Ministry Overview
We believe in…the unity of all believers in Jesus Christ, manifest in
worshipping and witnessing churches making disciples throughout the world…"
(from the Doctrinal Basis of InterVarsity). Thus, InterVarsity Christian
Fellowship is a part of the Body of Christ on campus. Have you ever wondered
how many students InterVarsity Christian Fellowship touches? What are
the different ministries within InterVarsity, anyways? These fun facts
may help answer some of your questions. We bear witness to God and His
church through:
1. Collegiate Ministries
In 2002-2003, InterVarsity had 810 undergraduate chapters on 565 campuses.
Some campuses have separate outreaches to International students, sororities
and fraternities, and ethnic minority groups. During the 2002-2003 school year,
over 32,000 students were actively involved in InterVarsity chapters. 865 field staff
support these student groups.
- Multi-Ethnic Ministry
- Approximately 27% of the college population (not counting Internationals) identify themselves as ethnic minorities.
- Of the 32,365 active InterVarsity students, 11,183, or 35%, identify themselves as ethnic minority or multiracial students.
- InterVarsity has 113 Asian American staff, 56 African American staff, 25 Hispanic staff, and 2 Native American staff. (8/31/02)
- Specialized areas of ministry include Black Student Ministries, Asian American Ministries, and Latino Fellowship
- Graduate and Faculty Ministry
- 141 chapters are primarily oriented to graduate students, professional students, and/or faculty.
- 334 chapters have graduate student involvement.
- Nurses Christian Fellowship
- During the 2002-2003 school year, about 1,026 students participated in Nurses Christian Fellowship in Schools of Nursing.
- 867 Professional Nurses were involved in Nurses Christian Fellowship during the 2002-2003 school year.
- Many other students and professionals are reached through the Journal of Christian Nursing and conferences which
focus on applying a Christian worldview to the field of Nursing.
- Evangelism
- Chapter leaders reported 1,800 first-time professions of faith in Jesus as Savior and Lord.
- 2,750 students attended the 935 GIGs (Groups Investigating God) held during first semester 2002-2003.
- International Student Ministry
- Currently, there are 700,000 international students in the United States from 220 countries.
India, China, and Korea send the most students.
- About 60 InterVarsity staff members work to develop International Witnessing Communities on campus.
- 3,233 International students participated in both undergraduate and graduate fellowships.
2. Missions
From the Summer of 2002 to the Spring of 2003,
the total number of InterVarsity students
participating in long (over 4 months) and
short term projects was 4,093.
- Global Urban Trek
- The Global Urban Trek is a series of service projects where students minister in the poorest cities of the world.
- In 2003, 150 students and staff participated in Global Urban Treks in 7 countries.
- Global Mission Projects
- Over 450 InterVarsity students and staff participated in Global Mission Projects.
- Urban Projects
- There were 23 weekend "plunges", 6 short projects, and 12 internships in 20 U.S. cities with 843 students involved.
- Over 13,000 community residents were served in cities like Boston, MA; Los Angeles, CA; Tampa, FL; and Milwaukee, WI.
- InterVarsity Link
- 58 of InterVarsity's full time staff and 14 volunteer staff serve in 21 countries overseas with the
International Fellowship of Evangelical Students.
- Urbana
- Urbana is InterVarsity's triennial student mission convention. Students gather at the University of
Illinois Urbana/Champaign to learn about the global mission of the church. At each convention, more
than 18,000 students explore short-term and vocational missions opportunities. Over 350 agencies and
schools host booths where students can ask questions about missions projects.
- Since the first Convention in 1946, nearly 213,000 students have heard the challenge to participate in
God's global mission. At Urbana 2000, 5,035 people committed to vocational cross-cultural missions.
10,563 people dedicated their lives and resources to furthering the mission of the church. Over $1
million was given to assist the physically and spiritually poor.
- The next Urbana will be held December 27-31, 2006.
3. Camps/Training Centers
Each year, over 19,000 people attended InterVarsity's four training centers (Bear Trap Ranch, Colorado Springs, CO; Cedar Campus, Cedarville, MI; Campus By the Sea, Catalina Island, CA; Toah Nipi, Rindge, NH) to focus on God and be equipped for Christian service. These facilities are open to students, graduates, staff, families, and church groups.
- InterVarsity Press
- InterVarsity
Press (IVP) publishes about 95 new books a year and has over 800 titles
in print. IVP books have been translated into over 60 languages
including Chinese, Korean, Portuguese, Persian, Croatian, and Estonian.
