InterVarsity Under Fire at Universities

 

InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA is a vibrant campus ministry that establishes and advances witnessing communities of students and faculty. We minister to students and faculty through small group Bible studies, large gatherings on campus, leadership training, thoughtful discipleship and life-changing conferences and events.
 
InterVarsity Senior Vice President Jim Lundgren is calling on InterVarsity’s staff, students, faculty supporters, alumni, and friends to be in prayer about campus ministry at Vanderbilt University.
 
The leadership of Vanderbilt University has decided that several campus Christian organizations, including InterVarsity’s Graduate Christian Fellowship, should be placed on provisional status until coming into compliance with Vanderbilt’s anti-discrimination policy. The policy, as it currently stands, would prohibit a Christian organization from using any religious criteria when selecting leaders.
 
We believe such a policy not only flies in the face of common sense but is also contrary to the spirit of the Freedom of Religion protections in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
 
InterVarsity is asking for prayers that Vanderbilt will change its position and allow religious organizations to choose leaders who believe in the principles and beliefs of those organizations. A Town Hall meeting will be held on the Vanderbilt campus on Tuesday evening, January 31, 2012. University officials will explain how the anti-discrimination policy will be applied to student groups at that time.