Crissy Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 Do any of you have experience with this group? My son is looking into the chapter at the university he is likely attending in the fall, so I am in search of feedback, both positive and negative. Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momofkhm Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 I was a part of ours for a year. I didn't really think I needed it any earlier. I enjoyed the time I spent with them. I have a friend now who was on staff with IV for years. She of course loved it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 I liked it at OSU. Good place to meet Christian men and women and socialize in college, w/o the boozy-schoomzy vibe. It did tend to attract more conservative folks, but not as conservative as, say, Cru or Campus Life. JME. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meriwether Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 My Dh and I met at IV. It should be renamed a dating service considering how many of our college friends met and married because of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbgrace Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 I was active in InterVarsity in college though this has been 17 years ago now. My husband and I met through it though indirectly. Friends I had through InterVarsity invited me to a get together while his friends also invited him to the same thing. Generally, I met great people who shared my faith through the organization. The majority of my friends came via InterVarsity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaJeanne Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 I loved my time with InterVarsity. I grew a lot, met great people, and had fun times. Like others, I met my dh through IV, too. The dating service comment was funny. Although to be fair, I don't know anyone who went for the purpose of finding someone to date and/or marry. Just in case you were getting the idea that your son was going to walk into a meat market :tongue_smilie:It wasn't like that in my experience at all. For me it was a perfect balance of in-depth Bible study and fun Christian fellowship. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milovany Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 It's definitely evangelical, so if that's up your alley, it might be a great fit. If you're more traditional, maybe not so much. A lot of campuses have an Orthodox or Catholic group if either of these is in your background; I'm sure there are Lutheran, Episcopalian, etc. options, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northcoast Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 I, too, was in InterVarsity at Ohio State and yes, met my husband there 23 yrs ago. InterVarsity was great for grounding me in my faith as I just rededicated my life. I was taught how to study the Bible, how to share my faith, taught leadership skills, among other things. InterVarsity is great about equipping students in their faith. Each InterVarsity Chapter is led by paid staff (who have to raise their own funds like many missionaries) who guide the students. Here's their web site: http://www.intervarsity.org/ In short, I grew so much in my faith because of this organization. My husband spent a summer in Kenya on a missions trip through IV. My parents always supported staff who worked for Campus Crusade and either organization I think would be great for your son. See if you can visit the group when you do a campus visit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freesia Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 Dh and I both had great IV experiences. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crissy Posted January 24, 2012 Author Share Posted January 24, 2012 Thank you all for your thoughts. If anyone else cares to share, I 'd love to hear your experiences. I will share your notes with my son. See if you can visit the group when you do a campus visit. Thank you for this suggestion. It's what I'd like him to do, so that if he decided to join them, he'll have some acquaintances when he arrives in the fall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harriet Vane Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 Both dh and I had a fabulous experience with IVCF at a large state university. It was a well-organized chapter. We found the emotional and spiritual support absolutely key to our college experience. Dh was in a fraternity and I lived in the dorms. Both of us had plenty of non-Christian friends and acquaintances, but both of us felt that the friendships and support we received from our small group Bible studies and other IVCF offerings were instrumental in helping us stay steady in our faith. To this day we remain connected with IVCF friends and are also really glad for the opportunity to go back to an IVCF campground each year for Family Camp. The core of IVCF are small group Bible studies that meet weekly. IVCF trains Bible study leaders carefully to teach strictly from Bible text rather than from a specific denominational perspective, though IVCF definitely is evangelical in nature. (I have personally known Catholics and other liturgical faiths to attend IVCF as well, though.) The point is that IVCF tries hard to be non-denominational. IVCF also has weekly large group meetings for all members to attend. Those meetings consist of worship, prayer, and a speaker. It's common for individuals within IVCF to hook up as prayer partners or to read/study Christian books together. On my campus there were also various prayer meeting opportunities. I had a very large, well-organized chapter, so there was LOTS of opportunities for involvement and support. Another highlight of the year was going to Chapter Camp after Spring Semester was over. Bible study leaders are trained there; the executive board (students) plan the year there; and all others are welcome for Bible study and fun as well. Some of my best college memories are from fun times at camp. I'd be happy to answer any specific questions or even to put you in touch with a staff worker if you like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starr Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 We know many people who work with InterVarsity and students who attend. As with all groups it can depend on who is in it but I haven't found any reason not to try it out. They have Bible studies and fun as far as I can tell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tex-mex Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 (edited) I loved my time with InterVarsity. I grew a lot, met great people, and had fun times. Like others, I met my dh through IV, too. The dating service comment was funny. Although to be fair, I don't know anyone who went for the purpose of finding someone to date and/or marry. Just in case you were getting the idea that your son was going to walk into a meat market :tongue_smilie:It wasn't like that in my experience at all. For me it was a perfect balance of in-depth Bible study and fun Christian fellowship. :iagree: I was in IVCF for 2 years while at a state college in CA. Loved every moment of it! :) We had weekly meetings on campus as a large group -- worship, leader giving a "sermon" (aimed at our age -- very seeker friendly), and fellowship afterwards. Since the campus I attended was large and our IV group