InterVarsity Holds Staff Orientation, Lists Top Three Issues
The top three issues discussed at InterVarsity's orientation for new staff were building multiethnic communities, witnessing, and evangelizing.
The top three issues discussed at InterVarsity's orientation for new staff were building multiethnic communities, witnessing, and evangelizing, according to Scott Wilson, Communications Director for the national fellowship.
For ten days from June 20 to June 29, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship held their annual Orientation for new staff. This year, 108 new staff workers attended, and they are expected to join roughly 1300-1400 InterVarsity staff already serving the campus ministry.
Much of the week was spent on strategic planning, which centered on multi-ethnicity, campus evangelism, and developing witnessing communities.
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"We think that developing multiethnic communities is key to redeveloping the church, the campus, the community, and the world," said Wilson.
InterVarsity made a commitment to multi-ethnicity since the 1940s when the organization decided not to hold events at venues that discriminated against blacks.
"True multi-ethnicity is going to change your worship style. It's going to change how you make decisions and who makes decisions," said Jim Lungren, director of collegiate ministries for InterVarsity, in a January 2004 Christianity Today article.
Over 35% of InterVarsity students are ethnic minorities, according to president, Alec Hill.
"A lot of groups move on a homogeneous principle, and we're much more inclusive than that," Hill said in an earlier interview.
To grow campus chapters was another concern for the staff.
"How do you bring 40 students to 150 students?" asked Wilson. "It's not enough to bring students to Christ; they must also become witnesses."
"Witnessing is paying attention to what God is doing; if you see something but don't testify about it, then that's not a good witness," said Wilson. "Witness is seeing and talking about what you see."
Evangelism - engaging people who do not know Jesus - was the third topic.
"We want to be producing young men and women who are going out to the world of advance the Kingdom," said Wilson. "I'd say there is a renewed commitment to that."
