Justin's Adventures with IVCF: Mark West Pacific Session 1

The Bible Studies

Imagine this:

At the end of April, students just finished a long year of countless hours of classes. They just finished studying and writing their final exams and are worried if they have passed or not. Some are worrying about finding summer jobs or figuring out what classes they need to take in the summer. Then the students decide after all this stress, "I'm going to go and study half the gospel of Mark for 40 hours and pay $400 to do it."

Oh and did I mention that both Christians and Non-Christians do this?

For those of us who are used to working with youth in the church, it's hard enough to get our youth to be excited about studying scripture. Some of us couldn't even pay our youth to study scripture. So what is so different about Mark West and what is so intriguing about it that students would PAY money to go STUDY the Bible?

The Beautiful view on Thetis Island

For me, this will be my 8th Mark West. Over the duration of these year of participating, serving, and teaching at Mark West, I have had the joy and privilege of seeing hundreds of students changed and transformed by God's word through the study of the Gospel of Mark. I have seen first-time commitments, baptisms, re-commitments, etc. If you were to ask me why students would pay money to study the Bible, I would say first and foremost that the Holy Spirit has to be alive and active but the main reason why I have seen students choose to go is because of the community. Now I understand that community is a big word and it can mean different things to others but in the IVCF situation, community is a considered a safe place for students to come and explore issues of faith and to be loved and accepted.

Mark II Track

This year, SFU brought a total of 21 students + 9 students and friends who were not at SFU. If you compare it to last year when we brought 12 students + 7 students and friends who were not at SFU, it's quite a difference. The difference in this though is not just in numbers but in the quality of our relationships. Each of our executive team was choosing to be involved in the lives of our first years and other communities such as church, campus clubs, etc. What I mean by being involved is seeking out genuine friendships with those who are different than us. The simple act of studying, going to the gym, eating, grabbing coffee, walking, going to the movies, with classmates goes a long way. Because of the hard work of building intentional relationships from our student leaders, over 20 students had an opportunity to have scripture change and transform their lives.