As part of our multiyear campaign titled What’s Working, sponsored in part by Lilly Endowment Inc., we’re talking with faith-based organizations across the country to discover how they’re working to engage Gen Z. Inclusive Collective offers campus ministry at colleges and universities across the Chicago area. Inviting young people from all walks of life into community, they “exist to fuel young adults through Jesus-rooted soul work.” Read below for excerpts from our conversation with Inclusive Collective Executive Director Rev. Larry J. Morris III or watch the entire recording on YouTube.   

Hannah Evans: One of the things that grabs me right away is hearing that you’re both inclusive but also explicitly Christian, and I was curious, what does it look like to be inclusive while also having like core attendance and values of your organization that you hold to? 

Larry Morris III: There are many different forms of Christianity, right? So there’s not one way to be Christian. I think sometimes we talk about one or two ways to be Christian. And I think we are trying to put out into the world our understanding of Christianity. It may have some fluidity there, but really following the life, the teachings of Jesus Christ and depending on what lens you read the Scriptures through…I think Jesus was inclusive. [We are] really trying to follow that and model that with students and in our work as an organization. 

HE: So when you say safe space and brave space, what do those mean to you in how you cultivate inclusivity in the day-to-day lives of young people? 

LM: I recognize that our spaces are not safe for a particular people in particular times. And so we do our best to create a space where people can practice vulnerability…so that the space feels safe enough where they can practice vulnerability. And be brave in that space. And so I think it’s a combination of both. I think practicing vulnerability is something that we all can continue to grow and learn. But if it’s safe enough—if people know that their stories can be held and heard, or at least listened to, then they’ll share, right? And so we try to do that within the small groups that we have and in the worship that we have….And so …there was this intentionality on inviting students to ask questions, to comment, to give feedback on the sermon. So it wasn’t just me speaking to them, my thoughts, but it’s like, this is what I think, right? This is what I feel like God is saying. What do you think about that? And so there was this safety and this brave kind of space there too, because you can disagree. It’s okay, it’s fine. But I really want to give students the opportunity and the space to do that.  

HE: One of the things that I think we wrestle a lot with on this project is that even the phrase “what’s working” connotates this idea of, “we’ve done it, we’re working.” Really what has stuck out to me during this project is that “what’s working” is really a process. It’s not something you achieve at the end, but it’s the journey itself. While things are working, there are going to be other things that aren’t working simultaneously, and so you kind of always have to be building toward working. I think that can be hard for people, but I also think that it’s hard to see ourselves as doing things that are working while we’re in that process. What are some things even while you’re in progress, like in that middle of like setting things up to work, that you feel like are already working? 

LM: I think one of the things is really just not giving up—this perseverance and really continuing to do the work. So I think that is working for us around being on campus in ways that we can be on campus. We may not be able to do everything, but we can be on campus in meaningful ways….I offered a ‘Queering Lent’ series, and we had students show up for that, so that was really affirming. It wasn’t as big as I wanted it to be as far as offering in-person and online, but students came online and really said that the process was meaningful for them. And so again, holding what’s working with still trying to get in front of…more students. Students do enjoy and find meaning in the work that we offer…but my experience has been that [there] can be so much chaos, so many things going on that sometimes I felt like, “Is this worth it? Do students need this or want this?” [But all the administrative pieces I have to do] are necessary parts of the work for me to be in front of students, to connect with students in a way that supports their development, their growth, their life. And so, as you said, it is kind of both/and. And I think a part of the work that I’m doing with the organization now in this season really is re-laying this foundation. 

Hear more about Inclusive Collective and the work they’re doing to make safe spaces for students in minoritized groups in this 35-minute conversation.