Nate Kox:
Some residents of IV were in for a pleasant surprise last week, as members of various UCSB Christian student groups went door to door, offering to clean peoples’ houses for free. The catch: there was no catch.
The event was “Jesus Loves IV Week,” an outreach program spearheaded by Real Life, the UCSB chapter of the Campus Crusade for Christ. Several other campus Christian groups, including Destino, Epic, and the IV Church also participated. It was a weeklong effort with a lofty goal: to clean every house in IV. By the end of the week, participants in the event had cleaned over 400 houses, including even some of the grungiest houses on Greek Row. Groups of three to seven students went door to door, cleaning living areas, kitchens, and dishes, which can be a daunting task in some IV residences.
Residents who were lucky enough to get a free housecleaning were for the most part glad for the favor, although some had a hard time believing at first that yes, it was, in fact, actually free, and that no, they didn’t have to do anything in return. “I’m astonished, confused, and pleasantly surprised” said Sean Gee, whose apartment was cleaned by members of Real Life.
Clay Baber, co-outreach team leader for Real Life, explained the motivation behind Jesus Loves IV Week. “We all have a relationship with Jesus Christ,” said Baber, “and we want to serve people as He served us. Jesus offers us this amazing thing, and why would we want to say ‘no?’ This is kind of the same thing; why would you want to say ‘no’ to someone cleaning your house for free?” Although it was motivated by a religious agenda, there was no unwanted preaching, and no pamphlets were distributed, although “rave cards” containing the philosophy behind Jesus Loves IV Week and a one-sentence version of the gospel were given to those who expressed interest.
“It’s about breaking down barriers and building relationships,” said Chris Comstock, director of Real Life. “Since IV is such a relational place, we’re trying to build on that, and make conversations about Jesus a natural thing. We want to do something that’s both a proclamation and a demonstration, rather than just going out there and talking to people about spiritual things. We just want to de-polarize everything.”
Although it isn’t clear that the issue was depolarized in any significant way, IV did get a little cleaner. “It’s cool,” said one resident of IV whose apartment was cleaned. “It doesn’t really change my perceptions [of Christians at UCSB], but it’s a really nice gesture and hey, it keeps me from doing it.”
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the jesus loves iv people came to my house and made it look spotless while i played hacky sack with one of the members.
thanks Jesus Loves IV!!