A History of the Geneva Community and Lecture Series
Enthusiastically Supported From the Beginning
After three years of effective ministry as InterVarsity staff for the state of Iowa, Jason Chen began the Christian Reformed Campus Ministry at the University of Iowa known as Geneva Forum in 1971. Initially, the assignment was rather simple: to follow-up on students from the CRC and RCA backgrounds and channel them through Inter-Varsity's Bible Study groups; to organize a Christian Free University offering courses that would attract searching students; and to engage in evangelism among some 800 Internationals through personal friendship and social activities. Although many of the 60 some students involved had not come from the Reformed background (they were Lutherans, Methodists, Roman Catholics, Buddhists, and Muslims) yet they all had enthusiastically supported the campus ministry from the very beginning.
Laughter and Serious Searching
In Fall 1973, responding to the request of many students, a Sunday Worship on campus was started with approximately 50 in regular attendance. The first Geneva Lecture was organized in 1976 with philosopher and theologian, Richard Mouw as speaker, co-sponsored by the School of Religion and two other evangelical student organization. In order to cultivate a sense of Christian community on campus which seemed lacking at the time, Jason and Donna and their two sons ages 7 and 3 moved out of their house and lived with students in a former sorority house between 1977-82. For five years, the house was a center for study, worship, evangelism and service and members as well as guests came from as far as Zimbabwe, Colombia, Venezuela, Taiwan, Puerto Rico, Mainland China, and even Pella and Sioux Center. Geneva House, as it was called, was where laughter could be heard often and serious searching would occur several evening a week and nationally known leaders such as Jim Wallis of the Sojourners community and Lewis Smedes of Fuller Seminary came to visit.
A New Challenge
The mood on campus, however, changed dramatically in the late 70's. Students along with their peers across the nation became more inward-looking and individualistic. This presented a new challenge for the campus ministry. In 1982, Jason and Donna together with the Campus Ministry Committee made the difficult decision to terminate the communal living experiment and to return to a more traditional approach of doing student ministry. Several changes took place that Fall. The influx of Asian faculty and students, particularly ethnic Chinese, to the University prompted the beginning of a weekly Sunday afternoon worship for Chinese in October. A weekly Bible Study Fellowship for CRC and RCA students was started and meeting regularly at the Chen]s home. The International Bible Study Group, begun in the mid 70Õs, grew to about 25 strong and met as three small groups on Fridays at the Wesley United Methodist Student Center, but would maintain close ties with Jason and Donna through weekly leadership training and Christmas and graduation parties.
Chinese Congregation Organized
As the ministry to the Chinese developed rapidly, in part due to the surprising openness of many Mainland Chinese students and scholars, Jason's time was also adjusted accordingly. In Spring 1983, at the request of the Chinese Worship Community, now meeting weekly, Jason began to spend as much as 70% of his time in the ministry to the Chinese. Nonetheless, continued to maintain the many good relationships established over the years with members of the administration, faculty and staff as well as limited outreach to non-Chinese Internationals. The Chinese congregation was officially organized as a Christian Reformed Church under Classis Pella in January 1993 with approximately 80 worshipping regularly. In Fall 1998 the Chinese congregation called its own evangelist/pastor thus allowed Jason to return to full-time campus ministry, once again.
Vision Remains the Same
Today, the BI-annual Geneva Lecture Series has not only gained the broad-based support of churches and student organizations of various stripes and persuasions, but also the respect and cooperation of University departments and academic disciplines. In fact, it has been the only consistent tool for outreach and training of Christian faculty, staff and graduate students at the University and the Iowa City community. Through the weekly Geneva Undergraduate Fellowship, students from CRC and RCA backgrounds,as well as others, are challenged to consider the biblical world and life view as a reliable basis for studies and for life. Through the weekly Bible Study, Annual Fall Farm Visit to Pella, and Winter Colorado House Party, International students and scholars are exposed to who Jesus was and his Lordship of all of life. And through the weekly Book Study Fellowship and the monthly Finding God at Iowa Lunch Forum, faculty, staff and graduate students listen and dialogue regularly about how their faith shapes their teaching, research and service.
No One Can Really Count the Results
In the last 32 years, more than two hundred new Christians have been baptized into the Christian Reformed Church and hundreds more have been impacted by this unique ministry arm of the Christian Reformed Church. Many have become professors and heads of departments in the colleges and universities of our nation, including Trinity, Northwestern, Dordt, Redeemer, Calvin and Hope. And many more have either returned to their home countries of India, Hong Kong, Moldova, Malaysia, Indonesia, Taiwan, People's Republic of China, Turkey, Germany, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Sierra Leone, and the Netherlands or are scattered throughout this country, serving God and His Church in practically every sphere of the society. Over the years, some structures might have been changed and emphasis modified, yet the vision of reaching the world through todayÕs students, professors and staff of various convictions, shapes and colors always remains the same. To God alone be all the glory.
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