Across the Nation
Living Water
At the University of Wisconsin–La Crosse, students proclaimed the Gospel through LaCrosse: Blood Water Mission. For two weeks, students demonstrated the love of Christ through their concern for the 311 million people in Africa who do not have access to clean water.
“I have to give a persuasive speech in class. I’ll give it on persuading people to be a part of our mission weeks,” a freshman participant said. During a collection night, 120 people raised $1,900 towards the cost of a new well. The Gospel illustrates how humanity is in need of redemption and the living water Jesus offers.
Spiritual Questions
At the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, InterVarsity chapter members gather to pray for their campus. Students asked God to bring more of His Kingdom to USC and how they can partner in His mission.
Participants took index cards with questions, such as What in your life are you most concerned about? Do you consider yourself a spiritual person?, and What gives you meaning and purpose in life? Wanting to begin spiritual conversations, they asked their non-Christian friends and classmates to answer these questions.
Cauchy Choi, a freshman who had been trying to share the Gospel with his roommate Alex since the beginning of the year, gave him one of the cards. To Cauchy’s surprise, Alex eagerly answered all three questions. Alex and Cauchy are discussing what it means to follow Jesus.
Jesus and Justice
At Smith College–Northampton, MA, InterVarsity hosted the annual Midnight Cry, a six-hour, community-wide night of prayer and worship, and the Veritas Forum, which featured Princess Kasune Zulu and Steve Haas, who help lead World Vision’s campaign against HIV-AIDS.
The Veritas Forum drew 100 students to explore issues of gender, inequity, poverty, and famine surrounding the AIDS pandemic. A leader of the Smith College Global AIDS campaign said, “I’d never thought about how God and justice might be connected before.” Nearly 150 students responded to a spiritual survey about their perceptions of God.