Vision & Mission

Join the Family, change the world!

The Mission Defined

By “community of prayer” we mean that, as a gathered people of God on campus, Chi Alpha must establish intimacy with God as the highest privilege of Christians. We recognize the importance of confession, affirming the lordship of Christ, the fatherhood of God, and the conviction by the Spirit (Philippians 2:9-11; John 16:8). We acknowledge sins that make us ineffective in our spiritual walk and actively seek for forgiveness, reconciliation, and restoration with God and others (Hebrews 12:1; James 5:13-16; Psalm 139:23-24).

In supplication we acknowledge God as our source and supplier (Philippians 4:6,7,19). We bring our requests to God, expecting Him to fully supply our needs. We look to God for daily guidance, open to His revelation.

In spiritual warfare we recognize we are spiritual beings in a battle that calls for spiritual weaponry (Ephesians 6:10-18). Prayer is a priority in breaking the strongholds on our campuses and in our society.

Through intercessory prayer we profess that God is the powerful healer and worker of miracles. We pray in faith that the sick may be restored. We stand in the gap praying His will may be accomplished on earth (1 Timothy 2:1; Ezekiel 22:30-31).

Community of WORSHIP

By “community of worship” we mean that, as gathered people of God on campus, Chi Alpha must first establish ministry to God as the highest call of Christians. First, we must embody the following principles:

1. We were created by and are now reconciled to God to bring glory to Him (Isaiah 43:7; Ephesians 1:11,12).

2. The family of Christ is the dwelling place of God for the very purposes of ministry to Him as His priests, and for the proclamation of His greatness to the world (Ephesians 1:10-22; I Peter 2:4-10).

3. The presence of God is made real among men when Christians worship (Psalm 22:3).

Second, Chi Alpha expresses ministry to God by:

1. Directing adoration to His person in giving thanks for His acts of loving-kindness toward us in all ways possible (Psalm 100; 150).

2. Learning with Mary to sit at His feet and listen and respond to Him (Luke 10:38-42; John 10:4,5).

3. Allowing the charismata listed in 1 Corinthians 12 to flow through us to the Lord

4. Learning to worship Him in our actions (1 Corinthians 10:31; Hebrews 13:15,16).

Third, creating a community of worship nurtures an atmosphere of ministry to the Lord that allows other ministries to grow.

Community of FELLOWSHIP

By “community of fellowship” we mean that as a gathered people of God on campus, we are in joint submission to Jesus’ command, “As I have loved you, so you must love one another” (John 13:34).

The permanent motivation to pursue fellowship is the command of Jesus to love one another. The permanent pattern of fellowship is the example of Jesus’ relationship with His disciples.

“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers” (1 John 3:16). By this we also know that the believer cannot live in isolation, but as a member of the Body of the elect, joined together by the common life-source of the Holy Spirit. Because members of the Body are priests and servants, they follow Christ’s example of self-sacrifice on behalf of one another. This entails assessing one another’s needs and responding with intercessory prayer and deeds of caring – “Rejoice with those who rejoice: mourn with those who mourn” (Romans 12:15).

This flow of love is enabled and sustained by the Holy Spirit and His gifts (1 Corinthians 12; Romans 12; Ephesians 4). It produces harmony among the members that reflects the relationships within the Triune Godhead, testifies to the divinity of Jesus, and validates that community’s claim to be disciples of Jesus.

Community of DISCIPLESHIP

By “community of discipleship” we mean that as a gathered people of God on campus we are committed to pursue the fulfilling of the Great Commission given by the Lord Jesus Christ, to “disciple” all nations (Matthew 28:20). Our discipleship finds its directive in the authority of God’s revelation, the Holy Scriptures. We are the people of the Book. “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching in righteousness, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16,17).

It is our conviction that discipling is best accomplished in the relational context of the matured believer helping to nurture younger members of the community in small group situations, even as Jesus discipled the Twelve. By this process each member is thus given the basic knowledge and skills necessary to grow toward maturity in Christ and is equipped for the work of the ministry (Ephesians 4:11-16).

We desire to follow the instructions of Paul and Timothy, “The things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others” (2 Timothy 2:2). In this way we perpetuate the continuous development of maturing leaders for the work of Christ in a collegiate community.

Community of MISSION

By “community of mission” we mean that, as gathered people of God on campus, Chi Alpha is committed to the task of completing the mission of Jesus – to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19) and “to seek and to save that which is lost” (Luke 19:10). We commit to seeing every circumstance in every location as an opportunity to share the gospel in word and deed, empowered by the Holy Spirit.

We believe that the mission of Jesus is at the core of what it means to be the people of God. Immediately prior to his return to heaven, Jesus commissioned us, his followers, as the primary agency for taking the message of reconciliation to every nation (Matthew 28:19; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:47; John 20:21; Acts 1:8). We are obliged to give every person a clear presentation of the gospel, and must be committed to this task as individuals, in our local chapters and as a national movement.

A Christ-like lifestyle must also accompany our proclamation of the gospel. John’s gospel records that Jesus said, “Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples” (John 13:35, NLT). Our love and care for one another, coupled with acts of love and service to our communities and world demonstrate the truth of our proclamation and the reality of God’s love to those who are not yet believers. What we do, as much as what we say, makes the gospel attractive to those we are seeking to reach (Titus 2:10).

Our mission must also extend beyond our local campuses and communities to reach the entire world. God has given us a tremendous opportunity to fulfill this mission by bringing international students from around the world to study on our campuses. By befriending, loving, proclaiming the gospel to international students and connecting them to the indigenous body of Christ before they return home, we will impact the world (as Phillip did with the Ethiopian eunuch, Acts 8:35-39).

Finally, each student in Chi Alpha should recognize the unique purpose God has for their lives, and to heed the call to live their lives intentionally for Christ (2 Corinthians 5:14; Ephesians 2:10). We encourage each student to be active in fulfilling this mission beginning on their own campuses and living as Christ’s ambassadors in the world at large. While God will call some to vocational ministry and missions, every student in Chi Alpha can impact the world through intercessory prayer, sacrificial giving and living as a disciple of Jesus Christ as his representative in the world. We place a priority on preparing students to live the mission of Christ as a primary lifestyle by connecting them to the local church, in order to be strategic and deliberate in their involvement in the campus, the marketplace and the world.