About InterVarsity
An Active Student Movement
Beyond a club. Beyond a fellowship. Beyond an organization. InterVarsity is an active student movement committed to knowing and experiencing God, reaching the entire campus with the love of Jesus Christ, and raising up world class leaders who will change the world. Our movement has over 600 students involved and is led by 170 student leaders committed to loving the campus radically through all they do. Our longing is to see thriving communities of faith planted in every campus sub-culture, believing that to be Christian isn’t to give up who we are but rather to step into the fullness of who God has made us to be. With that said, we hope to see every ethnicity, major, fraternity, sorority, interest group, denomination, etc. on campus become transformed by the unrelenting love of Jesus.
What We Believe
There have been many attempts through the ages to articulate what Christians believe and why we do what we do. Although we subscribe to these basic statements and doctrines (See InterVarsity’s Doctrinal Statement), we as a movement are particularly compelled by what we call “The Big Story.”
The Big Story
Everything was created good
For us, it all begins at the beginning. We believe that from the very beginning God created everything good and whole. We believe that God’s initial intent for people was that we would be in harmony with creation, with each other, and with God himself. Everything just worked! And this is what God wanted from the start and is what He still wants for us today.
We rebel against God
It was simple. If we lived life the way God wanted us to, all would remain good and harmony would be maintained. However, we chose to do it our way, and everything was thrown out of balance. We began to brutalize the resources on the earth, fight with and subjugate one another, and ultimately cut off our relationship with God. We continue to reject God’s way to this day, which explains many of the pains and problems of the world.
God intervenes
However, God loved his creation too much to let it stay this way. Because of his great love, God came down to earth in the form of a man, Jesus Christ, and died on a cross so that our relationship with creation, each other, and God could be restored. His death on a cross gave anyone who wanted it a chance to step into a new kind of living where we take care of creation, love one another, and speak face to face with the living God.
We are sent to heal
But the story doesn’t end with us! Because there is still so much more work to be done, Jesus actually sends us out in community to be healing agents to the world. Just like Jesus invites us into a new kind of living, he sends us out with His authority to invite others into this kind of living! This is an invitation into an exciting adventure in partnering with God, and its this invitation that ultimately drives everything we do on campus.
Our Vision
Experience God. Reach the Campus. Change the world.
Compelled by the mission that Jesus has sent us on, our vision is to experience God, reach the campus, and change the world. We ultimately believe that Jesus’ death on the cross was not just a one way ticket into heaven, but rather an invitation into His mission on the earth to reconcile all things. Because of this we seek to not be a club of Christians, but rather a missional community of faith sharing God with anyone who is willing to listen. We would love for you to join us in all that God is doing at UCSD. Please check out our ministries on this website to get involved.