was huge, we had smaller weekly bible studies elsewhere. The off-campus apartments I lived at had weekly IV Bible Studies. It was great fellowship. The director of that Bible Study group made sure I was doing fine and if I had any questions, to let him know. No weird vibe or anything -- more like a big brother relationship. One summer I went on a mission overseas with IVCF and it was a incredible experience. You have to raise funds for it, but I highly recommend the overseas mission trip. ETA: I ended up transferring to a private Christian college -- no IV there but the college had its own chapel and fellowship/Bible studies organized. This book which was one of my required readings while overseas on mission with IV was life changing. The Cost of Commitment. Still affects me to this day. I highly recommend the book! Edited January 24, 2012 by tex-mex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeanne in MN Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 It's definitely evangelical, so if that's up your alley, it might be a great fit. If you're more traditional, maybe not so much. A lot of campuses have an Orthodox or Catholic group if either of these is in your background; I'm sure there are Lutheran, Episcopalian, etc. options, too. I'm Catholic and although I was an active member in our Newman Club on campus, I went to visit IV a few times and enjoyed it. However, I went to a Bible study once and the leader of our group started ripping into a number of different denominations and why they were all wrong-including my beloved Catholicism! Another campus I was at had a kickoff IV meeting one night and they mentioned how we need to become friends with others so that we can share our faith with them. The next day one of the youth leaders called me about being study buddies. She was nice, but I was a bit offended that her alterior motive was really to "save me". So as this poster said, if you are evangelical, your son will really enjoy it. If he's not, he'll probably still enjoy it, but may question some things or not feel quite on the same page at times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bettyandbob Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 Mixed feelings here. I went to IV meetings and events off and on for a couple of years. I enjoyed some aspects and found some people to be quite judgmental. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susie in SWVA Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 Our daughter met her husband at IV at Virginia Tech. Good group. Susie in SWVA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starr Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 I'm Catholic and although I was an active member in our Newman Club on campus, I went to visit IV a few times and enjoyed it. However, I went to a Bible study once and the leader of our group started ripping into a number of different denominations and why they were all wrong-including my beloved Catholicism! Another campus I was at had a kickoff IV meeting one night and they mentioned how we need to become friends with others so that we can share our faith with them. The next day one of the youth leaders called me about being study buddies. She was nice, but I was a bit offended that her alterior motive was really to "save me". So as this poster said, if you are evangelical, your son will really enjoy it. If he's not, he'll probably still enjoy it, but may question some things or not feel quite on the same page at times. I stand corrected. It fits a certain group well. My dd doesn't attend for some of the reasons above. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crissy Posted January 24, 2012 Author Share Posted January 24, 2012 Both dh and I had a fabulous experience with IVCF at a large state university. It was a well-organized chapter. We found the emotional and spiritual support absolutely key to our college experience. Dh was in a fraternity and I lived in the dorms. Both of us had plenty of non-Christian friends and acquaintances, but both of us felt that the friendships and support we received from our small group Bible studies and other IVCF offerings were instrumental in helping us stay steady in our faith. To this day we remain connected with IVCF friends and are also really glad for the opportunity to go back to an IVCF campground each year for Family Camp. The core of IVCF are small group Bible studies that meet weekly. IVCF trains Bible study leaders carefully to teach strictly from Bible text rather than from a specific denominational perspective, though IVCF definitely is evangelical in nature. (I have personally known Catholics and other liturgical faiths to attend IVCF as well, though.) The point is that IVCF tries hard to be non-denominational. IVCF also has weekly large group meetings for all members to attend. Those meetings consist of worship, prayer, and a speaker. It's common for individuals within IVCF to hook up as prayer partners or to read/study Christian books together. On my campus there were also various prayer meeting opportunities. I had a very large, well-organized chapter, so there was LOTS of opportunities for involvement and support. Another highlight of the year was going to Chapter Camp after Spring Semester was over. Bible study leaders are trained there; the executive board (students) plan the year there; and all others are welcome for Bible study and fun as well. Some of my best college memories are from fun times at camp. I'd be happy to answer any specific questions or even to put you in touch with a staff worker if you like. Thank you!! We're visiting Hofstra University in April. I would LOVE it if my son could meet a few folks during our short time there so he can ask a few questions and maybe get acquainted with a student or two. If he decides he likes the organization, and that group in particular, it would be wonderful for him to know a couple of people when he starts school in the fall. He's also going to need some help finding a church. But... one thing at a time. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crissy Posted January 24, 2012 Author Share Posted January 24, 2012 I'm Catholic and although I was an active member in our Newman Club on campus, I went to visit IV a few times and enjoyed it. However, I went to a Bible study once and the leader of our group started ripping into a number of different denominations and why they were all wrong-including my beloved Catholicism! Another campus I was at had a kickoff IV meeting one night and they mentioned how we need to become friends with others so that we can share our faith with them. The next day one of the youth leaders called me about being study buddies. She was nice, but I was a bit offended that her alterior motive was really to "save me". So as this poster said, if you are evangelical, your son will really enjoy it. If he's not, he'll probably still enjoy it, but may question some things or not feel quite on the same page at times. Mixed feelings here. I went to IV meetings and events off and on for a couple of years. I enjoyed some aspects and found some people to be quite judgmental. Thank you both! It will be great for my son to have all of this information when he's meeting people and making decisions about where he wants to be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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