Large Group Meetings

What is Large Group all about?

Map to Calvary Lutheran Chapel Click for larger image

In short, Large Groups are our biweekly Friday night meetings, at 7:30pm, where our whole chapter (hence the name "Large Group") comes together for worship, community, and learning. We meet at the Calvary Lutheran Chapel (701 State St - see the map on the right). Be sure to sign up for the e-mail list so you can get all the latest updates.

Large Groups are a fun and insightful way to wrap up a long week. We typically worship together and hear from a speaker about a topic in our theme. We also love to have dinner together beforehand, and enjoy a time of fellowship after Large Group, possibly through an "After Hours" activity or just through hanging out at the Chapel. We also incorporate elements of student testimonies or corporate prayer at times.

Large Group is not church or another lecture. It is a uniquely grad-student-focused event where we can learn and grow together. At this point in your life, you may find yourself asking, "What does it mean to be a Christian grad student? How does my faith impact my work? How can I exalt God through what I do and attract others to Him through my actions?" If so, then you're in good company! We look forward to seeing you!

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Next Large Group

2007 Fall Retreat

Our next Friday Night Large Group will be:

What is our Large Group theme this year?

Our theme is "Why Truth Matters: The Five Solas." This theme will be both practical and insightful for students from all church traditions. In our world today, we are bombarded with information about what we should or should not believe, and how we should or should not behave. Yet as followers of Christ, we are called to look to Him and Him only for truth. As we seek to grow spiritually, we must focus on Scripture, Christ, the Gospel, faith, and giving all glory to God. When we move away from these truths, we can easily be lured by the empty promises and instant gratification that our culture offers us. God desires for us to know His glorious and liberating truths, and what they mean for us and the world we live in. In our Large Groups this year, we will learn what role these truths play for us today as we live out our lives as graduate students.

Our guide through this theme will be the "Five Solas," from The Cambridge Declaration of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals. We will explore these Solas (Latin for "only") in the context of biographies of heroes of our faith, and through discussing how they impact our lives as Christ-followers. The Solas are as follows:

• Sola Scriptura: The Erosion of Authority
• Solus Christus: The Erosion of Christ-Centered Faith
• Sola Gratia: The Erosion of the Gospel
• Sola Fide: The Erosion of the Chief Article (Faith)
• Soli Deo Gloria: The Erosion of God-Centered Worship

Come and check us out!

Large Group Schedule: Spring 2008

• At the Calvary Lutheran Chapel

• 7:00 at the Pres House

Large Group Schedule: Fall 2007

• At the Memorial Union

• Charles Yu - UW Hebrew and Semitic Studies Department
• 6:00 - First-year students: Dinner at the Pres House
• 6:30 - Non-first-year students: Dinner at Chipotle

• Nate Clarke - Director, 2100 Ministries (IV's media production group)
• 6:30 - Glass Nickel pizza at the Pres House (bring a few bucks to contribute)
• 6:45 - Movie: Le Fils (The Son), a French/Belgian movie from 2002
• 8:30ish - Nate will close the evening with teaching.

• Eric Carlsson - Finished grad school in 2006; currently teaching European History at Edgewood College
• Sharon Gartland - Director, IV's Ministry for Women in the Academy; formerly Professor of Occupational Therapy
• Dave Milovich - Grad student, UW-Madison Department of Mathematics; Deacon, Geneva Campus Church

• Steve Turley - Dissertator, UW-Madison Department of History; M.Div., Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary

• Terry Morrison - Former Staff Worker and Director of Faculty Ministries for InterVarsity USA

Large Group Archive

Check out our Large Group Archive, with links and resources from past Large Groups.