By Teresa Buschur

A Powerful Transformation

“My family was very poor, and didn’t believe in any religion. My parents worked very hard to support my whole family and had little time to think of anything outside of real life. During my childhood in school, all of us were taught to believe in science and that there was no God in the world,” Jon said.

Jon’s life started to change when he came to the United States about a year ago. One of his classmates at the University of California-San Diego invited him to InterVarsity’s International Christian Fellowship.

“My family was very poor, and didn’t believe in any religion. My parents worked very hard to support my whole family and had little time to think of anything outside of real life. During my childhood in school, all of us were taught to believe in science and that there was no God in the world,” Jon said.

Jon’s life started to change when he came to the United States about a year ago. One of his classmates at the University of California-San Diego invited him to InterVarsity’s International Christian Fellowship. Jon wasn’t sure what the group did, but he was curious about the Christian faith and decided to accept the invitation. Jon continued to attend Friday night meetings of the International Christian Fellowship week after week and to join other students in worshipping God and studying the Bible.

Over Christmas Break 2002, an InterVarsity student invited Jon to a church service. He thought that if he went to church, he would have a better understanding of the Christian faith. Jon found the church services to be interesting, so he continued to attend.

In January, Jon joined his classmates on an InterVarsity retreat, but he was skeptical about God’s existence and especially doubted the account of creation in Genesis. It just didn’t make sense to him. “At the beginning, I could not accept Jesus Christ, let alone his creation of human beings,” Jon said. About two months later, Jon went along as InterVarsity hosted a retreat for International students at Campus By the Sea on Catalina Island, CA, one of InterVarsity’s training camps.

Throughout the sessions during camp, Jon heard the speaker’s message of Christ’s love for all people. Jon saw Christ’s love in the ways his fellow students reached out to him and welcomed him, even though he was not sure what to believe about Jesus. He listened as students from his campus shared how God had worked in their lives and changed their attitudes throughout the weekend.

Jon began to feel something missing and struggled as he tried to figure out what Christ’s love could mean in his personal life. As he ate, studied, and worshipped God with other students, he realized that maybe God was what was missing. Through several conversations with the speaker about creation and God’s love, Jon decided he was ready to give his life to Jesus.

Jon has been changed through his relationship with Jesus Christ. He is eager to share his faith and invites his non-Christian friends to InterVarsity meetings. As John shares how his life has been transformed by God, many new students have become actively involved with the InterVarsity chapter on campus. Jon went on a missions project with his InterVarsity chapter to Mexico, where he helped serve the poor and told them of the hope that he has in Jesus Christ.

Jon continues his relationship with Jesus by reading his Bible and praying regularly. “In the process of growing as a Christian, I feel more confident about facing the difficulties in my life,” Jon said.

Jon’s friends within the InterVarsity community encouraged him to tell his family about his new life in Christ. Back in China, when he told his grandmother of his newfound Christian faith, she said, “Your parents became Christians over a year ago, but were afraid to tell you, because of your involvement with the Communist party.”

Jon has seen Jesus work through the peace he has brought to Jon and his family back in China. His experience shows how God uses Christians to reach out and welcome non-Christians into the family of God. “I’ll continue to grow in my knowledge of Christianity and my relationship with Jesus Christ as I trust God to take care of me and bring me a happy and successful life,” Jon says.