Gene had a remarkable journey and many of us will never forget the way he could teach from the gospels. He was used in a powerful way on college campuses throughout the country----as explained below. May the Lord's peace be with you, Gerri, and the family. We hope to be there on July 21 at the service in Boulder. Dartt Demaree History of IV in the Rocky Mountains It all began in 1944 on the campus of Colorado State College of Education, now known as the University of Northern Colorado. A man by the name of Gene Thomas was beginning his Junior year, and decided that it would be interesting to read the Bible for the first time, and it would be even better to do it with a bunch of other guys who had never read it either. One day, while waiting for his date at her sorority, he stumbled across a magazine titled “HIS” published by InterVarsity. Thumbing through it, he came across an advertisement for a Bible study guide titled “Discovering the Gospel of Mark” by Jane Hollingsworth. He decided to order it, and this became the basis for his small group exploring the Bible. Over the next two years many guys came to faith in Christ, just from reading about Jesus in the gospel of Mark. But Gene Thomas was not one of them. He still wasn’t sure if he wanted to submit His life to Jesus. But he did love to study about Jesus, and he wanted his tradition to continue. He convinced many of his friends who were still in college to lead studies of Mark in the same way that Gene did. Gene began driving to Colorado A&M (now Colorado State University) starting Bible studies there as well. Soon, he was traveling to a different campus every night to be a part of the Bible studies, including the University of Denver, the University of Colorado in Boulder, and the University of Wyoming in Laramie. And after seeing all that God was doing, Gene decided he was ready to submit his life to the Lord. God then provided Gene with a job that actually sent him to college campuses all around the Rocky Mountains. Using this opportunity, he established InterVarsity chapters in Utah, Nebraska, Kansas, and New Mexico, along with those in Colorado and Wyoming, all in two years. Now, 60 years later, InterVarsity is thriving in the Rocky Mountain Region. InterVarsity is on 23 campuses and serving over 900 students. The inductive method of Bible study that was taught in “Discovering the Gospel of Mark” and used in the first Bible study is still being used in Bible studies today. And God is still doing the same miracles He did for Gene Thomas, introducing people to Himself, and providing for His ministry in the Rocky Mountains. Summarized from "When God Shows Up On Campus" by Don Everts