When students begin living at or belong to a new campus, one of the challenges that may arise is finding a community to continue practicing faith and to simply meet and build relationships with people who share similar beliefs, morals, and values. For many students who follow or are curious and want to learn more about the beliefs, morals, teachings, and values of Christian faith, NJIT has a club known as Intervarsity.
Students may recognize Intervarsity as the group of students that cleans trash in the dorms on Tuesday nights, or makes peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in the dorm kitchens every Sunday to feed the homeless at Penn Station. They are also known for giving away free compliments on campus as well as hosting proxy stations, which give passing students the opportunity to talk to members of Intervarsity and take a break in their day to think about random topics they normally would not think about, ranging from money spending habits to who their favorite super hero is, and how these things impact them spiritually. In fact, community service and providing for people on and off campus is one of the many ways Intervarsity achieves their mission statement, which is to transform students and faculty, to renew campus, and to develop world changers.
“Intervarsity is a space where we want students to go further in their understanding of who God is in their life,” says Caroliina Ying, a sophomore biology major and an E-Board member of Intervarsity. “Maybe it’s a student’s first time learning about Jesus, or maybe they aim to see more than just what they see now, but Intervarsity is more than just about maintaining Christian faith. We welcome non-religious members as well because we want to help people maximize their strengths and potentials as students, leaders, and followers of faith.”
NJIT’s Intervarsity belongs to a chapter known as Newark, which consists of Intervarsity clubs at NJIT, Rutgers-Newark, and Essex County College.
The Newark chapter of Intervarsity also interacts with many chapters around the state of New Jersey and around the country. In fact, earlier this semester, NJIT, for the first time in ten years, hosted an event known as XLG (Extra Large Group) which is a gathering of multiple Intervarsity chapters around the state of New Jersey. Students from The College of New Jersey, Rider University, Rutgers University New Brunswick and other colleges from around the state came together to participate in fun team building activities to bond together, build connections and leadership, as well as debrief and learn from other schools.
NJIT’s Intervarsity not only provides community service and valuable networking opportunities, but also holds larger group meetings for their whole chapter. Within this large group, known as Brick City since they’re located in Newark, there are smaller groups that meet for Bible studies and personal discussions of how the morals of the Bible can be applied to students’ daily lives and how the bible can better them as people. These personalized sessions allow students to not only better understand the Christian faith, but also understand and connect with other students with similar morals and values. Intervarsity also holds prayer sessions throughout the week, and these are open to all interested students. Prayers are held in room 508 in the honors building at 10:30 PM every night from Sunday to Thursday, in the fourth floor lounge of Laurel Hall and the fourth floor lounge of Oak Hall at 10:30 PM on Monday nights.
Students interested in making new friends, exploring their faith in Christianity, and/or building leadership and support are more than welcome to stop by the next Brick City large group at 5:30 PM on November 6, in the NJIT Faculty Dining Hall.
