Isaac Jenkins walks briskly toward a brick building with shiny Greek symbols above the doors and monolithic pillars, which dwarf him in size.

The 39-year-old staff member with Campus Crusade for Christ enters the Chi Omega sorority at the University of Mississippi. Nicknamed "Ole Miss," the school has a thriving Greek system, fraternity and sorority chapters, to which more than 35 percent of the students belong. The larger-than-life system draws many academic standouts and strong leaders.

This part of autumn is an especially significant time for freshmen students. Rush Week was a few weeks ago, the time when they decided which fraternity or sorority to pledge. That choice will chart much of the next four years of their life—and beyond.

Today, Isaac will also offer some freshmen an important decision that could make their years as Greeks even more meaningful. In the process, he also hopes to find some capable spiritual protégés.

Isaac shakes hands with a few fraternity leaders and greets some sorority women in the ballroom of Chi Omega. The freshman pledges are seated at polished tables, 12 guys and 15 women. The wooden floor amplifies their voices.

Isaac has led Campus Crusade at Ole Miss for the past 13 years, and as many as 1,100 students attend the weekly meetings. He and his staff team of nine have started Bible studies in most of the 19 fraternities and 13 sororities.

Because Isaac has won the trust of many Greek leaders, he is able to be straightforward with the freshman pledges.

"Let's get right into this," Isaac says to the group, as he distributes several Four Spiritual Laws booklets.

He then tells the pledges about a student named Tommy Tosh, a member with Sigma Nu, who died in a car crash in 2001. The story is a reminder of the fragility of life. But a few years before the accident, Tommy committed to follow God.

Isaac also became a follower of Christ while a fraternity member at the University of Arkansas and has tried to help Greek students find Christ ever since. He has written two books on Greek ministry, and each summer he hosts an intensive training program for students called Greek Summit.

The talks to the freshman pledges, like the one today, are the cornerstone of his strategy.

From Delta Gamma to Beta Theta Pi, Isaac and his team will make this same presentation to nearly all of the freshman pledges—more than 600 of them. Some Greek houses make it mandatory to attend the talks; it's voluntary at Chi Omega.

	Isaac often spends time with students.

It's all part of an ambitious goal. "We are trying to give every person on campus the opportunity to hear the gospel at least three times," says Isaac, "especially those students in the Greek system."

Isaac went on to tell the group in the ballroom that studies show that only 4 percent of American college students today can answer the following question: If you were going to die tonight, how sure would you be that you would go to heaven?

Even though Mississippi is in the heart of the Bible Belt, Isaac estimates that less than 3 percent of the Ole Miss students attend church. He tries to talk plain.

"The biggest misconception," says Isaac, "is that if we are good enough and smart enough, maybe God will let us get across the Grand Canyon of our sin to Him on the other side."

The pledges listen attentively.

Dating back to the early days, faith was a foundation of fraternities and sororities. Sigma Chi, the fraternity that Isaac joined at the University of Arkansas, has a large white cross as its badge and the familiar motto: "in this sign you will conquer."

"They have a deeply spiritual and Christian base," says Isaac. "But that's totally been lost over the past 100 years." Many Greek students simply float through their college years, focused on other activities and ambitions.

Life is especially hectic for pledges. In the fall they focus on selecting a fraternity or sorority. Some will visit up to seven houses in a day, shaking hands and hobnobbing with hundreds of members in an attempt to find their place.

Another reality of college life is the party scene. Fraternities are often stereotyped for their "Animal House"-type antics; certainly Ole Miss has had its share of such keggers and shindigs.

Isaac hopes that beyond the extracurriculars, the freshmen will see the need for a relationship with God.

Toward the end of his talk, Isaac invites the pledges to receive Christ as their Savior. In past years, Isaac has seen up to 40 of the freshmen indicate decisions to follow Christ in the weeks following Rush Week.

Then Isaac asks a Sigma Chi member named Bentley Crawford to address the crowd. Many Greeks respect Isaac, but it is 21-year-old Bentley who interacts with the pledges on a daily basis. His words carry immense weight. "Two of the most important things we can do are to pray and to read the Word," says Bentley.

Bentley, who is a leader in his fraternity and with Campus Crusade, made a decision to follow Christ as a sophomore, largely because of the influence of a few fraternity brothers involved with the ministry. Isaac passionately wants to help guys like Bentley maximize their time in college. "I want to equip Greeks to reach their peers," says Isaac. "Never again will they know so many people who respect them and that they can have an influence on for Christ."

Isaac and Bentley met with freshman Alex Green, who said he received Christ through Isaac's presentation.

"What Isaac really drove home was to be a spiritual leader wherever you are," says David Huff, a former Ole Miss student who is a high-level accountant at an entertainment corporation near Memphis, Tenn. "I'm in that position today because of what I learned from him."

Many of today's top leaders are Greeks. Since 1877, 19 out of 26 U.S. Presidents belonged to a fraternity, and 30 percent of the top Fortune 500 executives are Greeks, according to the North American Fraternity Conference. Some familiar Greek leaders include Michael Jordan, Ted Turner and Condoleezza Rice.

Bentley is proud of this heritage. After he finishes speaking, another leader invites the pledges to attend an ongoing Bible study—Bentley will lead one.

After a closing prayer, the crowd mingles. Among them is a pledge named Alex Green. On a comment card he wrote, "I prayed to receive Christ with you today, Isaac."

Isaac is curious so he calls Alex and sets up an appointment with him and Bentley, who is a leader in the fraternity that Alex is pledging.

A few days later at the Sigma Chi house, Isaac and Bentley wait for Alex in a room with several couches and a painting of distinguished fraternal members.

Alex shows up right on time. The curly-haired 19-year-old is from Jackson, Miss., has a firm handshake and wears a peach-colored Polo shirt. He is the first of his family to join a fraternity. "I feel real comfortable and excited about what's ahead," says Alex. "I think some of these guys will be my friends forever."

The topic soon turns to spiritual things. Alex skipped church several weekends, but realized faith is important to him.

"It's up to me now," Alex says. "You don't have your parents doing it for you."

Alex tells Isaac he was glad he heard his talk. "That was the first time I had ever prayed that prayer before," says Alex. "That was a really big step for me."

Alex brought six other guys with him to the pledge talk; he is clearly a leader capable of influencing his peers. Alex looks forward to pursuing his relationship with God and especially the Sigma Chi Bible studies. He may be the type of leader Isaac is looking for.

With Isaac's guiding, Alex's years in the Greek system could be incredibly significant—he might just influence some of his fraternity brothers for eternity. Just like a few guys once did for Isaac.

You can contact the writer at Chris.Lawrence@ccci.org.

ACTION POINT - The Next Step >Isaac passionately wants to help members of the Greek system reach out to the people around them most—their fraternity brothers and sorority sisters. In your day-to-day living, whom might God want you to influence for eternity?