What do you think when you see a ".org" attached to a web address? If you know your Internet, you know ".org" is the tag for an organization. Non-profits, special interest groups, and schools all use it in their quest for World Wide Web presence.

WashU-IV.org is different.

You see, we're not an organization. InterVarsity Christian Fellowship at Washington University is an organism. You may think it's just a matter of word choice, but we believe the difference is significant.

Generally speaking, an organization is a group of people bound together by a common cause. An organization's goals may be just, unjust, or just plain neutral. When the cause is achieved or defeated the organization ceases to exist. For better or worse, one thing is certain: the organization was never a living entity. Though its members may have been alive, the organization itself, the common cause that united and directed the group was never a living being.

And there lies the difference.

InterVarsity (or IV) is an organism because we are a part of a greater living being — the living Lord Jesus Christ. He is our heart, our soul, our mind, and our spirit and we are his hands, his feet, his voice – a part of his body. Since he is alive and we receive our life from him we are an organism, not an organization. And as his spirit directs we move. As his heart wishes, we serve. As he desires, we accomplish. When he speaks, we learn. We are alive through him.

Yes, there are times when we have to do paper work or go to meetings and do organization-like things, but please do not be mistaken. We are a part of the being who is more alive then anything this world has to offer. And this one who gives us a pulse and breath, offers new life to any and all who turn and give him their hearts.

No matter where you are in life, where you've been, or what you think of God, we hope you will join us and experience what it's like to be a part of something more than just another organization. And when you think about WashU-IV.org, remember, the difference is in the "org" and the one who gives us "life and life abundantly." (John 10:10)