USA (MNN) — In the United States when you think of Spring Break, you can’t help but think about college students heading to tropical climates and participating in a lot of self destructive behavior; drinking, drugs, and promiscuity. However, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship is providing an option for Christians and non-Christians alike.
InterVarsity’s National Director of Evangelism Terry Erickson says they’re partnering with another organization to provide service opportunities. “We have at least 13 or 14 groups that will be going out in partnership with Habitat for Humanity. And, what they’ll be doing is they go out for a week and they go on location and they help Habitat build houses.”
While ‘service’ is the main focus, Erickson says this is actually an evangelism tool. “Each student brings a non-Christian with them. So, during the week they spend time building houses and then at the same time in the evenings we try to give some spiritual input by having groups investigate God, and in many cases it’s very helpful for the non-Christians who attend to explore Christianity.”
Erickson says they almost always have at least one person come to Christ while on the trip. He says follow-up is very easy upon their return. “As relationships are built while people are on these projects, they come back to campus and they continue their seeking for Christ. They join Bible studies. And, in many cases they stay involved in the fellowship and become Christians.”
Pray that these teams will develop a sense of community and that leaders of these groups will be clear in their presentation of the Gospel.
