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Small Groups
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Small groups are communities that give members an opportunity to be open and honest about their personal lives in a nonjudging environment. These groups are come together weekly or biweekly to study the word of God. Because of their size, small groups are more intimate than large group. Student leaders facilitate discussions that will lead to greater understanding and application of God's word. Current times and meeting places of this semester’s small groups can be found on our Facebook page.
The University of Tennessee Knoxville (UTK) has an enrollment of approximately 26,000 students located in the heart of Knoxville. InterVaristy Christian Fellowhship (IVCF) began campus ministry at UTK in the 1950's.
For many years IVCF tried unsuccessfully to invite Black students into the fellowship. Cultural barriers and the realities of race on campus made this outreach impossible for the overwhelmingly white InterVarsity group. During those difficult years, God raised up many students who began to reach out across racial lines with the gospel and laid the foundation through prayer for a Black student fellowship. For many years however, there appeared to be no fruit from these efforts.
In 1994 a Black student who had attended the Urbana '93 missions conference returned to UT and began a "small informal prayer group" that became the seed through which a Black student fellowship would eventually form. In 1995 Collegiate Black Christian Fellowship (CBC) began as a major outreach to UT's under-served Black student population. Beginning with only a handful of committed students, CBC continues to flourish. God has used CBC to bring many young men and women to Christ and to strengthen and encourage hundreds more in their faith.
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