What's Happening to InterVarsity?

I had a student from my church who attended a New England liberal arts college with a IV missionary on campus. He introduced the students to using icons in prayer-the student from my church bailed out.

I first encountered IVCF more than 30 years ago, shortly before the Lord saved me. After my conversion, I returned to the university campus where I had first met with them and reestablished contact. I was a a new Christian and definitely not of the separatist/fundamentalist mindset. While they did supply me with some good information, their tolerance of non-evangelical views bothered me.

IMO, that practice has produced what we see today.

Maybe we should ask where are the fundamentalists on Campus. I have served for over 10 years in campus ministry. Today, their is a great vaccum found on campus. Most fundamentalists or even Bible believing Christians have given up on campus ministry. Intervarsity and Crusade have drifted from campus ministry. They have become diverse in their scope of ministry. Crusade probably still the largest para church ministry has many different ministries today that they have lost some ground.

I agree with you Brandon that fundamentalists as a group have all but ignored our college campuses, but that just accusation probably deserves another thread. The topic here is IVCF.

[Brandon King] Maybe we should ask where are the fundamentalists on Campus. I have served for over 10 years in campus ministry. Today, their is a great vaccum found on campus. Most fundamentalists or even Bible believing Christians have given up on campus ministry.

It might depend on what you view as a “fundamentalist”. If your view results in fundamentalists being a very fractional portion of the U.S. population then theit absence might not be best explained as “abandoning” but sheer mathematics, the inability to be all places at all times.

Just to help answer a question Where are the Fudamentalists? I have been aware of the Campus Bible Fellowship ministry of Baptist Mid Missions.
Here is a link to where they are located: http://campusbiblefellowship.org/cbf-chapters:17987
I wonder also how many different Fundamental Local Churches have some kind of College Campus Ministry?

The fact that IVCF and Crusade are trying to reach students for Christ is good. Their confusion concerning the Gospel is bad, their ecumenism is bad, their methodologies are sometimes bad, and their philosophy of ministry is sometimes bad because their doctrine is not unified.

The problem with separating fundamentalism and conservative evangelicalism is that both have become very isolated from community colleges and universities. This is due to a philosophy of education which breeds isolationism rather than separation (personal and ecclesiastical) in the context of campus ministry. At lease IVCF and Crusade field thousands of workers on campus. Independent Fundamental Baptists have only a handful of workers on a few campuses due to their philosophy of education which is not Biblical when it breeds isolation rather than Biblical evangelism and Biblical separation.

At lease IVCF and Crusade are on campus. However, fundamental Christians could be fundamental and go to secular universities and colleges if their faith was strong and they were committed to the great commission for their generation rather than isolation at a fundamental bible college or university.

Fundamentalists have created a tradition and mandate for future generations to go to Bible Colleges and Universities and Seminaries rather than engage the world at secular schools. The vast majority of ministry on College campuses is new evangelical at best. This can be changed if fundamentalists would indoctrinate their children and teens in the Scripture rather than in tradition and prepare them for the world earlier than say 25 years old. It should not be the Bible College or Seminary that teaches believers the Bible but parents and the local church.

There needs to be a change in our paradigm concerning education if we want to reach more people for Christ and advance the Gospel rather than tradition and institutions that remove fundamental believers from the world rather than engaging the lost.

IVCF is confused concerning Catholicism and the Gospel. They want to be ecumenical and so have preached a different Gospel which most simply stated is “Love Jesus” or “Love God”. This message is one that protestants and catholics can agree upon but which substance makes no sense. IVCF‘ers will admit to the Bible’s teaching in 1 Cor. 15-1-6. but I have heard many not preach this nor explain the Gospel Scripturally. Practically speaking they want heretics to join and so they advance heresy by their compromise. I have personally witnessed Roman Catholic Bible study leaders in IVCF who see nothing wrong with Catholicism or the Catholic Gospel or the Catholic Christ. This is why Bible Believing Christians should separate from IVCF as the author had done after many years. It took me about 6 months to separate back in 1984, but that is because I did not become a bible study leader, IVCF worker, Staff member, author etc and had little vested in IVCF but much vested in Biblical obedience. I did attend Urbana in 1984 and was not impressed with the content only the fervor.

This is simply tragic.

[Alex Guggenheim]

[Brandon King] Maybe we should ask where are the fundamentalists on Campus. I have served for over 10 years in campus ministry. Today, their is a great vaccum found on campus. Most fundamentalists or even Bible believing Christians have given up on campus ministry.

