InterVarsity Staff Conference 2008

I just got back from a 5 day all-InterVarsity staff conference in St Louis Missouri.

There are about 1,200 people on InterVarsity staff--from people working at the national service center in Wisconsin, people working for InterVarsity press and people working at the more than 550 campuses where InterVarsity exists in the United States and Internationally with the ministry called LINK.

Every 3 years all InterVarsity staff gather for encouragement, prayer and teaching.

Some highlights:
-hearing again the history of InterVarsity as a movement, entering the US about 1940 until now where our ministry is at more US campuses than any other.
-hearing the "field intiatives" for 2004: growth, evangelism, leadership development, fund development, alumni, and multiethnicity. These 6 commitments are a good eye into the core values of InterVarsity.

-seminars on recapturing student-led ministry where the leader challenged us to think is our ministry more about seeing InterVarsity be programatically perfect or about being good stewards of the leadership development of our students?
He challenged us saying are you living as more: chapter program keeper-together?
loose end tier-upper?
Large group coordinator? Small group coordinator?
Fire fighter?
Keeper of the secret vision?
Or would we rather be: discipler, counselor, scripture teacher, shepherd, minister to campus, vision-caster, model to students for witness, leader builder, empowerer.
***In this model, our end goal is to strengthen churches, Christian communities and turn out graduates who know how to lead!

*Another Seminar on "recruiting male students" that went well with the seminar I went on experiential learning.
--A challenging question here: Is InterVarsity's understanding of the gospel big enough to love Alpha males? we talked alot about the alpha male personality, how to create space for and empower these natural leaders who can sometimes be arrogant and pushy.
--We also talked alot about visual and kinestetic learning styles and how men responded better to visual aides or getting up and doing something--especially in response to a message. This is something I want to be thinking about more!
--suggested taking any opportunity to create competition, make spirituality fun

Other things:
-getting to meet IV gurus on urban and international mission
-meeting someone who will be moving to DC to help expand our urban missions there next year
-the single staff gathering!--actually was done pretty well, basically mixer games.

Good time of renewal and refocusing.