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In The NewsFebruary 13, 2003 In an effort to reach anyone on campus needing guidance:NU Christian Fellowship seeks to help studentsBy Tom Holmes For the last 10 years, Ralph Indorf, the campus staff minister for an organization called Intervarsity Christian Fellowship, has lead a Norwich student club which has remained unknown to many and misunderstood by a few. Students who are now becoming involved are finding something much different than they expected. Indorph has been the head of NCF (Norwich Christian Fellowship) since 1993, when he became the first full time staff minister his organization had assigned to the campus. Intervarsity is a group dedicated to ministering to college students in many different universities. It has been a part of Norwich since the mid-1980s. As long as it has been at the university, NCF has been relatively low key. Not many have become involved, due to low publicity and general lack of interest. However, according to Indorf, the group is nothing like what most people expect. "The first reaction most people would have is, 'well, it's church,'" said Indorf, adding that many are dissuaded because "most people view religion as a series of rules and regulations." NCF, according to Indorf, is not about that at all. "We are about the business of building relationships where people feel safe to be themselves, where people are accepted for who they are." "I think a lot of people have the misconception that NCF is just a group of Christians who get together, talk about Christian things and maybe even beat on other religions," said Ryan Mount, 20, a biology major from Angola, La. "The reality of the matter is that we are here to be a safe place where anyone from any faith or no faith can come, and just share their opinions and discuss things about life." Mount is the student body president of the group. He is the point man, responsible for making decisions concerning on-campus events and other issues the group deals with. "We want to be here for other people who are struggling through difficult circumstances," Mount said. "Namely, freshmen in the corps are our target group of people to reach out to, but we're really here for anyone and everyone." The group talks about such topics as truth and reality and where God comes into everyday life. "We like people to make their own conclusions about life and truth," Mount said. "At the same time, we are leading them to Jesus Christ." While some are finding what they believe to be the truth, the group deals with other important topics such as racial issues. "We are interested in issues of racial reconciliation," Indorf said. "We have done campus wide events on racial reconciliation. We are interested in building a fellowship that is multi-ethnic." The range of issues and topics NCF considers doesn't stop there. The Corps of Cadets is in the business of creating leaders. According to Indorf, leadership development is one of his primary goals for the group. "I don't try to build a large group," Indorf said. "I look to train up leaders, who will train up leaders, who will train up leaders. I impact 8 to 10 students here at Norwich, and I train them to impact other students." Indorf gets his leadership format from the same place many business corporations do. "We look to learn from the greatest military leader in all the history of the world," Indorf said. "I simply believe that that is the person of Jesus of Nazareth." "There is no one who has had a following like him, no one who gave such freedom and had such loyalty as him," Indorf said. "He is a model for leadership." "So one of the things we do in terms of leadership development," Indorf said, "is we look at the principles of leadership that Jesus modeled, and we look to model and train people in that." The group remains small, usually numbering in the twenties or thirties each week. However, Indorf believes that the low attendance provides the best way to communicate and learn. "I'm not really concerned about whether we get any publicity or not," Indorf said. "A good organization, I don't think, grows by publicity. It grows by word of mouth. It grows relationally." Both Mount and Indorf said that the relationships formed are so important because they are what keeps the group tight, and allows them to reach others. "That's our primary goal," Mount said. "Learning how to relate to people of different faiths." In addition to weekly meetings, NCF members partake in many different on and off campus activities such as games of "capture the flag", two Christian retreats each year to Lake Saranac, and trips to such countries as the Dominican Republic and Guatemala. While these activities can be very fun for whoever decides to come join, Indorf does not want to be unclear about what the message of the Norwich Christian Fellowship is. "People tend to think it's about singing Kumbaya songs, or doing bible studies," Indorf said. "Christianity, for us, is about a relationship with Jesus Christ. It's really about getting to know God. I think most people miss that." |
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