InterVarsity's Year in Numbers

It looks like now is one of the most exciting and dynamic growth periods in InterVarsity history! Campus staff sent in their end of the year reports and the information has just been tabulated in our Annual Field Report (AFR). Take a look: 

• Overall student participation at 37,936 is up to the highest level since tracking began in 1970, growing for the fifth consecutive year.

• The number of undergrad chapters grew by 23, the strongest gain in more than a decade. We now have 893 chapters on 576 campuses. (Thanks chapter planters!)

• The largest campus ministries are: James Madison University with 575 in the undergrad chapter and 84 in Greek chapter, for a total of 659 students, followed by UNC-Chapel Hill, UIUC (Illinois), UT-Austin, and UW-Madison.

• Conversions totaled 3,354: the highest number ever and double what it was seven years ago.

• The number of chapters with ten or more converts is double what it was five years ago.   

In fact, one of our 2100 interns this summer, Gisella, became a Christian just last year through friends in (what is now) her InterVarsity chapter! What a privilege to put a name, a personality, and a story to one of these numbers. Thank you for your prayers and resources, that make the growth of God's Kingdom possible. Glory be to God for His work on campus!

Who Will You Be: Evangelism in Madison

Our new staff used the Who Will You Be Pocket Proxe, about God and identity, to guide their conversations during evangelism training. They actually go out in twos (contact evangelism style) and have conversations about Jesus with different people on the streets of Madison (yes, that's here where I live!) and the University of Wisconsin campus. 120 staff went out and overall there were 12 people that decided to follow Christ 2 weeks ago today!

Two stories of decisions for Christ:

One ONS pair approached a man sitting on a bench. The pair started the conversation with the Proxe and the man read the story of the prodigal. When he did he began to tear up and said that his father had abandoned him. The Spirit moved him using the Proxe and he made a decision for Christ.

Another couple approached a woman sitting on a bench. She was reading a book. Turns out the book was a self-help book on identity. The woman exclaimed, "I have been thinking this week about the connection between spirituality and identity. Amazing you should approach me on this" (paraphrase). She also made a decision to follow Jesus.

Praise God for his work in people's lives, preparing them and calling them home to his love. He uses us and what we make, he uses scripture; he gets through to people. God's power is amazing.