History
The Assemblies of God began a ministry to collegians in 1947 at the urging of J. Robert Ashcroft (father of John Ashcroft), which consisted of a newsletter sent to college students to encourage them in their faith.
It soon became apparent that a newsletter by itself was inadequate, and so in 1953 Dr. J. Calvin Holsinger chartered the first Assemblies of God student group at Missouri State University (formerly Southwest Missouri State University) in Springfield, Missouri where the Assemblies of God headquarters is located. The movement quickly spread to other campuses. For example, the first Chi Alpha to own property was the UC Berkeley chapter, which purchased a house next to campus in 1964.
The name Chi Alpha was inspired by the contemporary Assemblies of God youth movement, Christ's Ambassadors (a phrase in 2 Corinthians 5:20). The initials "CA" were changed to Greek initials "ΧΑ" in order to resemble the names of other college organizations.
Chi Alpha began its development internationally in the 1970s, establishing chapters in Europe under the name Students for Christ, and also into Latin America under various names.
In 1978, Dennis Gaylor became national director of Chi Alpha, and continues to lead from the national level today.
There are now Chi Alpha ministries on over 300 campuses throughout the United States involving roughly 22,000 students, and many more in sister organizations around the world.
Read more about this topic: Chi Alpha Campus Ministries
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