Mitchell Redondo is almost purple in the face trying to rip a phone book in half. It was the third day of the Arise the intervarsity Christian fellowship outreach at Fresno City College and Redondo was trying to lure in a crowd with a strong man contest, and inviting all who passed by to join in.

This was just one of the fun filled events that took place during the three day event. This included a car show, free food, performances and student created art. “We are sparking positive change,” said Redondo. The purpose of the event was to inspire students to believe in themselves and to ‘Dream big and pray hard.’

The Intervarsity fellowship is a Christian campus organization that is open to all students; they meet bi-weekly for Bible study in the Fresno City College senate chambers. The groups meeting times are Tuesdays at 11:00 am and Wednesdays and 12:00 p.m. Adrian Ordonez who leads one of the meetings encouraged everyone to come saying “Either you are going to learn more of God or you are going to learn of God for the first time,” said Ordonez.

Guillermo DeLaIsla, another one of the student organizers stated that some of the goals of the intervarsity are to “Get people to come, to encourage them to dream pray hard and that you can achieve your dreams through Jesus Christ.”

Also on display during the performances were several pieces to student created art. During the second day of the outreach, students were invited to participate in an “Extreme Makeover.” But this was not a physical make over but a spiritual makeover; the students were encouraged to write down the things that they wish that they could change about themselves, including things like self-image and addiction.

Students were also able to take part in the “dream station.” On this large canvas flat students wrote and painted their dreams. These included educational, personal and spiritual goals, like finishing college, getting a good job, and making money.

The last piece of student art was visual displays of the things that students believe hold them down. This large black flat was covered with words like “partying,” “free time,” “money,” and “alcohol.” There were draped in chains to symbolize the weight that these things can put on some students.

The outreach was filled with good spirits and the general feeling that intervarsity really wanted to encouraged people to want more for themselves. They were reaching out to students anyway they could, through music, ice cream, hot dogs and inspirational messages, or by watching a man chop through bricks.

The long line of students through out the day seemed to indicate that something that the club had done worked. Students were passing out T-shirts and encouraging each other to participate in the activities.