As some of you have asked for more details on the post detailing the New York/New Jersey InterVarsity pathway, I thought it would be a great idea to share with you the pathway that InterVarsity is working on nationally through the Chapter Building Initiative.

This is still in the Beta stage and it is being tested, but this pathway that is above is one that we are working towards adopting on a large scale. Doug Schaupp and Val Gordon are leading the way in this initiative and they are doing tremendous work from what I see and hear.

Here is an excellent paper to read on the stages and what the goal of each is.

I share this with you for three reasons:

1.  InterVarsity is Going Here

It is a great pathway and for the InterVarsity people that read this blog, this is where we are going nationally if all tests out well.

2.  Evangelists Love This Stuff

I think the most likely place to find evangelists and also see them thrive is inside growing established chapters. Evangelists for the most part love recruiting people to thriving groups and introducing their friends to Jesus inside of community. If your ministry has a solid pathway and is following it well, it will completely activate your current evangelists and attract many more. Evangelists will want to be part of a ministry that has a clear pathway for people come to Christ and be developed. Doug is a flaming evangelists and I love that he is one of the major thinkers behind this pathway. He is a total role model for me and has taught me so much about effective witness. If you want more evangelism and evangelists, start putting the pathway into place this fall!

3.  Planting & Building Work Together

This blog has been dedicated primarily to planting and starting new things. But that is not all we care about here in this space. Building existing chapters and churches is a huge part of the kingdom work and it is definitely requiring APE type leaders. In fact, Peter was apostolic but in a “growth of the existing thing” kind of way. He was the architect of the mission to the Jews, while Paul was the apostle who went to start new things in unchartered territory as his primary calling.

Some of us are more “Pauline” and others “Petrine” in our apostolic call. Existing chapters and churches need the apostolic impulse to reach new territory on campus and keep expanding inside the space you have planted.

We need the peters and we need great thinking about how to keep growing what we have planted. I love what some of my buddies around Intervarsity say,

“Plant things that grow and grow things that plant.”

Planting and building always work together and we must be very careful that we don’t ever dichotomize them or act like one is better than another.

So here is a shout out to InterVarsity’s national chapter building team and the great work they are doing. Get familiar with the model they are experimenting with and let me know your thoughts.

I hope in the days and months ahead both Doug and Val will write us some great articles on chapter building and the call of APE leaders inside of that work.

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