InterVarsity at Carthage: 50+ years of God’s movement
Credit: Matt Kirk
InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, a national organization that seeks to create a welcoming, interdenominational space where students can explore faith, ask questions, and encounter Jesus in a transformative way, has been active on the Carthage College campus for more than 50 years.
“It’s an honor and a privilege to be part of something that has existed at Carthage for so long,” says Brock Elstro ’04, who took part in InterVarsity as a student and now works on the organization’s staff as a regional intercessor. “God has been moving for a long time, and to just be a part of God’s story at Carthage is really powerful.”
Campus Pastor Installation
Join us at Carthage on March 27, 2025, for the formal installation of the Rev. Adam Miller-Stubbendick as campus pastor and a panel discussion about “Growing Faith at Carthage: Theory and Practice.”
In its formative years, InterVarsity students gathered in humble spaces: the “lighthouse room” on the lower level of Joseph Johnson Residence Hall and tucked away behind the organ in A.F. Siebert Chapel for daily prayer meetings after dinner.
Carol Sabbar ’82, the College’s director of library and instructional technology services, is one of many InterVarsity alumni with fond memories.
“As the chapel bells rang at six o’clock, we’d all run up the stairs to get to the prayer meeting in time,” she remembers. “We’d keep a notebook of prayer requests, stand in a circle, hold hands, and take turns praying. Periodically, we’d go through the notebook to see how God had answered those prayers.”
“I led my first Bible study last semester through the Psalms, and I was not sure what I was really doing, but some of the girls came up to me and said how some moments really lined up with what was going on in their life,” says chapter president Meghan Felgenhauer ’26. “It was really cool to hear how it impacted them.”
InterVarsity’s vision includes discipleship, evangelism, prayer, and raising up young leaders.
“I’ve seen God move in other students when we’re worshipping,” Meghan says. “Some of us start crying or just really feel God’s presence.”
The inclusive community is available to all. Like Carthage itself, InterVarsity welcomes students from all religious and nonreligious backgrounds.
“We want to create space for every kind of student – Catholic students, Lutheran students, charismatic students, evangelical students, Baptist students, even non-Christians – to ask questions and figure things out together,” says Mr. Elstro.
Adam Newcomer, an InterVarsity staff member who advises the campus organization, notes that the chapter has continued to flourish — even while students navigated the challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“One area where I’ve seen remarkable growth is in the ministry of prayer. A consistent weekly prayer time has become a key part of the ministry,” he says. “We recently added a second prayer meeting each week.”
Through decades of world change, InterVarsity has remained a beacon of hope on the Carthage campus.
This profile, part of a series highlighting alumni in faith-based occupations, is written by Lauren Hansen ’10, M.Ed. ’15, an author, podcaster, and former Carthage alumni director.