Entry Posture

In order to find a Chapter Advisor, you need to start by getting to know some faculty members, and it’s possible that you end up engaging with a few of them before you find a good fit as for a Chapter Advisor. While we would love every chapter to have an advisor as soon as possible, finding a good partner is the priority!

Keep in mind that Christian faculty often have a heart for the campus and could be looking for ways to minister on campus. Many of them are busy, but just because they don’t initiate with you, doesn’t mean they aren’t interested. Your reaching out to them could be an unexpected blessing to them.

* This guide is written specifically for getting to know faculty members, but on some campuses, it might be a campus administrator or staff member that makes the most sense for becoming your Chapter Advisor. Similar principles apply.

Preparation

Involve your students! There’s a chance they know which professors are Christians already, so this is a great way to get a list of names. Invite them to pray for the process. If none of you are connected to Christian faculty, the first step may be to host an event for faculty and see who shows up.

Learn about the faculty member before you meet with them. Usually, professors will have a C.V. or bio on the university website, and you can also do a general web search. Look them up on Twitter—if they’re active, you’ll learn a world about them and their priorities.  Note where they are at in their faculty journey (e.g., full Professor, tenured Associate Professor, Junior Faculty on tenure track, non-tenure track). Where they are as a faculty member could impact both their availability and how open they are about their faith. 

Setting up the Initial Appointment

Introduce yourself by phone or email and propose an appointment day and time. For most faculty, don’t be surprised if they are only available for 15-20 minutes. Offer to meet at their office, to make it easier for them. 

Once you have a meeting time set, prepare a welcome gift. Some ideas for things to include are: 

• Your ministry case or a general IV brochure (in case they aren't familiar with IV)
• Faculty 4 Loves bookmark
• Teach Us to Pray Bookmark
• The Well bookmark (for women)
• A handwritten note of thanks, encouragement, or prayer
• An IVP book or guide (see Further Recommendations below)

Peruse the IV Faculty website and generally familiarize yourself with the resources available to faculty, so that you can reference them in your appointment, if it’s helpful.

Dress business casual, as you want to present yourself as a campus peer or colleague. 

If they aren’t responsive by email or phone, don’t take it personally, faculty are busy! It’s ok to stop by to introduce yourself to set up a time to talk a little longer. If you stop by, come with the gift. Keep your hand on the door as an indication that you don’t plan to stay long.  

The Initial Appointment

Keep in mind that you are developing a relationship, and each relationship will develop differently. It could take more than one conversation to get through all of this, or you might find that early on, you already want to invite this person to become a Chapter Advisor.

Start by sharing a bit about yourself (who you are, what InterVarsity is, the role of InterVarsity on campus). 

• Ask about their familiarity with InterVarsity or other campus ministries.
• If they are familiar, ask more about their experience.
• If they aren’t familiar, share the vision of InterVarsity and what that has looked like on your specific campus.
• Get to know more about them and make connections you have with what they share. It may not make sense to ask all these questions at once, depending on how much time there is and how open they are to sharing, so use discretion.
• Tell me about your academic journey. How did you become interested in your discipline? How long have you been at this campus? What is your area of research and what do you love about it?
• What is most rewarding about your work? What challenges do you regularly face?
• Tell me about your faith journey. How have you seen God at work in you throughout your academic career?
• What has your experience as a Christian been like in your department and on campus?
• Where do you see God at work on campus? Where would you like to see his work? 

Ask questions to gauge their ministry involvement interest.

• How can I be praying for you? They might ask you to keep this confidential.
• Would you be interested in connecting with other Christian faculty? Also see if they know any other Christian faculty.
• Would you be interested in partnering with me to serve the IV chapter? Depending on what you’ve perceived from the conversation already, make a couple suggestions as to what this could look like. Seeing them in action will give you more data to see if they could be a potential Chapter Advisor.

End the time by thanking them for their time and communicating your next action steps. 

Follow up

Send a follow up email within a week to thank them for their time again. Send them any follow up items that came up in your conversation (e.g., links to resources on the IV Faculty website, information about a campus student event or a faculty ministry event you’ve invited them to attend, etc.).

If it seems like they’d enjoy continuing to connect, plan to stop by later in the semester/quarter with another gift (e.g., a coffee shop gift card or chocolate bar, a flyer for your regional Faculty Conference, and another IV resource or book).

Entry Posture

At this point, you should have connected with some faculty members, and you have at least one person in mind to ask to become your Chapter Advisor. This guide is written to help you establish a relationship with a Chapter Advisor that goes beyond simply getting their signature as an advisor. Our hope is that on every campus, each InterVarsity ministry will have a campus member that is partnering with them in the mission!

Preparation

1. Learn about what your campus requires for student organizations and advisor involvement. Depending on the type of school, advisors may be required to attend all gatherings. This is important to know as you invite them to make a commitment.
2. Think through your own gifts and capacity as well as the strengths and needs of the ministry. What are the gifts you have seen this potential Chapter Advisor use or heard them talk about. Use “Best Practices & Ideas for Chapter Advisors” as a guide, and pick a few possible ways for how this potential Chapter Advisor could bless you and the ministry. 

