Alicia Ostermeyer: Theology Response

Is Chi Alpha a church? Should a student be involved in a local church on Sunday mornings in addition to their involvement in Chi Alpha? Are your reasons more pragmatic or theological?

Bird describes the marks of the church beginning on page 735. These marks come from the Nicene Creed and are what authenticate the church. These marks include: one, holy, catholic, and apostolic. According to these marks, Chi Alpha would be considered a church. Chi Alpha is ‘one’ because it shares a place in the body of Christ. Chi Alpha is ‘holy’ since it has been called by God. Chi Alpha is ‘catholic’ because it goes throughout the world, and ‘apostolic’ because it holds to the apostles’ teachings.

This being said, Chi Alpha at Indiana University still puts a strong emphasis on students being involved in a local church. A part of the reason for this is that Chi Alpha is unique to universities and looks different than the “real world”. Chi Alpha is full of all students primarily ages 18-24, they all live within 3 miles of one another, receive intentional discipleship, and are handed a community to dive into. Almost all of these Chi Alpha students aren’t married and don’t have kids or full-time jobs, which means their lives are super flexible and there are limited things tying them down. If we tell our students Chi Alpha is your church, we aren’t setting them up well to follow Jesus after college. It is helpful for students to be a part of a multi-generational church and start processing how they can be poured into and how they can serve the church after college.