History of our Partnership with Poland
Since 2017, Indiana and Illinois InterVarsity has partnered with ChSA (Chrześcijańskie Stowarzyszenie Akademickie), the Polish Student Movement. Since then we have sent multiple teams to partner with ChSA, in various cities (Warsaw, Katowice, Szczecin, Biała Podlaska, Bydgoszcz, Wrocław and Gdańsk).
ChSA has officially existed for over 35 years, although it began in the 1970s despite restrictions imposed by the communist regime. It creates a platform to share passions, ideas, and the joy of the good news in a university context. By fostering Christian values, ChSA wants to point to God, without imposing theologies or belief systems. ChSA students are enthusiastic about building personal relationships and sharing the testimony of their everyday lives. ChSA is one of a few organizations in Poland that welcomes people from various denominations, churches and Christian backgrounds.
Spring Break
The Poland Spring Break trip is a week-long trip to help the Polish movement with campus outreach in the city of Białystok. Students will assist ChSA staff with different campus outreach events - from Proxe stations during the day, to game nights in the evenings.
This outreach really helps ChSA staff get connected to Polish students and have conversations about the gospel. Two of their new staff got connected through outreach done on a Spring Break trip! Students also get to learn cross-cultural skills and get a bigger picture of what God is doing in other countries.
Who?
Students who:
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Are eager to learn and grow
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Desire to immerse themselves in another culture and engage with an IFES movement
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Want to deepen their relationship with the Lord
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Are current or emerging leaders who are committed to developing their leadership skills
When?
March 12-21, 2027
How Much?
$2,850
Summer Leadership
Institute
The Poland Leadership Institute will focus on developing
the next generation of Christian leaders by bringing together InterVarsity and ChSA student leaders for an intensive leadership training program. Participants will travel to Poland, where they will receive leadership training, learn alongside one another in a cross-cultural setting, and partner with the Polish movement to help lead its summer camp.
Our goal is to engage deeply with Scripture, build a strong foundation of Christlike character, cultivate spiritual practices that sustain a lifetime of faithful leadership, and equip students with the skills, vision, and confidence to disciple others and lead with wisdom and humility.
Who?
Students who:
-
Are eager to learn and grow
-
Desire to immerse themselves in another culture and engage with an IFES movement
-
Want to deepen their relationship with the Lord
-
Are current or emerging leaders who are committed to developing their leadership skills
When?
July 1 - July 24
July 1-4: Arrive in Poland & begin orientation
July 5-8: Leadership Training with Polish students
July 9-11: Retreat with ChSA
July 12-16: Helping ChSA run their English Camp for high school students
July 17-23: Continued Leadership Training
Dates may be subject to change.
How Much?
Approximately $3,975 per student
Cost is subject to change due to international airfare and travel costs. Cost covers international departure and return flights from Chicago, travel inside Poland, room and board, and other on-site costs. Cost DOES NOT cover travel to departure city, passports or immunizations or personal spending money.
Testimonies
Morgan Folgers
God used my two years at Spring Break CUP to redefine my heart journey and how I live out God’s mission. God showed me how the Gospel and social justice are not mutually exclusive and what this means for me as a disciple of Jesus. I engaged in conversations about ethnicity and culture and how vital the celebration of ethnicity and culture is in terms of truly including all people into God's family. I witnessed all sides of Chicago--a city of beauty, hope, innovation, injustice, reconciliation, disparity, and brokenness all thrown into one-- and was able to intentionally engage with and learn from the people I encountered in the various neighborhoods. I learned how to navigate the world with “bifocals” that give me the capacity to see beauty and brokenness at the same time. God stirred my heart to become an activator for the Kingdom: a disciple who lives out the radical love and gospel of Christ in ways that call out and dismantle systems of oppression. And above all, I learned that the world is far more beautiful when we navigate spaces with open hands and open hearts.
Illinois State University
Jaykwon Hosey
Participating in the Chicago Urban Program was a pivotal moment in my life that caused me to engage with my faith, myself and my community in a completely different way. Prior to the program, I lacked understanding of how I wanted my faith and studies to intersect as well as the ways in which God wanted to use both. Afterwards, my vision was renewed and broadened helping me see the ways in which God could use me as an advocate, an activist, and someone who is always seeking to love people and do justice. As well as this, the program gave me so much space for introspection, meditation, and self seeking in which I could rediscover myself, my past, and family structure, seeing them all with new eyes. Experiencing God in a city that consists of such a rich history and culture helped me to better understand God’s love for all people and how his presence has impacted the development of their narratives as well as mine. My love for God, Chicago and people has since grown.
University of South Florida
Yehsong Kim
I attended Spring Break CUP my sophomore year on a whim, honestly unexcited and afraid to spend time in what I was told was a "dangerous neighborhood" of Chicago. Little did I know that God would meet me that week to open my eyes to the pain and beauty of whole communities I had never engaged with. It was like a switch was flipped and I saw this world, God, and the Word in a new light--God's compassion for the fatherless, the widow, the foreigner and God’s desire for justice. I went on to attend summer CUP before my senior year, learning how beautiful it can be to live in deep community with fellow students and community members, sharing the daily joys and pains of life and relationship. I was learning to question and wrestle with what I was taught about who I am, who I should choose to be in community with, and how I should spend my resources. Besides this new framework of God and the world, CUP's greatest gift to me was the chance to be in relationship with those I wouldn't have met otherwise. Our society stratifies us to be separated by our race/ethnicity, our educational levels, our wealth. CUP offered the chance to break out of these boxes to say yes to being transformed, being seen, and seeing others. A few years after graduating from college, I spent another summer staffing CUP, and was humbled to continue learning as staff and reminded to stay open because there is always more to learn about empathy, how to act and prayer, and how to enact our greatest command: to love others. CUP changed the course of my life to give me purpose, understanding, and empathy, which are present with me every day.
Northwestern University
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