Making the Ask to Become a Chapter Advisor 

As you invite a faculty member to become your Chapter Advisor, keep in mind that some advisors may not have time to engage regularly with the whole ministry, but they are happy to serve as a coach to you or the chapter leaders. Other advisors may want to be more involved (or even need to be involved, depending on the school policy). The more direct influence they have with the stuents, the more critical it is for you to have a strong partnership.

1. Schedule a time to get together and be clear in your communication that you would like to ask them to consider becoming your Chapter Advisor.
2. In the appointment, share with them your vision for the role that a Chapter Advisor could play in the ministry. Highlight for this person why you think they would be a great fit, naming specific gifts and passions that you see in them.
3. Share with them a few ideas for their involvement, based on what you've already learned about their availability, gifts, and desired level of involvement. Coming with a couple of ideas can demonstrate that you’ve given thought to the invitation but share these ideas openhandedly more as a place to start the conversation.
4. In addition to talking about how they could be involved, also discuss how frequently they would like to connect with you and what the best forms of connecting are for them (e.g., in person, phone, email).
5. End the time by thanking them for their time and communicating your next action steps.

Follow Up

1. Send a follow up email within a week to thank them for their time and consideration for becoming your Chapter Advisor. Send them the link to "For Chapter Advisors", as a follow up to your conversation.
2. If they needed to time to decide, make sure you follow up with them on the agreed upon time frame.
3. If they already said yes, then follow through on setting up the next thing for them! Have your chapter advisor fill out this interest form.

Getting Started (Hear the Word)

1. Connect with your Chapter Advisor. Find a time that works for them to catch-up and talk through their involvement with the chapter.
2. Share event and meeting plans. Ask for feedback and see what events they would like to be involved with.
   1. Include NSO, proxe-ing, large groups, and other events.
3. Talk through their involvement for semester/quarter. Ideas include:
   1. Hosting office hours for IV students
   2. Speaking at a large group (*see note below), helping to lead a training or seminar (e.g. Senior Group), provide coaching for the leadership team in making ministry plans
   3. Hosting a back-to-school retreat, a Homecoming event for IV alumni, Thanksgiving meal for students staying around, or Advent/Christmas party.
   4. Invite them as a special guest to your Fall/Spring Conference (bonus points if you bring them to Urbana!).

Follow Through (Respond Actively)

1. Send an email follow-up to confirm Chapter Advisor participation in events
2. Set a date and time for each event/initiative your chapter advisor said they wanted to speak/participate in.\
3. Keep your Chapter Advisor updated as you prepare for events, especially those that they are going to be part of.
4. Host the event(s)! Make sure to introduce your Chapter Advisor with respect (including appropriate titles). We want to model good faculty interactions for students!
5. Show your gratitude and involve students.
6. Send a thank-you note. If it’s the end of the Fall semester, send a Christmas card with a small token of appreciation.

Reflect and Recalibrate (Debrief &Interpret)

1. Meet at the end of the semester to debrief what happened with the chapter and their involvement.
   1. Come to the meeting with gathered feedback from students (bonus points if you have your FFR/AFR data!).
   2. What feedback do they have for the chapter’s work this semester?
   3. What opportunities do they see for the chapter next semester? What needs do they see on campus for the chapter to minister to?
   4. Was the chapter advisor happy with their involvement this semester? Do they want to be more engaged? Do they have less capacity to be involved next semester?
   5. Do they know other Christian faculty who would be a good fit to be involved?
2. Plan to meet at the beginning of the next semester after you make adjustments/additions from your debrief conversation.

Explore

Ask about their academic responsibilities (teaching/research), career goals, church involvement, and family obligations. Find out what experiences they’ve had with InterVarsity. Let them know who you are, about your journey to chapter staff, and your vision for InterVarsity on their campus.

Encourage

Suggest ways a faculty advisor can be involved, as a prayer partner in support of your goals for chapter life, specific needs in the chapter, meeting student leaders, and perhaps hosting students for meals, etc. Listen. Indicate that you want to encourage them through prayer as they pursue their family obligations, church and academic responsibilities, and career goals they have.

Invite

Try to match ministry opportunities with interests and time constraints. Invite to chapter meetings, introduce to student leaders. Be sensitive to time obligations. Some faculty members will be newcomers to the campus with concerns about time constraints brought on by tenure achievement and family or church obligations. For some, this may mean being a prayer partner, while others may wish to be more involved.

Celebrate

Take time to celebrate achievements in chapter growth and discipleship. Faculty interest will grow as you share what God is doing in the lives of the students. You need to regularly follow up, sharing the InterVarsity story for the campus and learning of the struggles and accomplishments of the faculty person who is the faculty advisor. Rejoice in God’s provision and answered prayers.