Tom Lin

Lots to celebrate this past fall, and please keep Urbana 09 in your prayers!  Click here to view our December prayer letter.

This is the most conversions (over 16) that Central College’s InterVarsity group has seen annually, and it’s only October!  Here’s the story of another new believer, as emailed real-time by a student leader at Central College: Continue Reading »

I’ve never seen anything quite like this in less than 30 days time:  27 students decided to follow Jesus for the 1st time in Iowa alone, and 15 students responded to a call to faith at the first large IV event at Harris-Stowe State - a new IV chapter plant!  Staff Ashley Smith blogs about the Harris-Stowe event online.  I’ve also included below the latest story from Drake, where 2 students said “yes” to Jesus for the 1st time last week at an IV gathering… From Amy Schoepf, IV staff at Drake: Continue Reading »

University of Missouri-St. Louis is a new chapter “plant”, but in our very first week on campus,  2 students made 1st-time decisions for Christ.  Drake University also celebrated one student’s conversion, and a big evangelistic night at Central College in Iowa resulted in 14 students giving their lives to Christ for the 1st time!  The stories are encouraging, so read on… Continue Reading »

As college classes get underway, InterVarsity’s outreach to new students kicks into high gear.  There’s lots of praises to share from last week’s ministry, including from our new IV plant at U of Iowa (photo above).  Let me give you a taste from my Iowa Area Director, Jon Hietbrink, who writes: Continue Reading »

Even as I depart for Ethiopia in less than 24 hours, I’m also reminded that our God is on the move here locally.  Here is a sampling of stories (PDF format), of students who made decisions to follow Jesus for the first time this past year.  Enjoy!

In just 3 days, I depart for Ethiopia.  I’m getting excited about visiting a team of IV staff and students from my Central Region who are serving there for the summer.  Check out their blog for details.  I’ve pasted the latest update from Rachel Danley, IV Staff at U of Northern Iowa, who writes from Addis Ababa: Continue Reading »

After launching the Regional Vision last fall, we’ve seen unprecedented momentum during 2008-09, more than I ever expected!  We launched a new Area (Kansas).  We planted new chapters at U of Missouri-KC, U of Missouri-Columbia, Johnson County CC, Lindenwood University, Kansas State (African-Am Chapter), and Drake U (ISM Chapter).  For the stories, praises and prayer requests, click on my June prayer letter online.

Our vision is local and GLOBAL. In January, I was reminded of our call to the nations. I took steps to prepare for Urbana 2009, made decisions about this summer’s Global Projects, and spoke at a Wycliffe national convention, where they were eager to recruit thousands of young college graduates into reaching every last people group on earth. Perhaps my biggest highlight was speaking at InterVarsity’s International Student Ministry (ISM) National Staff Conference, where I was inspired by the work my colleagues are doing with students from all nations who are studying in the U.S. Continue Reading »

In case you didn’t get the hard copy, I’ve put our family Christmas letter online.  Thanks for your prayers for my Regional Staff Conference!  It was a phenomenal time, more inspiring and encouraging than I could have imagined, with our new and experienced staff coming together to launch our Regional Vision.  So for many reasons, there is much rejoicing in my household right now!