Reaching Students In Knoxville, USA

An update from Joshua Varnedoe, Pastoral Resident at Cornerstone Church of Knoxville, Tennessee, USA…

Isaac came to the University of Tennessee with a lot of questions and uncertainties, but there was one thing he was absolutely sure about: he wanted nothing to do with God. And yet, the day before the fall semester began, as he wandered around campus, he had no idea that the God he was running from was graciously pursuing him.

It was on that day that he met Leyton, an intern for Volunteers for Christ. Leyton was handing out cold water and because it was a hot day in August, Isaac eagerly took him up on his offer. Leyton then asked him if he was interested in filling out an information card. Isaac, won over by Leyton’s friendliness, gave him his phone number. Little did Isaac know that less than 8 months later, he would be baptized on a Sunday morning and pursuing membership at Cornerstone Church of Knoxville. And if Isaac was unaware of God’s redemptive purposes on that August day, then he was definitely unaware of all the work God had done years prior to make that interaction with Leyton possible.

It all began in April of 1990 when Bill Kittrell founded Cornerstone Church of Knoxville. By the grace of God, what began as a Bible study on campus (led by Bill) grew to become a vibrant congregation passionate about reaching Knoxville, TN with the Gospel. In the early days of the church, the Sunday morning meetings were held on the university’s campus. But as the church grew, it became necessary to find another space. Cornerstone eventually moved off campus, but the desire to see students transformed by the Gospel never went away.

Now, Volunteers for Christ is Cornerstone’s outreach to the University of Tennessee. As an outreach of Cornerstone, our mission is very simple: We exist to proclaim the Gospel on the campus and to connect students to the local church (specifically Cornerstone). VFC is an evangelistic ministry, and everything that we do as a ministry is geared towards meeting unbelievers and winning them for Christ. Our prayer is that unbelievers attend our meetings and events, hear the Gospel, trust in Christ, and then join Cornerstone as faithful members.

Over the years, hundreds of students have become Christians through VFC’s involvement on campus and as a result, Cornerstone has grown! CCK is filled with men and women who first heard the Gospel at a VFC event and are now faithful husbands, fathers, wives, mothers, and members in the church. God has also used this ministry to provide pastors for Cornerstone. Many of the men on the pastoral team first became Christians through VFC and were discipled as young believers in the church.

Year to year, VFC is served by a team of interns who commit to raise their own support and work full-time for the ministry. Their job is to make VFC as successful as possible, and much of their time is spent sharing the Gospel and discipling young believers. In addition to a full-time intern team, VFC is led by a team of students (called the Mission Team) who have volunteered to give of their time to assist the interns in evangelism, discipleship, and the various logistical needs of the ministry (set up, hospitality, tech, etc.).

Every week on Thursday nights, VFC hosts a meeting on campus that consists of games, free food, singing, and preaching from God’s Word. We also host a variety of events throughout the week including tailgates, house parties (at the VFC House near campus), sports tournaments, cook-outs, etc. Every fall and spring break, we take the students on retreats and the Lord has used these retreats to strengthen our community and to bring students to saving faith.

It is exciting to think about what the future will hold. Lord willing, there are future church members, community group leaders, and pastors getting acceptance letters to come to UT this fall! Who knows who will wander up to a VFC information table or walk into Cornerstone for the first time in August? Remembering the Lord’s past faithfulness to VFC and to Cornerstone is what fuels our efforts now. Our prayer is that students for years to come are transformed by the power of the Gospel and are joined to the people of God!