HIS Story
Established in 1992 as the Alpha Chapter at Texas Christian University.
Founders: Jennifer Festa, Christi McCann, & Britta Dimick
A letter from Jennifer Festa:
I, Jennifer Festa, cannot express what an honor it is to be the one to tell you this story. It’s exciting to think that God used me, a down-home country girl from Arkansas, to start this sorority. He was the One Who planted ideas and standards in my head. Eventually, He was the One Who, through me, started an organization for Christian women here at Texas Christian University. Therefore, He is the One Who is to be praised.
The story began when I came to TCU as a freshman in the fall of 1989. Like many freshman girls, I was looking for a group of people that I could relate to and go to for support amidst life’s storms. A few of my friends and I went to the first BYX party of the year. (BYX is the Christian fraternity at TCU. The letters stand for Brothers Under Christ.) At the party I met Christi McCann, a senior. I asked Christi why there was nothing like BYX for Christian women at TCU. Christi said that even though one had never been started, plans were being made to colonize with the Christian sorority at UT in Austin. She and a group of her friends were making plans to visit the women in Austin in November.
November came upon us quickly. We traveled down to Austin to meet with the UT girls to discuss the colonization. Well, the trip did not quite turn out how we had expected. We all thought they were going to tell us how we could start a new chapter, when all they did was discuss their membership policy.
Needless to say we were discouraged and frustrated after that weekend. The group of us that went down to Austin met and talked about whether or not there was a need for something like this on campus. We concluded that the want for a group was greater than the actual need. We decided to start praying together during the following semester and then evaluate later to see if there was still a need.
As I finished my freshman year God would not let me forget our idea for a Christian sorority. The following is an excerpt from a letter I wrote that summer to a close friend of mine. This letter was also sent to fourteen family friends asking them for prayer support concerning God’s will for a Christian sorority at TCU:
“Thirdly and lastly, I wanted to tell you about what has been going on in my head and heart lately, concerning a Christian sorority. I firmly believe God is trying to tell me something. Almost everyday, the sorority is brought up in conversation or something happens that makes me think I need to do something. For example, I received a letter from a friend who had been at TCU last semester (fall ’89). She asked if we had started the sorority. She also said that she had been praying for us. The humbling thing she said was that she really believed God wanted to use me in some way to start it…I was talking with two prospective students, at two different times, about BYX. Both asked why there wasn’t a Christian sorority. During the last month of school, I ran into a friend I had not seen for two months. She asked if the sorority had been started, and offered her help. Even an old friend of mine from home suggested I start something like BYX for the women at TCU.”
The need and the want were still present. God would not leave me alone. That summer I committed to prayer, seeking God’s will.
During the second week of my sophomore year, I met Britta Dimick at Campus Crusade. I began to share with her what God had been teaching me and telling me concerning a Christian sorority. She and I met the following Sunday and committed to pray together, as well as, on our own. We also started meeting to discuss the next steps in this long process. Britta was indeed a gift from God. She was my smile-reviver and my encourager. If it weren’t for Britta, I don’t know if I would have continued working. I was burned out and frustrated, mainly because I had not seen immediate results.
Later on in the semester, women came forward and committed time, and their prayers. One girl, whom I had never met before, called me with names of women who were interested. Even one of my friends decided to de-activate her Panhellenic sorority to help start a Christian one. Without having to search on my own, twenty-five girls contacted me to tell me they wanted to be notified as soon as things began. A little under half of them, I had never met before.
Britta, a few others, and I decided to hold an informational meeting the first week of the spring semester. We wanted to see who would be truly willing to commit and start the work. Once again, we were talking to the women at UT in hopes that they would decide to colonize at TCU. Again a miscommunication happened and the UT sorority decided against starting a chapter here.
I was extremely discouraged. I did not know anything about starting a sorority from scratch. I had heard about a sorority in California that started at UCLA in 1925. I called one of the women to talk about colonizing their sorority here. After a few phone calls and letters, they had decided to colonize their sorority the following semester (fall ’91).
To make a very long story short, when the colonization began, we realized that this sorority was too rigid for TCU. We needed a sorority that would be unique and special to us. We, a group now fifteen strong, decided to start our own. We were apprehensive, but knew that with God nothing is impossible.
Once we had established the fact that we were going to do this from “scratch,” the question of a name arose. Easter Sunday of my freshman year, one of my parents’ close friends stood up in church and shared that God was teaching him “Dayenu,” which means, “He is sufficient.” It was suggested that we call our sorority “HIS” standing for “He Is Sufficient” and use “Dayenu” as our special name. After a good deal of praying and consideration, we voted and “HIS” became our name.
We have endured many things during our three preceding years, not to mention the past six months of establishment. But, He is sufficient, and He is teaching us daily how we must rely on Him. Starting a sorority of any kind from ground zero is not easy. And, when dealing with emotional women, times can be difficult. We have experienced a kind of sisterhood that no one can know outside the love of Christ. While pursuing our purpose of glorifying God through our fellowship we have grown close and received so many blessings. Praise be to God! For He knows our needs and “…satisfies our desires with good things…” (Psalm 103:5).
There are many months ahead, and Lord-willing many years ahead for Dayenu. There are still many things to be voted on and established. But we know one thing: as long as we are willing to surrender all to Jesus, He will always be sufficient.
Jennifer Festa
1992
