Intervarsity Takes Up New Expansion Model
One of the largest evangelical campus organizations is rekindling a spirit that has long been dormant for expansion across college campuses nationwide.
One of the largest evangelical campus organizations is rekindling a spirit that has long been dormant for expansion across college campuses nationwide.
In the next five years, Intervarsity Christian Fellowship plans to be on an additional 50 to 75 campuses plus grow at the 565 colleges it is currently established at. Intervarsity is starting up its planting and building project with the adoption of a new expansion model this fall.
After years of preparation, the IV team is "right on top of this," according to the ministry's president, Alec Hill.
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"It's not just planting, but also growing what we already have," Hill told The Christian Post last week.
In the past decade, the campus ministry has grown in student and staff size but the number of campuses that IV is present at has remained stagnant.
"Students increased, staff increased, chapters increased, but campuses haven't," said Hill. "We expanded on the campuses but haven't gone out as much, sticking to new campuses."
Beginning this year, however, the campus organization will launch its expansion project with at least 12 to 15 current staff members who will lead training and plant their ministry seed on new campus plots. Based off a model of the Evangelical Covenant Church, the growth initiative consists of two cohorts – chapter planting and chapter building – both of which involve a selective staff.
And every successive summer for the next five years will see a new selective staff, spreading Intervarsity to up to 15 campuses each time.
"We haven't been systematic in bringing staff together, but we're changing that this summer," Hill said in a former interview with American Executive. "We're trying to segment those staff who have the best ability and entrepreneurial spirit to complete this task."
Chapter planters will receive a "jumpstart grant" of $20,000 over the first three years for training and networking. Afterwards, the staff members will run the ministry self-supported, as current IV organizations are doing.
For existing chapters, Intervarsity has a part two to its growth initiative to not only plant seeds of new growth but also to "spur lasting growth," as Hill stated.
"What we want to do is, through the research we've done in the last two years, bring together folks who want to build those [existing] chapters."
IV has had a decentralized system when it came to growth principles, said Hill. "We haven't shared the best ideas and models of how chapters grow."
Having had a new model of expansion in mind since he took presidency four years ago, Hill is now executing his plans of training planters every year and chapter growers every other year.
With a current field staff of around 1,000 and an estimated planting staff of 60 to 75 and building staff of 135, Hill said there will be "significant impact throughout the movement if [they] follow through with this."
IV staff is largely young, with many joining just out of college graduation and lasting, on average, six years. Hill described the young ministry staff as a "mixed blessing." Although it would be optimal to keep staff members on the ministry team for long term, Hill pointed to their passion and understanding of the context of the university as positive aspects. IV gains some 100 to 120 new staff each year, with more joining than leaving.
Only months away from the project launch, Hill commented, "It feels we've been in a long time. It's exciting. Now, we're ready.
"I'm ready to begin the most exciting part of my job."
