QUESTION &
ANSWER
IVCF ( www.ivcf.ca) is an affiliate of the EFC
( www.theEFC.ca/Affiliates). Find more Q&As
at www.faithtoday.ca/QandA.
What is the mission at the heart of
Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship?
There are 8 million young people
in Canada. We long for them to
meet Jesus and become His followers. We host more than 90 groups
in high schools, colleges and universities across Canada, and we
own nine camps, Pioneer and Circle
Square. In both our camp and
campus ministries, we help young
people engage thoughtfully with
faith and equip them as leaders.
What is Inter-Varsity’s role within the
Canadian Church?
Recent research, including the
EFC’s Hemorrhaging Faith report,
young people leaving our churches.
For more than 86 years, God has
given us connecting points with
young people beyond church walls.
We talk about faith, encourage
them to follow Jesus and help them
grow as disciples. They aren’t with
us forever – they graduate and move
on. We launch young leaders who
will shape the Canadian Church for
years to come.
What is your hope for Canadian students at Urbana, Inter-Varsity’s student
missions conference in December?
Since the first Toronto conference
in 1946, God has used Urbana to call
more than 250,000 students to
mission. This year’s theme is “Find
Your Life.” We want students to find
their lives in Christ. That will help
them sort out other questions about
identity, purpose and calling. Four
hundred Canadian students will
participate in our Student Leaders
Track, applying what they are learn-
ing at Urbana back at home. We
want them to be missionaries now!
How do you care for yourself as a
leader?
After university, as a newly recommitted Christian, I worked with the
International Fellowship of Evangelical Students in Colombia.
There I began developing spiritual
practices like daily personal prayer
and Scripture study. I also met
regularly with a spiritual director
who still speaks into my life. I have
trusted friends who listen, ask
questions and pray for me. I love to
have fun and I make time for that!.
Top leadership advice?
Know who you are in Jesus – please
Him first. Don’t be afraid to make
change. God calls us to growth, so
our organizations should be growing too. Make development of the
people you supervise your top
priority. Take time to be restored.
Who are your heroes?
Charles Simeon revolutionized 18th-
century England, calling people back
to faith. He motivated hundreds of
young people to follow Christ. In
the 1950s Henrietta Mears led a
young adult group in Hollywood,
California that produced hundreds
of Christian leaders, including Bill
Bright (Campus Crusade) and Billy
Graham. Cathie Nicholl, one of our
own staff, influenced thousands of
young people for Christ. /FT
Geri Rodman is president of Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship of
Canada, an organization “committed to the transformation of
youth, students and graduates, in all their ethnic diversity, into
fully committed followers of Jesus Christ.”
Helping young people engage
9,400+
NUMBER OF CAMPERS
AT TENDING IN TER-VARSI TY’S NINE
SUMMER CAMPS
ACROSS CANADA
88+
NUMBER OF IN TER-VARSI TY GROUPS
IN HIGH SCHOOLS,
COLLEGES AND
UNIVERSI TIES ACROSS
CANADA
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