Kedron Rhodes

Two national student ministries—InterVarsity and Cru—had long operated in parallel, each with decades of history and distinct approaches to campus engagement. But in a inspiring show of collaboration, they came together to address a shared concern: more than 1,700 U.S. college campuses lacked a known gospel community. Together, they launched EveryCampus, a project to identify these campuses, mobilize volunteers, and catalyze prayer walks on every college campus in the country.

Two organizations leading the way to collaborate for breakthroughs.

When I first heard about the project, I was genuinely excited. I have a deep respect for both organizations, and I knew from the beginning this would be a challenging opportunity to create something meaningful. It wasn’t just a vision—it was a data problem, a UX problem, and a human motivation problem. The ministries needed a product that could support collaboration, protect user privacy, and invite ordinary people—often no longer affiliated with a campus—to take action on something they deeply cared about.

Leading product discovery (design sprint) for multi-organizational initiative

Challenge

Balancing Data Integrity, Spiritual Purpose, and an Unknown User

There were plenty of hurdles to navigate:

• Data Sensitivity: InterVarsity and Cru had never shared data before. We brought in Gloo as a neutral third party to broker the data exchange. That meant I needed to design the system around minimal user identification—no accounts, no deeply personal data—just enough to track participation while respecting boundaries.

• User Ambiguity: Everything hinged on a very specific, largely untested persona—someone off-campus, maybe an alum or a church member, who had a heart for a particular school and the willingness to organize and complete a prayer walk. The ministries were committed to the mission, but we didn’t yet know if this user would show up.

• Journey Complexity: The experience had long gaps between commitment and action. Someone would opt in, but they might not follow through for days or weeks. And since they often weren’t connected to any campus ministry, they’d be doing this solo.

Approach

Crafting a Mobile-First Experience Rooted in Trust and Encouragement

I, and the Agathon, team kicked things off with a two-day discovery sprint, bringing InterVarsity and Cru together in the same room. We used journey mapping and service blueprints to get clarity on who we were designing for, what systems were involved behind the scenes, and where the biggest UX leverage points were.

Every project starts with low fidelity thinking - wireframes, mindmaps, napkin sketches.

We aligned around a core persona: someone who had once been part of campus ministry and now wanted to pay that forward. From there, I led the design of:

• A Progressive Web App that felt fast and alive, like a native app. I invested heavily in microinteractions and visual feedback to make sure users felt seen and appreciated at every step.

• A Campus-Specific Prayer Guide delivered via SMS or email, helping users feel equipped and confident—even if they’d never done a prayer walk before.

• An SMS-Based Engagement Loop that let users opt in with just a phone number, and kept their experience rooted in the specific campus they cared about.

• Encouraging, Non-Guilt Messaging that prioritized uplifting users rather than pressuring them.

We prototyped flows using low-fidelity mobile mocks, tested them with subject matter experts and staff who had done prayer walks before, and iterated quickly. We also explored the limits of what SMS and PWAs could do together—this was new territory for me and the team, but it allowed us to offer a consistent, reliable mobile-first experience.

Leveraging mobile-first design patterns while developing a rich, custom UI.

Outcome

A Coast-to-Coast Prayer Effort—and a New Era of Collaboration

Despite one of the two launch years being disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, we hit a major milestone: EveryCampus supported prayer walks on all 4,948 identified college campuses in the United States within two years of launch.

Ministry staff quickly embraced the platform—not just to track prayer walks, but to invite others in. Once data became visible across organizations, new energy emerged. Staff started praying for campuses outside their assignments. Alumni and church members showed up. Volunteers found purpose.

Sampling of progressive web app screens.

EveryCampus kept growing, adding partners and data sources. InterVarsity and Cru established a product governance model to maintain shared ownership and stay aligned. And the product continues to serve a growing community today.

Reflection

Designing for Belonging, Building with Empathy

One of the most important design choices I made was to treat the product like an app—not just technically, but emotionally. I wanted it to feel responsive and alive. Every completed prayer walk triggered a celebration. Every message reinforced the user’s value. That kind of feedback matters when you’re doing something quiet and personal, like praying alone on a campus sidewalk.

Leveraging mobile-first design patterns while developing a rich, custom UI.

The project also reminded me why empathy has to be more than a buzzword. Our success depended entirely on whether someone outside the system—without a staff badge or a ministry role—could feel like they belonged inside it. That meant giving them tools, encouragement, and recognition they wouldn’t get anywhere else.

“This project lived or died on whether someone outside the system could feel like they belonged in it.”

Takeaways for Leaders and Designers

• Data Collaboration Can Unlock Movement: When organizations share information toward a common goal, they can create clarity, trust, and action.
• Design for the Drop-Off: Intent is just the beginning. Good UX helps users return, stay grounded, and finish what they started.
• Celebrate, Don’t Shame: Encouragement goes further than guilt. Design should build confidence, not anxiety.

EveryCampus challenged me to combine service design, systems thinking, and emotional UX into one cohesive experience. And it gave me a front-row seat to see how thoughtful digital tools can unlock collaboration, action, and spiritual impact in places that had long been overlooked.