It might depend on what you view as a “fundamentalist”. If your view results in fundamentalists being a very fractional portion of the U.S. population then theit absence might not be best explained as “abandoning” but sheer mathematics, the inability to be all places at all times.

Well my category of fundamentalism is broad. I would include BBF, FBF, West Coast, Hyles Anderson, BJU, Crown, Central Seminary, Clearwater, Cedarville, and PCC. Then above them i would include many conservative evangelicals. The first category listed are involved with

Campus Light, Cross Impact, Campus Bible Fellowship, Cards for Christ, Christian Volunteers etc…I believe the number would be less than 50 total campus works from the first category. Hope that helps.

[Brandon King]

[Alex Guggenheim]

[Brandon King] Maybe we should ask where are the fundamentalists on Campus. I have served for over 10 years in campus ministry. Today, their is a great vaccum found on campus. Most fundamentalists or even Bible believing Christians have given up on campus ministry.

It might depend on what you view as a “fundamentalist”. If your view results in fundamentalists being a very fractional portion of the U.S. population then theit absence might not be best explained as “abandoning” but sheer mathematics, the inability to be all places at all times.

Well my category of fundamentalism is broad. I would include BBF, FBF, West Coast, Hyles Anderson, BJU, Crown, Central Seminary, Clearwater, Cedarville, and PCC. Then above them i would include many conservative evangelicals. The first category listed are involved with

Campus Light, Cross Impact, Campus Bible Fellowship, Cards for Christ, Christian Volunteers etc…I believe the number would be less than 50 total campus works from the first category. Hope that helps.

How about all of the individuals from fundamentalist churches attending those colleges with some form of active witness? Would they also not be part of the process? Does there always have to be a formally recognized work? I do understand your point I am not sure though it is as certain as it is constructed.

Well i guess i was commenting more toward the organization or parachurch model of campus ministry. I definately would include a local church ministry that is active in campus ministry; to me that is the best and Biblical way of doing ministry. Cards for Christ is a student organization out of Shawnee Baptist Church in Louisville KY, I talked with then Pastor Mattingly about starting a ministry out of their local church to reach the campus; they took off with the idea and started Cards for Christ. Gateway baptist church in Blacksburg Va has a minstry called Abundant Life ministry that meets at Virginia Tech. For most campuses, student leadership is a must; Most will not give you the freedom to meet and hold events on campus unless you are a recognized student club; yet, there are some schools that will allow churches a bit of freedom. Hope this clarifies my statements.

As to IV, they tend to work with many local churches in a given area or they may compete with the local church. In competing they would have services on campus, wednesday night Bible studies etc…They would in one sense replace the local church by providing leadership on campus.

[DJung] IVCF is confused concerning Catholicism and the Gospel. They want to be ecumenical and so have preached a different Gospel which most simply stated is “Love Jesus” or “Love God”. This message is one that protestants and catholics can agree upon but which substance makes no sense. IVCF‘ers will admit to the Bible’s teaching in 1 Cor. 15-1-6. but I have heard many not preach this nor explain the Gospel Scripturally. Practically speaking they want heretics to join and so they advance heresy by their compromise. I have personally witnessed Roman Catholic Bible study leaders in IVCF who see nothing wrong with Catholicism or the Catholic Gospel or the Catholic Christ. This is why Bible Believing Christians should separate from IVCF as the author had done after many years. It took me about 6 months to separate back in 1984, but that is because I did not become a bible study leader, IVCF worker, Staff member, author etc and had little vested in IVCF but much vested in Biblical obedience. I did attend Urbana in 1984 and was not impressed with the content only the fervor.

Derek,

So in your two recent posts, I see the need to separate from organizations like IV; due to ecumenical practice of IV with Catholicism. IV is losing ground due to compromise of their mission, and doctrinal beliefs. Which is stated in the Article.

Your second comment, speaks to the difficulties in fundamentalism that hinders progress in reaching University students.

What are some possible solutions that you would suggest to parachurch ministries like IV to see change?

What are some solutions within fundamentalism that would enable churches and indviduals to reduce isolationism that would result in more effective campus ministries?

The OP asked “What has happened to IVCF?” They seem to have reaped what they have sown. I observed their tolerance of Roman Catholicism when I encountered them in the 70’s. Although I was a new Christian, that was enough to turn me off. Thankfully, I found a few believers who shared my concern and I could only have wished the IVCF had been as tolerant of us as they were of Roman Catholicism. And, trust me, we were no “screaming separatists” but our expressed concern was labeled as unloving.