One of the best parts of my job is to interact with InterVarsity alumni. It is an absolute joy to see what the Lord has done with them in the decades after they left their InterVarsity chapters.
It is so encouraging that our passion for the Lordship of Christ and biblical justice continue to be reflected in the lives of alumni. Two such alums live in the Washington D.C. area and both are deeply involved in bringing the good news of the Gospel to those in dire need.
Gary Haugen
As founder and president of the International Justice Mission, Gary oversees an international human rights ministry that rescues victims of violence, sexual exploitation, slavery, and oppression. Based on referrals of abuse received from relief and development organizations, IJM conducts professional investigations of the abuses and mobilizes intervention on behalf of the victims. In particular, IJM specializes in freeing children and women from the slave sex trade by bringing pedophiles and others to justice. This is not work for the faint of heart.
When I visited Gary in his office the week before Thanksgiving, I noted that IJM’s street address is not placed into general distribution. This is because there are many who wish Gary and his team harm. As an October Time Magazine article noted, “IJM is a low-key, but highly effective, US-based anti-pedophile organization.”
When I asked Gary about his InterVarsity roots, he beamed. “For four years, I was nurtured and fed at the Harvard-Radcliffe Christian Fellowship. I moved from being a naïve and rather narrow Christian to one concerned about God’s greater purposes in the world.”
Later, I met one of Gary’s vice presidents, Sharon Cohn, who met the Lord while serving on an InterVarsity global missions project in Nigeria. Sharon will be sharing a testimony at Urbana. How wonderful to see the fruit of our ministry twenty years after college.
Mark Earley
Prior to serving as president of Prison Fellowship, Mark was Virginia’s Attorney General. He now leads a ministry that serves prisoners and their families in 108 countries. As significantly, Prison Fellowship is involved in reforming statutes so that they are in conformity with biblical norms.
I met Mark a year or so ago and immediately knew that I was with a kindred spirit. He exudes warmth and compassion. Succeeding Chuck Colson four years ago, Mark has taken on a formidable task.
Mark fondly remembers his InterVarsity experience at William and Mary – very formative years he notes. His concern for the disenfranchised and his commitment to the whole gospel were nurtured in the chapter and continued to grow in the decades following graduation.
In addition to his day job, Mark serves as Chairman of Operation Starting Line, a multi-ministry, interdenominational outreach to prisoners in America that is helping the local and in-prison church provide in-prison evangelistic events, ongoing inmate mentoring, and post-prison assistance for ex-prisoners and their families.
Glory be to God for the good things he is doing in the world. What a privilege it is to see trees of righteousness in full bloom.
