. Through our Student Foreign Missionary Fellowships (SFMF), InterVarsity works with students on just under one hundred Christian colleges. Nurses Christian Fellowship (NCF) works with over 1000 nurses and nursing students around the country. We also have specific ministries targeted at graduate students, international students, and faculty members at colleges and universities.
In addition, InterVarsity has several resource ministries, including InterVarsity Press which sells over 1 million books each year. Our media division, 2100 Productions, produces videos and other media tools to confront college students with the reality of Christ in their lives. Our mission division helps hundreds of students travel overseas each summer on short-term missions, and plays an important role in helping them determine if God is calling them to a life in a missions field.