Chi Alpha

Not to be confused with Chi Alpha Omega, Lambda Chi Alpha, Chi Alpha Delta, or Chi Omega.

Chi Alpha
ΧΑ
Founded1953; 71 years ago (1953)
Missouri State University
TypeChristian fellowship
AffiliationAssemblies of God USA
StatusActive
EmphasisPentecostalism
ScopeInternational
Motto"We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God." (2 Corinthians 5:20)[1]
PillarsCommunity, Creativity, Diversity, Excellence, Integrity, Servant-Leadership, and Evangelism
Colors  Black,   White,   Gray, and   Red
SymbolChristogram
Flag
PhilanthropyConvoy of Hope
Chapters272
NicknameChrist's Ambassadors[1]
Headquarters1445 North Boonville Avenue
Springfield, Missouri 65802
United States
Websitechialpha.com

Chi Alpha | ΧΑ (sometimes XA, χα, xa, or SfC - Students for Christ,[2] officially known as Chi Alpha Christian Fellowship), is an international and interdenominational, coeducational Christian fellowship, social club, student society, and service organization founded in 1953 on the campus of Missouri State University (then known as Southwest Missouri State College) in Springfield, Missouri. Chi Alpha is sponsored by the Assemblies of God USA,[3] a Pentecostal denomination established after separating from the historically African American Church of God in Christ in 1914 over race and administration.[4][5]

Chi Alpha's stated mission is "to reconcile students to Jesus Christ, thereby transforming the university, the marketplace, and the world..."[6] It describes its core values or pillars as community, creativity, diversity, excellence, integrity, servant-leadership, and evangelism. Its self-described five-fold approach is prayer, worship, fellowship, discipleship, and mission.[7] Its philanthropic and service organization affiliation is the Convoy of Hope. Through its campus ministries and fellowships, Chi Alpha operates a missionary internship program through the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, requiring doctrinal assent.[8][9][10]

Since the beginning of the 21st century, Chi Alpha Christian Fellowship's campus ministries have fluctuated from 310 locations in 2010,[11] to 350 in 2019,[12] and 272 in 2024.[13] The organization and its leadership have also been subjected to controversies involving the LGBT community,[14][15] and sexual and psychological abuse with former members alleging "cult-like" personalities.[16][12] In May 2023, Christianity Today and other outlets reported a registered sex offender was knowingly allowed to continued ministering to Chi Alpha students for more than 30 years.[17][18] Since these reports, a website has been launched and dedicated against abuses within Chi Alpha and Assemblies of God.[19]

  1. ^ a b "Who We Are". Archived from the original on October 1, 2018. Retrieved October 1, 2018.
  2. ^ SfC, Students for Christ, or Studenten für Christus in German, is the most common name used in Europe. "SfC Europe: About Us". Archived from the original on November 20, 2008. Retrieved October 9, 2007.
  3. ^ "Our Story". Chi Alpha Campus Ministries. Retrieved September 3, 2022. Chi Alpha is sponsored by the Assemblies of God (AG). That means the AG provides each local campus with support, resources and connectivity to a larger worldwide movement. They also work to equip the leaders of each local XA, both the vocational missionaries associated with each group and the student leaders. The sponsorship by the Assemblies of God does not mean that you have to have a history with the AG. You don't have to have any particular denominational connection to be welcomed in our groups.
  4. ^ Randal Rust. "Mason, Charles Harrison". Tennessee Encyclopedia. Retrieved September 3, 2022. Mason dreamed of an integrated church and believed that all races were entitled to equal rights and authority. From COGIC's inception, Mason ordained and allowed whites to join his denomination. From 1907 to 1914, Mason ordained hundreds of white ministers. In 1914, a group of whites left COGIC and established the Assemblies of God. Throughout his tenure, Mason continued to integrate COGIC. A white COGIC pastor named Leonard P. Adams pastored Grace and Truth in Memphis, and COGIC's first general secretary was a white man named William B. Holt. Mason also conducted integrated funerals, baptisms, and worship services. At the height of Jim Crow, Mason allowed blacks and whites to sit next to each other in church. In the 1930s, Edward Hull "Boss" Crump told Mason he could not continue to allow blacks and whites to sit together. However, Boss Crump did not stop Mason from holding integrated meetings. Mason used COGIC as a platform to fight against segregation and encouraged blacks and whites to embrace racial unity.
  5. ^ "Race and the Assemblies of God Church: The Journey from Azusa Street to the "Miracle of Memphis" By Joe Newman". Cambria Press. Retrieved February 6, 2023.
  6. ^ "Grundsätze". October 12, 2007. Archived from the original on October 12, 2007. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
  7. ^ "Why We Exist". Chi Alpha Campus Ministries. Retrieved July 1, 2022.
  8. ^ "Campus Missionary-in-Training". Chi Alpha Campus Ministries. Retrieved February 6, 2023.
  9. ^ Smietana, Bob (May 6, 2015). "Many Evangelicals Wary of Faith Requirements for Campus Groups". News & Reporting. Retrieved February 6, 2023.
  10. ^ Smith, Samuel (March 31, 2015). "'Attending College Should Not Cost Me My Faith,' Says Chi Alpha President Whose Chapter Lost Official Status on Campus for Requiring Leaders to Be Christian". The Christian Post. Retrieved February 6, 2023.
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference :3 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference :4 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  14. ^ "An Open Letter to Chi Alpha from a Fellow Roadrunner and Christian". Her Campus. February 18, 2016. Archived from the original on April 5, 2023. Retrieved April 5, 2023. Even as a believer in Christ, your members have tried to make me and others feel bad for not wanting to be a part of your organization. I've politely told your members before as they approached me on my way to class that I am already part of a church family, only for them to try and grill me about the church I attend, and how involved I am to see if it fits their standards of Christianity and tell me "that's not good enough." I can distinctly remember a situation on campus last year that I had to witness in disgust where some of your members purposefully set up next to the LGBTQ club, just so that you could scream at them and harass them for their life choices. The LGBTQ members stood there silently and with dignity as you made complete fools out of yourselves with your hypocrisy towards religion.
  15. ^ Cite error: The named reference :5 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  16. ^ Cite error: The named reference :6 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  17. ^ Shellnutt, Kate (May 10, 2023). "Registered Sex Offender Continued to Minister to Chi Alpha Students". Christianity Today. Archived from the original on May 16, 2023. Retrieved May 16, 2023.
  18. ^ "Chi Alpha Campus Ministries Platformed Convicted Sex Offender for Decades". The Roys Report. May 10, 2023. Archived from the original on May 16, 2023. Retrieved May 16, 2023.
  19. ^ Cite error: The named reference :9 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).