The Students

Last week was the six-month anniversary of the shootings at Virginia Tech where twenty-seven students and five professors lost their lives. Knowing this, several Christian groups, including Campus Crusade, and twenty-five churches hosted a two-night event on the Virginia Tech campus.

• Over 2,500 students, faculty and staff attended on Tuesday
• Nearly 5,000 people came on Wednesday, an open-to-the-public event

According to one report, over 1,000 response cards were received. The tone of the 2 nights also provided opportunities for believers to follow-up with friends they’d brought along.

“God is working through the prayers of Christians all over the world for us,” says Jeff, who officially took the reins as the campus director at Tech last January. “Our students are amazing. They are getting out on campus, meeting students, sharing their faith and inviting people to events.”

Jeff is looking for this event to further equip the students to reach out to those around them. “I hope they are challenged by Ravi to get into the Word and help answer some of those questions to their friends. Ultimately we want them to see the hope that is in the gospel.”

Among the fallen last spring were three students who were actively involved with the Campus Ministry.

The Professors

Campus Crusade for Christ has had a growing ministry among the professors at Virginia Tech. Over 180 people attended a luncheon on Wednesday. Two-thirds of the attendees were graduate students and the Q & A session lasted 50 minutes, unheard of for such an outreach event

One of our staff overheard a graduate student remark “how asking questions isn’t often allowed in other places. People are demonized for questioning anything [but not at this] luncheon.”

Because faculty and graduate students made time to attend this luncheon, our staff are offering to make this a weekly event.

“The main apologetic question that keeps intellectuals from coming to God is, ‘How can a loving God allow evil and suffering in the world?'” says Dave DeHuff, who has worked with Virginia Tech’s professors for twelve years as a staff member of Faculty Commons, the Campus Crusade ministry to professors.