What's with the name, Chi Alpha?
THE NAME
In the Bible, the apostle Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:20:
“We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.”
Our movement of campus ministries finds its identity in this passage. We believe that God longs to have each and every person be reconciled to Himself, and that the way that re-connection happens is through the representation of his people. Each of us who takes on the identity of “Christian” becomes Christ’s ambassador – or christou apostoloi in Greek, which we shorten to the first letters “Chi” and “Alpha” or XA.
Our name is our constant reminder that each of us has a real part to play in this world. We each can carry Him within us to bring Him closer to the people around us.
We are a Spirit-empowered, diverse community of believers on university campuses, declaring in word and lifestyle our faith in Jesus Christ, equipped to fulfill our purpose in God’s global plan.
We reconcile students to Christ, equipping them through spirit-filled communities of prayer, worship, fellowship, discipleship and mission to transform the university, the marketplace and the world.
We seek to introduce fellow collegians to an authentic relationship with Jesus Christ. We plan to do this through prayer, worship, fellowship, discipleship and mission.
PRAYER…Communication with God.
WORSHIP…Expressions of thanks through word, music, and service.
FELLOWSHIP…Community of students developing quality relationships.
DISCIPLESHIP…Learning about Jesus and following His example.
MISSION…Living a life that reflects our relationship with God in what we say and do.
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Chi Alpha gave me opportunities to be a light to my community.
OUR TEAM
TITUS & JACKIE BERGREN
Director
On Titus’ first visit to MT Tech God gave him this picture of the work to be done at Tech through Chi Alpha. Titus saw an image of students climbing a hill, struggling, yet content in their climb. God revealed to him the contentment was coming from the end goal of financial security. Deep in the students’ hearts was the thought that if they could land a good paying job all would be well. Even deeper was the awareness that they were on thin ground as they ascended toward this goal. They knew a fall through this foundation would result in much pain, possibly even a ruined future and life. God told Titus to ‘go give them a foundation’. This changes the top pursuit from financial gain to lifting up Jesus. Instead of thin ground, they are standing on the cross providing a solid foundation!
Our heart is that each student is given the opportunity to know Jesus Christ as the only solid foundation available. In the context of community Chi Alpha desires that each student encounter God’s love and turn to him for forgiveness and salvation.
ALYSSA & CALEB LASHWAY
Associate Staff
Alyssa first came to Chi Alpha in Missoula as a student in February of 2011. As a student, God used Chi Alpha to show Alyssa what it meant to make the gospel known to other students and the value of equipping believers to be Kingdom minded whether in school, at work, or with family. After she and Caleb got married in August of 2014, they went on volunteer staff. At Fall Retreat the following year, God called Alyssa to make the leap to invest in students full time. In 2019, the Lashways followed God’s call to Butte and Montana Tech.
Alyssa’s vision for students is that they would constantly be growing in their relationship with Jesus as well as walking with others as they walk one step closer to Jesus.
AJ & Alyssa Seyer
First Year Staff
AJ and Alyssa both graduated from Montana Tech in May 2023. They came to Tech as freshman and quickly found a family and a greater purpose within Chi Alpha. In their 4 years as students they fell in love with the campus and the city of Butte as their hearts broke for the lost students around them. There is both so much beauty and so much brokenness in one city. They had always been somewhat drawn to doing ministry on campus past graduation, but it wasn’t until March 2023 that they took the leap towards full-time ministry. There is something we say in our Chi Alpha circles that says, “love sees a need and meets it.” They saw the ripe harvest and few laborers at Montana Tech and knew God was calling them to meet that need.
Our hearts are to see a new generation of believers rise up and represent Jesus accurately to a generation to has seen Him misrepresented. We want to see a revival generation. We believe that the next awakening is coming from Gen Z and want to empower, equip, and commission them to do what God has destined them to do.