Introducing: Who Will You Be

This student at the USC test looks like she was the model for the T-shirt design!

It's the time of year when we come up with a brand new New Student Outreach Campaign ala Red Cup (last year) and Choices (two years ago). I've been working hard, brainstorming, drafting, writing, testing, with a team of 5 other staff including Doug Schaupp (Los Angeles)-our fearless leader, Beth Roselius (West Virginia), Sam Rizk (Los Angeles), Daniel Lui (SoCal) and Troy Tisthammer (Reno).

We've just completed our first on-campus test at University of Southern California...

It went well! The student leaders liked it and they had many curious visitors and good conversations. Lots of students heard the gospel.

The theme and title of this campaign in "Who Will You Be"--that is, identity. Students, especially freshman, are thinking about who they want to be: what image, and the character traits beneath, they want to create for themselves on campus, and in the world it prepares them for. Do they want to be the same person they are with their families? In high school? Do they like who they are becoming? 

Here's how conversation at the display (called proxe) goes....

We ask students to identify celebrities who have changed their names (Panel 1), and then ask students to share their own nicknames (Panel 2). Then (Panel 3) we ask them to think about and share what they want to be more or less of (more courageous? less fake?). In the test, once students talked about what character traits they struggle with, all of them were willing to read the story (Panel 4) of a Son who wanted to go off on his own... and the father who rejoiced at his return (Luke 15:11-32). What do they think of the character of father? Do they think the son did a good job forming his own identity? Who do they identity with? Who do they want to be like? Do they think that God, as Jesus said, is like that father? These questions and their answers lead a student leader to share the gospel, invite the person to a Bible study and pray for them.

The campaign's look and script are still flexible, but...

We are presenting it to field directors at Spring Meetings this Thursday night. Please pray that directors would be excited to use, and encourage the campus staff to use, this new tool! 

After this meeting the race is on to get everything online and printed for staff to share with their student leaders at Chapter Focus Week (retreat and planning time at semester's end).

Red Cup goes on Spring Break

We think of College students’ spring breaks as road trips, sunburns and partying on the beach. And the InterVarsity students that headed to Panama City Beach, Florida did that with a twist: they brought Red Cup along! Students participating in Soul Surf, InterVarsity's spring break evangelism trip, gave away free pancakes, threw pool parties and even hosted a live band. They used the The Red Cup display on spiritual thirsts to connect with the thousands of spring breakers holding red cups on the beach.

This led to spiritual conversations with people who wouldn’t go near a church. We brought Jesus to the same bar that hosted MTV’s beach bash of 100 kegs, 500 gallons of mixed drinks, and 1,000 pizzas the next day. This is a scene mostly missed by Christians, and our students reached out within it! This is incarnational ministry. We are called to “go and be" as well as invite people to “come and see"--on their own turf.

Mike Zientara, staff intern at Illinois State University, wrote about it on the InterVarsity Blog. Here's an excerpt:

 "One evening, after a long day on the beach, I saw students checking out the display, but nobody was working it yet. It felt like a ringing phone where I kept looking around wondering, “Is anyone going to get that?” God pushed me just a little bit farther, out of my own strength and into his, and I began talking with them.

 The conversation unfolded and I learned that two of the students believed in Jesus, but weren't committed to following him daily. I shared the gospel with them and asked if they would like to make that commitment right then.I was surprised when they said yes! I made sure they knew the implications of following Jesus, almost trying to talk them out of their decision. However, it was clear that the Holy Spirit had been working in their lives and they were ready. They stumbled through heartfelt prayers, and committed to following Jesus! Despite my fatigue, God did things through me that I was incapable of and he is able to get the credit."

Happy Easter: Testimonies from U Chicago

The InterVarsity Chapter at University of Chicago put together a video of the student's 'cardboard testimonies,' just a snap shot of each student's faith journey to share at Easter. These were such an encouragement to me. Jesus does continue His work through us, as we share the good news of His sacrifice and resurrection. I hope seeing how so many current students have been saved and changed this year will encourage you too--this work is your work as well!

UChicago Intervarstiy Cardboard Testimonies (Easter Video) from Jeff Son on Vimeo.