Sarah – Features Editor
David Lee – Contributor
Faith and togetherness are always active on campus, according to the InterVarsity Christian Fellowship club.
“We believe that we are all called to share the good news of the love of God, through Jesus with all people, regardless of their race, class, sexuality or religious background,” their Owlconnect states. “We know that this exploration of faith can be scary for some, so we practice taking risks, being brave and going out as a community to share the love of God to all people.”
The website also states their group is for people who want to learn about God, who identify themselves as Christian and those who are just curious.
According to InterVarsity, everyone’s experience on campus is not the same, nor is the way that they hear from God. Because of this, the club has six different bible studies. These studies include Large Group InterVarsity meetings, Athlete’s Bible Study, Women’s Bible Study, Freshmen Bible Study, and, the Black Campus Ministry.
The Large Group Bible Study is held in the Adanti Student Center every Tuesday. Many of the people who are a part of this club come specifically on these days.
“InterVarsity is a group of students from all faith backgrounds who come together every week to have Bible study where we can explore our faith and how it relates to us as college students. If we’re not having Bible study then most likely it’s a game night,” President of InterVarsity Monae Perrier, a senior, said.
Perrier said she enjoys attending InterVarsity meetings, more so now that they are back in person, due to not previously being able to with COVID-19.
Perrier, as the president of the club, works with the staff adviser to have these studies.
Sam Hollings, staff advisor of InterVarsity at the university, works for the national organization InterVarsity that sponsors Christian Fellowship chapters at colleges and universities all over the country.
“When I was a student here at Southern I was involved a lot with InterVarsity. I personally grew up as a Christian, but being in a group with other Christians my same age all going through the college experience together at the same time and in the same place that deeply affected me,” Hollings said. “Suddenly I wanted to learn more and follow the faith more than I ever had before. And that in turn helped me understand answers to greater questions I had for my life, about things like Purpose, Happiness, that type of thing. So when I was graduating and InterVarsity needed someone to come on staff and lead the group as their job, I knew I had to say yes.To give back to the next generation some of what I had received as a student felt like a beautiful opportunity to me.”
Hollings graduated in 2014 and has been working with the group since.
“I think at our core we are trying to be a good community. We want to create a space where SCSU students can explore the Christian Faith and who Jesus is,” Hollings said. “That could be for someone who actively wants to follow Jesus’ teachings with their own life or someone who is just casually interested in what the Bible says about things. Our community is one where any students, from any spiritual background, ethnic background, cultural background, can come and explore Christianity.”
Many students in the group want prospective members to know they are a multiethnic and interdenominational group on campus.
“I enjoy it very much,” education major Daniela Lara Quintana, a junior, said. “We strive to form a community that is eager to learn more about Jesus and what it looks like in our lives.”
The community likes to focus on how Jesus relates to their lives as college students, but they also use the group studies as fellowship time. They eat food and play games.
“I think what people often see from Christianity is either lots of ugliness or that it’s just not relevant to their lives,” Hollings said. “But at InterVarsity, we think there’s beauty in the story of Jesus.”
