Faith & Chai
Faith & Chai is an interfaith gathering for South Asian college students from any and all faith backgrounds to engage in conversation about faith, culture, and its influence in their lives. The goal of Faith & Chai is to listen, learn, have fun, and go deeper in relationship with other South Asian students on campus.
A typical Faith & Chai event includes: a warm welcome, community agreements, discussion questions, a time to debrief, and announcements.
These gatherings create a welcoming space for students to reflect on big questions while deepening friendships over a cup of chai (and usually snacks!). To maintain an atmosphere of openness and trust, this is explicitly not an “outreach” event. InterVarsity (alongside other partnering organizations) typically advertise their events during the announcements at the end.
Interfaith dialogue takes practice and requires love. Prepare your leaders beforehand to practice attentive listening, focus on personal sharing over theological debate, and have a goal of growing their understanding of others. Here are some tips for effective dialogue.
Resources:
Open Making Invitations Guide PDF
Bonus Tip: Making chai and providing snacks is a way that South Asian churches and ministry partners have LOVED supporting InterVarsity. Connect with the local South Asian aunties and uncles in your community to contribute in this way. Follow up after the event to share pictures and highlights with them. It will bless them and build trust for partnership in the future!
👉🏾 Tag @intervarsity.sa on Instagram if you host Faith & Chai on your campus!
