The International Fellowship of Evangelical Students (IFES) is an

interdenominational Interdenominationalism is an evangelical Protestant movement of cooperation among various Christian denominations. History The movement has its origins in the founding of the London Missionary Society, a missionary society, in 1795 by variou ...

association of 170

evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide Interdenominationalism, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "bor ...

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

student movements worldwide, encouraging

evangelism In Christianity, evangelism (or witnessing) is the act of preaching the gospel with the intention of sharing the message and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians who specialize in evangelism are often known as evangelists, whether they are i ...

discipleship In Christianity, disciple primarily refers to a dedicated follower of Jesus. This term is found in the New Testament only in the Gospels and Acts. In the ancient world, a disciple is a follower or adherent of a teacher. Discipleship is not the ...

and

mission Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

among students. The headquarters is in

Oxford, England Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the Un ...

History

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, the

Oxford Inter-Collegiate Christian Union The Oxford Inter-Collegiate Christian Union, usually known as OICCU ( ), is the world's second oldest university Christian Union and is the University of Oxford's most prominent student Christian organisation. It was formed in 1879. Due to the ...

, founded in 1879, was a founding member of the Student Christian Movement of Great Britain (SCM) in 1892. Then in 1928, students left SCM due to differences over liberal positions and founded the Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship. This movement was established in Canada in 1928 and in the United States in 1941. In 1947, the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students was founded. Representatives from

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, the

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China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

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Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

came together in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

(USA) to strengthen evangelism, discipleship and world mission among students all over the world.

Programs

Group meetings are held each week to discuss the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

in universities. These groups are

Evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide Interdenominationalism, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "bor ...

, but not attached to any particular confession.

Organization

Representatives of all the member movements gather once every four years at the "World Assembly", where the General Committee meets to conduct official business of the fellowship.IFES
IFES WORLD ASSEMBLY
ifesworld.org, UK, retrieved 9 April 2020 IFES's General Secretaries have included: * Stacey Woods (1947–1972) * Chua Wee Hian (1972–1991) * Lindsay Brown (1991–2007) * Daniel Bourdanné (2007–2019) * Jamil Chabouh (acting, 2019–2020) * Tim Adams (2021–present)

Publishing houses

Christian literature distribution is also a feature of this ministry.

InterVarsity Press Founded in 1947, InterVarsity Press (IVP) is an American publisher of Christian books located in Westmont, Illinois. IVP focuses on publishing Christian books that speak to important cultural moments, provide tools for spiritual growth, and e ...

(USA),

Inter-Varsity Press Inter-Varsity Press (IVP) was previously the publishing wing of Universities and Colleges Christian Fellowship. It support the publishing or distribution of well over one million books each year to over 150 countries, including the translation ...

(UK), ''Presses Bibliques Africaines'' (Francophone Africa), Harmat (Hungary), Andamio (Spain), and ''Ediciones Certeza'' (Latin America) are examples of regional publishing houses.

References

Bibliography

* Douglas Johnson, ''A Brief History of the International Fellowship Of Evangelical Students'', Lausanne, Switzerland, IFES, 1964. * Pete Lowman, ''The Day of His Power'', Leicester, Inter-Varsity, 1988. * Alice Poynor, ''From the Campus to the World: Stories from the First Fifty Years of Student Foreign Missions Fellowship'', InterVarsity Press, 1986. * David M. Howard, ''Student Power in World Missions'', InterVarsity Press, 1979. (Brief history of North American students in mission beginning with the Haystack Movement through the SVM to the SFMF.) * C. Stacey Woods, ''The Growth of a Work of God'', InterVarsity Press, 1978. (Early history of InterVarsity/USA) * Keith & Gladys Hunt, ''For Christ and the University: The Story of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship of the U.S.A./ 1940-1990'', InterVarsity Press, 1991. * Lindsay Brown, ''Shining Like Stars - the Power of the Gospel in the World’s Universities'', Inter-Varsity Press, 2006. (Spanish translation: ''Brillando Como Estrellas'', Andamio. , *

A. Donald Macleod Alistair Donald Macleod (born 1938) is a former research professor of church history at Tyndale University College and Seminary in Toronto. Macleod was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and studied at McGill University, Harvard University, and W ...

, ''C. Stacey Woods and the Evangelical Rediscovery of the University'', Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2007. * Luke Cawley, "Campus Lights: Students Living and Speaking for Jesus Around the World", Edinburgh: Muddy Pearl, 2019.

External links

*
Preview of "''Brillando Como Estrellas''"
an introduction and history of IFES by Lindsay Brown (in Spanish) {{DEFAULTSORT:International Fellowship Of Evangelical Students Evangelical parachurch organizations International student religious organizations Organisations based in Oxford Christian organizations established in 1947 Fellowships Christianity in Oxford