How Can Every Student Have a Chance to Hear About Jesus?
While Haskell Indian Nations University (HINU) is where I invest much of my time and energy, my calling extends beyond one campus. That’s why I serve on InterVarsity’s Catalyze Team—a team dedicated to ensuring that every student in America has access to Christian community and discipleship.
The reality is that not every campus has a Christian presence. In fact, there are still 680 college campuses in the U.S. where there is no known ministry. No student Bible study. No prayer groups. No structured opportunities for students to encounter Jesus in their daily campus life.
The Catalyze Team exists to change that.
InterVarsity’s Answer to the 680 Unreached Campuses
Back in 2016, PULSE’s Together 2016 initiative issued a nationwide challenge:
“What if every college campus in America had a Christian presence?”
This vision led to the launch of EveryCampus, a joint initiative between InterVarsity and CRU, aimed at mobilizing believers to pray for and plant ministries on college campuses without known Christian fellowships.
As part of this response, InterVarsity formed the Catalyze Team—our organization’s unique strategy to tackle this challenge.
Rather than sending staff to plant ministries directly, we focus on identifying, equipping, and empowering local leaders—faculty, pastors, alumni, and students—who can plant sustainable ministries on these campuses.
How the Catalyze Team Works
Unlike traditional campus ministry models, where staff are physically present on campus leading a chapter, our role is catalytic. That means we focus on starting something new by activating people who are already on these campuses.
Here’s how we do it:
- Finding and Equipping Local Leaders
- Many of the campuses without ministry have faculty members, local pastors, or alumni who care about reaching students but don’t know how to start. Our team connects with these leaders, provides training, and walks with them as they take the first steps toward planting a Christian community on campus.
- Strengthening Small, Existing Ministries
- Sometimes, we discover that God is already at work—a student-led Bible study, a small faculty prayer group, or a faith community that just needs some encouragement. We come alongside them, offering resources, strategies, and coaching to help them grow and reach more of the campus.
- Prayerfully Seeking New Opportunities
- Not every campus has an obvious starting point. Some schools have little to no Christian presence at all. In these cases, we commit to praying for open doors, networking with believers who might have a connection to the campus, and trusting that God will lead us to the right partners.
This isn’t just a one-time effort—it’s an ongoing mission to ignite and sustain movements for Jesus in places where they don’t yet exist.
Why This Work Matters
The college years are one of the most spiritually formative seasons of a person’s life. Students are asking big questions, shaping their identities, and making choices that will impact the rest of their lives.
Yet, on 680 campuses across the country, students have no access to Christian community.
If we don’t reach them, who will?
That’s why I serve with both HINU Fellowship and the Catalyze Team—because the need is too great to ignore. My work isn’t just about one campus; it’s about expanding the reach of the Gospel to places that have been overlooked.
How You Can Help Catalyze Campus Ministry
InterVarsity’s Catalyze Team isn’t doing this alone. This mission requires a network of people who believe in reaching students wherever they are.
Here’s how you can be part of it:
- Pray – Commit to praying for these 680 campuses, for open doors, and for leaders willing to step in and start something new.
- Connect – Do you know a faculty member, pastor, or alumni who has a heart for a campus without known ministry? Introduce them to us!
- Give – Your financial support helps provide resources, coaching, and support for new campus ministries. You can give at givetoiv.org/spw.
Every student deserves the opportunity to hear the Gospel and experience the transforming love of Jesus.
Together, we can ensure that no campus is left without a witness.
Let’s go, disciple, and send.
