InterVarsity Christian Fellowship seeks to begin, renew and strengthen students’ walk with Christ.
On Dec. 30, 2012, sophomore chemical engineering major Jamie Thomas breathed for the first time.
Her soul felt enveloped in warmth, and tears rolled down her face.
She forgot about her grandmother’s illness, as her mom struggled to pay bills and her education in the streets of Chicago.
She reminisces about that moment every time she fiddles with her sky blue bracelet that reads, “Found at Urbana ‘12.”
“They turned an atheist to a Christian,” Thomas said. “How funny is that?”
InterVarsity Christian Fellowship is a national ministry helping college students find a higher calling in their life through their degrees.
Lois Paney has been campus minister of InterVarsity for 12 years and launched her dream of being an educator of faith by introducing a University of Mississippi chapter of InterVarsity in August 2012.
She believes universities are a vital place to help people who will impact the world.
“I think God gives us different gifts,” Paney said.
“If people go to college, they work hard and use their gifts; that will prepare them well when they go off and they can serve God in many different places.”
InterVarsity accepts people from every denomination.
Paney likes this structure because it brings people together through consensus instead of focusing on differences.
“Our focus is on the main parts of the Gospel,” she said.
“I think there are a number of denominations that all agree on some of those main points. So, we wanna connect students on those main bases.”
InterVarsity has small group sessions on Tuesdays at 4:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. near the credit union in the Student Union, and Thursdays at 1:30 p.m. at a table near Subway in the Union.
Freshman psychology major Jalen Neal said these meetings create a community that looks out for its members between classes.
“We have groups in InterVarsity that help us study for (classes),” Neal said. “We keep each other on our toes and make sure that students feel relaxed.”
During their seven months of adventures together, InterVarsity has gone to two conventions: Voice of the Nations in Florence, Miss., and Urbana in St. Louis, where Thomas found her new love.
“My soul can breathe and things work out for me a lot better than working out things on my own without God,” Thomas said. “I truly think my life has a purpose.”
Paney hopes to have a multi-ethnic group of 40 people, compared to the current membership of 28, going to more conventions in the future.
For now, she will admire students like Thomas who use their story as a testimony for other non-believers.
“Don’t be afraid to give other things a chance,” Thomas said, “because you might find yourself in a better position than you were before.”
Jonece Dunigan | The Daily Mississippian
Haley Carpenter, Jalen Neal, Lois Paney and SeCory Cox
