...and we made it through.

Well, we made it through the first few weeks...exhausted, but we made it.

At St. Olaf, we started the year by inviting students to a bonfire so they could meet others who are a part of InterVarsity. Over 50 students showed up that night, and there were good conversations happening the entire time. We also have been hosting weekly dinners on Sunday evenings, and each week several new students are joining us and developing relationships with others in InterVarsity.

For Hamline, this semester is unique in that several students are studying in Europe. It means that for those of us remaining on campus, we have more work to do to invite and welcome new people. We have already hosted a game night to provide a fun social environment to get to know people in InterVarsity. We also had our first worship gathering, a time where students could come and find out more about InterVarsity and worship God with other Christians on campus. 

Small group Bible studies on both campuses have started the year with studies focused on Biblical models for community, exploring how to apply those examples on campus. As I have worked with leaders to prepare these discussions, their excitement has been evident and encouraging, giving me a great deal of hope for how God will use them on campus this year.

Students praying and processing during our 'Urban Dip'

As an organization, InterVarsity has several Urban Project sites throughout the country. Those sites frequently host weekend, week-, and summer-long programs for students to serve in multi-ethnic and cross-cultural settings. The programs spend significant time in scripture, studying what God has to say about loving others, serving the poor, and engaging the world as Jesus did. This past weekend, 17 students from the Twin Cities had the chance to experience an 'Urban Dip,' a day-long training that focused on what the Bible has to say about race, identity, power, and privilege. The hope is that trainings like this will continue to happen, potentially developing in to longer opportunities for students to engage the Twin Cities community.

Now that October is on the doorstep, I start preparing for CrossTraining, our annual Fall training conference. Please be praying for students as they consider attending. This is a truly formative conference, and for many students, their experience at CrossTraining last year shaped their approach to ministry on campus for the remainder of the school year. More info on CrossTraining can be found here: http://www.ivcrosstraining.org/index.php

Thank you for your prayers, support, and encouragement. If you ever want to know more about what's happening on campus, please don't hesitate to contact me.

-Deron
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Here we go again....

Good day to you all and thanks for visiting.

Just wanted to offer a quick update with what's happening with InterVarsity at Hamline and St. Olaf. Classes start this week, and that always brings a great deal of excitement, anticipation, preparation, prayer, and many other things. Nearly 800 first year students are arriving at St. Olaf while over 550 are starting at Hamline.

As we enter in to the school year, please be in prayer, especially for the new students who want to be a part of InterVarsity. We want every student to be impacted by InterVarsity's ministry on campus, and specifically we are looking for a few students who will recognize the importance of what we're doing and commit to not only following Jesus in their own lives, but also sharing Christ with others (10 at Hamline, 25 at St. Olaf). The numbers may seem small, but even just a few students can make a huge impact on campus in the coming years.

Also please be praying for the student leaders. At St. Olaf, there will be 7 Bible studies this semester, social and service opportunities designed to invite others in and foster community, and we are also working to start a regular gathering for worship and teaching. At Hamline, there will be 2 Bible studies along with social and service opportunities. We will also be having a weekly prayer gathering, something that we've tried in the past but it hasn't worked the past few years because of schedules, among other reasons. The student leaders are excited for what's ahead, so please be praying that they would maintain that excitement and that God would fill them up spiritually and emotionally.

Thanks for all your prayers and support. I look forward to posting another blog in a few weeks sharing about all the great things that God has started for this coming school year......stay tuned.

-Deron
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