Religious group promotes friendship and fun

Muffled sounds of the band warming up grew stronger when he walked near the door.

Megan, Lindsey, Whitney and Christa greeted him with smiles on their faces as he stepped into the lobby. Entering the main auditorium, other members approached the newcomer to introduce themselves and extend welcomes.

Chaotic sounds produced by the band members tuning their instruments became organized and rhythmic. The lights dimmed. People mingled in small groups inside the auditorium quickly filling the first few rows of seats at the front of the stage. The jam session began.

Scene: a Thursday night large-group meeting of the Virginia Commonwealth University InterVarsity Christian Fellowship.

Alex Kirk, campus minister for VCU’s fellowship, said that the InterVarsity members “really want it (the meeting) to be open for folks to come, especially people who have questions (about Christianity).”

Meeting weekly in the Business School auditorium, the contemporary worship gatherings feature a guest speaker and skits focusing on the group’s semester theme of spiritual maturity.

Spiritual maturity involves “talking about what we do as a community and choosing better what we do with our time,” said Brandon Jaycox, the organization’s large-group coordinator.

“For example, instead of (people) getting together to watch a movie, we can do a service project or talk with one another and pray together.”

At VCU, fellowship members say they want to provide an environment for all students interested in Christianity to learn about and strengthen their faiths.

“Our goal is to be a place where people who are already Christians can come and grow in their faiths, and people who aren’t Christian but are interested in checking it out can come and ask questions,” Kirk said. “We really want to be open and accessible for all people to come check out what Christianity is about and what it is not about.”

Carolyn Todd, an executive member of the group, said that members strive “to be real with each other and develop Godly friendships.” She described the group as one that “witnesses communities by loving all of God’s people and following God’s word.”

Todd said the organization practices this philosophy through service to VCU and the greater Richmond communities.

One recent event, a servant auction, raised $300 for the Daily Planet, where members exchanged services such as washing cars and cleaning dormitory rooms for donations.

Members also play bingo with residents of The Virginia Home nursing center and participate in the Salvation Army’s Angel Tree Christmas program.

On the Academic Campus, Todd said each fall members organize cookouts and other socials to welcome new students during freshman orientation. Later this semester, the group will conduct a seminar for students to examine the role of the Christian faiths and ethics in business.

About 130 students, representing all types of Christian backgrounds, joined the VCU chapter of the national interdenominational campus ministry.

“We find that it is a refreshing thing to have a whole bunch of different backgrounds together with people sharpening and challenging each other,” Kirk said. “I’d say we do a good job at having a vast array of church backgrounds, including none at all.”

Kirk has been the group’s campus minister for seven years, though his role is largely behind the scenes.

“My role is to help, mentor, train and encourage student leadership,” Kirk said, adding that a big part of his job is to equip students with the tools to lead the group. “Because there is so much turnover (and) students graduate or leave after a certain amount of time, part of my job is to help maintain consistency.”

Two divisions, a four-person executive team and a 25-member team, lead the membership. The leadership team organizes many of the small-group activities and the skits, while the executive team helps to establish, clarify and implement the organization’s priorities.

Three years ago, Kirk said, racial reconciliation became InterVarsity’s priority goal. He guides the leadership as it diversifies the fellowship and reach out to different ethnicities.

As large-group coordinator, Jaycox, an African-American, said the group several years ago recognized that the membership did not resemble the diverse makeup of the VCU student population. In response to making racial reconciliation a main concern, the leadership developed a program called Race Matters offered twice a semester.

“It (Race Matters) addresses issues of race in our world from a biblical perspective and it demystifies race in general,” Jaycox said, adding that he is a good example of InterVarsity’s effort to recruit ethnically diverse people into leadership roles. “We try to make an effort to reach out to (the) VCU campus as a whole, not just one ethnicity.”

In addition to the Thursday evening large-group meetings, several small groups meet throughout the week. These meetings are Bible studies, which generally separate by gender.

“We find that it really helps to facilitate more open discussion and dialogue,” Kirk said of the Bible studies.

Members of InterVarsity also gather socially to party, to bowl and to go camping. At the end of the semester, VCU’s members will join those from other Virginia universities for its annual chapter trip in Rockbridge, Va.

Workshops in training, teaching, Bible study and worship will be offered to those attending the camp. Other activities will include rock climbing, hiking and water sports.