MITACF is a chapter of InterVarsity
Christian Fellowship/USA (IVCF), an interdenominational evangelical
student-oriented ministry incorporated in 1941. InterVarsity actually
comes from England where the term "varsity" referred to one's school.
InterVarsity literally means "Inter-School" Christian Fellowship.
In 1999, IVCF/USA had more than 34,000 students and faculty participate in
its ministries. IVCF is active on more than 560 college and university
campuses nationwide and employs about 650 campus staff workers.
As an InterVarsity chaper, we have staff trained specifically for and devoted
to ministry to college students. Additionally, InterVarsity provides resources
such as the Asian-American Leaders Conference and the triannual
Urbana Missions Conference for the
benefit of students across different campuses.
In addition to ACF, there are five other InterVarsity chapters at MIT:
The purpose of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA is
to establish and advance at colleges and universities
witnessing communities of students and faculty
who follow Jesus as Savior and Lord:
growing in love for God, God's Word,
God's people of every ethnicity and culture,
and God's purposes in the world.
We believe in:
- The only true God, the almighty Creator of all things,
existing eternally in three persons
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit full of love and glory.
- The unique divine inspiration,
entire trustworthiness
and authority of the Bible.
- The value and dignity of all people:
created in God's image to live in love and holiness,
but alienated from God and each other because of our sin and guilt,
and justly subject to God's wrath.
- Jesus Christ, fully human and fully divine,
who lived as a perfect example,
who assumed the judgment due sinners by dying in our place,
and who was bodily raised from the dead and ascended as Savior and
Lord.
- Justification by God's grace to all who repent
and put their faith in Jesus Christ alone for salvation.
- The indwelling presence and transforming power of the Holy Spirit,
who gives to all believers a new life and a new calling to obedient
service.
- The unity of all believers in Jesus Christ,
manifest in worshipping and witnessing churches
making disciples throughout the world.
- The victorious reign and future personal return of Jesus Christ,
who will judge all people with justice and mercy,
giving over the unrepentant to eternal condemnation
but receiving the redeemed into eternal life.
To God be glory forever.
InterVarsity pursues its vision committed to these Biblical values:
- Evangelism
- We belive that every person ought to have an opportunity to respond to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and to accept His invitation to follow Him into a life of Christian discipleship.
- Spiritual Formation
- We will teach and practice spiritual discipline (e.g., personal Bible study, prayer, reliance upon the Holy Spirit, worship) so that men and women can learn to grow in Christian obedience and Christ-like maturity.
- The Church
- We will serve the church by helping each person to appreciate its purpose and by encouraging their activity as lifelong worshippers and participating memebers.
- Human Relationships
- We will teach and demonstrate by example the command of Christ that we love one another, and that healthy human relationships are a mark of true discipleship and eventuate in fruitful friendships, marriages, and working partnerships.
- Righteousness
- Aware of the reality of evil as it exists in the human heart and in the social structures and system of global community, we will teach and demonstrate repentance and humility and the importance of personal integrity, compassion, and prophetic renunciation and confrontation.
- Vocational Stewardship
- We will challenge Christians to acknowledge the stewardship of personal skills and vocational opportunity so as to bring honor to God through our work in the college community, in the home, or in the marketplace.
- World Evangelization
- Believing that God has called all Christians to involvement in world evangelization, we seek to help each person know how to hear that call and discover their place of maximum participation.
InterVarsity and InterVarsity Christian Fellowship are registered trademarks of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA. Used by permission.
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