Many students find themselves “lost” or unaware of what direction their life may be taking. Intervarsity Christian Fellowship is a group of students on campus who meet throughout the week to help students grow and ask questions about their spirituality.

“Everybody, whether they realize it or not, is affected by (spirituality); whether they give in to their spirituality part of them or don’t give in,” Intervarsity’s leader Tim Sales, a 1997 Eastern graduate said.

“We’re a non-denominational group. We get together to study the Bible and investigate what Jesus said about certain topics relevant to college life,” member Collin Duncan, a junior computer management major, said.

The group provides workshops for students to gain leadership skills. Also, the organization provides opportunities to take service trips to other countries and other cities within the United States on their spring break, Sales said.

“We give them a wide variety of ways they can grow and service Jesus,” said Sales, who participated in Intervarsity as a student from 1995 to 1997.

Intervarsity is world-wide and was founded in 1940. Sales estimates Eastern’s chapter formed about 45 to 50 years ago. He said students came down from the University of Illinois chapter, which began in 1940, and helped started the organization.

The group has a large group meeting at 7 p.m. on Thursday in the Martinsville Room of the Martin Luther King, Jr. University Union. At that meeting, a speaker usually talks on various issues to the group.

Besides that, the group meets at 5:30 p.m. in Lawson Hall to have a time of prayer. Particularly, they focus on praying for world news issues, Duncan said.

The group has a small group Bible study that meets to study and discuss events from the Bible that relate today’s issues, Duncan said. There are two times and locations students can choose from to attend the small group Bible study. One meets at 7 p.m., Wednesday at Carman Hall and the other meets at 8:30 p.m., Tuesday at Andrews Hall.

“That is a more intimate time where we can get together and study God’s word and different passages and how they relate to our lives,” Duncan added. “We grow while studying God’s word and discussing it. We grow as a group while studying it together.”

There are many reasons why students get involved with Intervarsity. One reason why sophomore psychology major Brett Griffin became involved with the organization is because it gave him “a sense of community and family away from home.”

Freshman accounting major Jason Kazmierczak said he wanted to join the group “To get to know people, good friends and to get closer to God by studying the Bible,”

Members stress that there are no requirements to join the group. “We provide a place for people to come and ask questions, a safe place for them to find out the truth for themselves and make a rational decision based on that,” Sales, who has lead the group since 1998, said.