Q. Andrea, you're transferring to work with IV at Oregon State University and getting married in the Fall. Congratulations! Who is going to staff WUCF in your absence?
A. Thanks! I'm excited for this MAJOR transition in my life and ministry. Choosing to transfer, however, has some costs. One of those costs is that there is no one to take over as full-time staff with WUCF.
Q. What does that mean for the students who were connected with WUCF this past year?
A. Christian freshmen at Wash U are an interesting bunch. Many of them get involved with multiple ministries on campus their first year and it takes a personal invitation and some good vision casting to help them see the value of committing to one community more deeply. I chose to challenge the students I gathered into WUCF to fully commit to lead and serve in another ministry that they were most connected with.
This does not mean that they won't continue to be connected with InterVarsity. A few are being invited to participate in the MOmentum, our evangelism cohort, next year. They are also invited to Fall Conference.
As I considered the history of InterVarsity at Wash U - which includes a lot of staff transition - I felt like this was the best move for the future.
Q. What does this mean for InterVarsity at Wash U?
A. The two other undergraduate fellowships - Asian Christian Fellowship and Harambee - will continue to develop missional student leaders and seek ways for their students to partner together as they reach out on campus.
Pray for wisdom for the Wash U staff team as they seek God's guidance for the future of multiethnic ministry on campus.
Q. Any highlights from this year of planting?
A. There were lots of ups and downs in the planting process. Fall semester was particularly rough as I experienced some rejection by students I had a lot of hope for in terms of their involvement.
Spring was a different story.
The fruit of perseverance was a huge gift: I gathered a group of students and they were growing together as we took risks to apply what we were learning from Jesus in our Bible study. It was such a privilege to get to lead them!
As I shared about my departure with them individually I received the unexpected feedback that some of my hopes for the year were becoming a reality. They felt like I consistently challenged them. They were discovering new things about God as we dove into Scripture. They were beginning to view the campus as their mission field.
I can't think of a better highlight!
May 2011 - Wash U Graduation
(I wish I could take credit for this photo. I cannot)
(I wish I could take credit for this photo. I cannot)
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