About Chi Alpha
Despite our name, we’re not a fraternity or a sorority. Our name is Greek because the New Testament was written in Greek. It comes from 2 Corinthians 5:20 — we are therefore Christ’s (Chi) Ambassadors (Alpha). We often abbreviate our name as XA.
Chi Alpha is one of several Christian ministries at Stanford. Other ministries like us include A2, RUF, Cornerstone, and InterVarsity. We’re all broadly similar, although each ministry has a theological or stylistic nuance that makes them stand out. What makes us different is our emphasis on the ministry of the Holy Spirit.
If you haven’t taken a look yet, you should investigate the right sidebar with the small text. It has links to all kinds of cool things like our leadership team.
Our Beliefs
Our beliefs can be summarized pretty simply:
- God is real.
- God has revealed Himself in Jesus.
- The Bible is God’s Word.
- God still does supernatural stuff.
- God ought to be the most important thing in every person’s life.
That’s obviously just an overview — you can read a more detailed statement if you’re curious.
What We Do
We have weekly worship services on campus and we sponsor life groups (Bible studies) throughout the week. We usually have one retreat-type event per quarter, and we occasionally baptize people in the Claw Fountain in front of the bookstore (9 baptisms last year — woot!).
The easiest way to get involved is to come to one of our weekly meetings. These gatherings are informal, given to humor, and deal with everything from relationships to the nature of truth.
We also have what we like to call Fun Social Activities. You can tell from our uber-creative naming that we are a fun bunch, indeed. In fact, we’re so merry that Robin Hood is suing us for infringement.
And last but not least, we volunteer at places such as the San Francisco Rescue Mission and Bayshore Christian Ministries.