GC Indy 2010: A Recap

After the excitement of my last post, I'm sure you were curious to hear how this Greek InterVarsity Conference would go. Let me first start with a confession: I was nervous. Fraternity and sorority students are (generally) a pretty trendy bunch on every level and I am, well, not. Not really at all. Not only am I not particularly cool, I'm also not Greek. I was never in a fraternity. I was asked to lead a small group for the weekend as they were short on staff and volunteer help and I wondered if I'd have any perspective to offer the students at all. As we pulled up to the hotel in Indianapolis, I breathed a quick prayer for strength and walked through the door.

What I found when I entered was overwhelming, but not in the way that I had imagined. I thought it would be high-energy, given the partying and excitement-fueled recruitment that usually go hand-in-hand with Greek life. What I found was a weekend long party that revolved around the transforming power of Jesus. Dance music pounded before and after every main session. Fraternity and sorority students screamed for their house brothers and sisters from different schools. Days started and ended a full two hours later than any other InterVarsity conference I have ever intended. Frat boys took the stage and shared how Jesus had completely wrecked and rebuilt their lives in the last year and how they were excited to see their brothers experience his love. Sorority girls cried and lifted their hands in worship and prayer. Then, on the last night, they had a huge dance party to celebrate. My students remarked that they had "never been to a party better than that one. And there wasn't even any drinking!"

To be honest, I have never seen a more celebrative atmosphere. Or a more affirming one. For the first time, my students felt like their Greek status was not a strike against their faith. They felt like God had actually called them to be Greek, not just permitted them. They were told that their mission field was valid and worthy in the eyes of their Savior, when they had so often been met with stereotypes and questioning eyes from their friends back home. At Indy, they were able to hear stories from other Greeks about starting Bible studies in their houses and what it means to be Christian and Greek at the same time. They heard incredible testimonies and down-to-earth strategies about reaching out to their brothers and sisters. Our car ride back was filled with excitement and planning for the rest of the semester. Our Greek students are pumped. In fact, one of them made an announcement less than 48 hours after returning home that she was going to be leading a Bible study in the house and, in her words, "It went really well - a lot of girls seemed interested!"

At Indy, we saw mostly Greeks from gigantic state schools (U of Illinois, Indiana University, etc.) that are the pillars of Greek InterVarsity. They brought lots of students from well-formed Greek IV chapters. They held chapter times in big ballrooms at the hotel. We brought 2 students and a non-Greek staff. But, we have a vision that we think is from God. Wouldn't it be wonderful if SLU became one of those foundational campuses at Indy in the next few years? Who knows what might happen? I have a feeling God has something up His sleeve for this community...

I'll end with some stats from the weekend - the Holy Spirit was on the move and a lot of great things happened even in those short 48 hours. Thank you as always for your prayers!

A Few Things God Did At Indy

• 99 Greeks made a decision to make Jesus Christ their Lord and Savior
• 223 committed to being an ambassador for Christ in their chapter, on their campus, and in the workplace
• 96 committed to starting or leading a ministry in their chapter
• 111 committed to keep seeking and pursuing answers to their spiritual questions
  

What Would I Do With 12 More Hours?

This is the question I woke up asking myself this morning. "Why is that Kale?" you might be wondering. Let me just tell you.

As you probably know, I've been asking for prayer for the past month (and for the entire time I've had this blog) for my fund-raising. It became especially pertinent lately as I was handed the opportunity to lead a Bible study for fraternity and sorority students at SLU, something that has never really been done before on my campus. God was opening up a door for this highly experimental but extremely exciting first step in Greek ministry. SLU's Campus Ministry Department was on board, even promising funding for the project. We had a core group of four students from four of the seventeen or so total Greek organizations on campus equally excited to move into this new mission field. Guess what was the only thing holding us back? Me.

If you remember from previous posts, InterVarsity staff are allowed to spend time on campus based on what percentage of their budgets they have fund-raised. 70% is the first marker to even stepping foot on campus and then a staff worker is allotted 16 hours per week to spend with students. The idea is that if a staff has limited time to be with students, they will feel more motivated to continue fund-raising and eventually hit 100%, which allows maximum time and financial resources to be used on campus. Trust me, it is a good system and it works. However, it is also frustrating when you feel stranded between boundary lines as I have for the past few months. In November, I hit 70% and began working on campus. Since then, I have slowly inched toward the next marker - 85% - where my time would increase to 28 hours per week to spend with students.

Flash forward to January when the Greek ministry idea begins to solidify. My supervisor and I quickly realized that in order to give my time faithfully to the Greek ministry and our other ministries on campus, I would need more hours. So we began to pray that God would allow me to hit 85% before mid-February when the InterVarsity Conference for Greek students was happening in Indianapolis - a conference that myself and two SLU students were scheduled to attend. If I didn't land at 85% by then, I would be unable to help with Greek ministry and we would have to postpone any activity until later in the semester, potentially losing whatever momentum and excitement the students have been feeling the past month. So we prayed and called and waited to see what God would do.

Flash forward again to this week. I was sitting at 82% and, though I was close, I wasn't quite there. I made some phone calls on Tuesday night but didn't get to talk to anyone. On Wednesday morning, I went and had breakfast with our men's group at SLU. Afterward, I went to the student center and opened up my laptop to check e-mail before I went to our daily prayer meeting. I saw that I had received an email from a SLU InterVarsity alumna that I had recently asked to pray about possibly supporting the ministry at SLU. In God's good timing, she was responding to that e-mail with the promised gift that would push me to 85%! I was blown away. Literally two days before we were scheduled to leave for the conference, God had provided through the generous heart of one of our own IV graduates.

So now, I sit with the question - What Would I Do With 12 More Hours? Or, more importantly, what incredible things could God do with that extra time that you have provided for me on campus? What students will I meet now that I have these hours? What doors will be opened during those extra couple days on campus? What will God do with the Greek ministry at this conference and after we return?

I can't wait to let you know.