For one week before Easter, M. Kyle Sims '02 became the most famous student who nobody knew.

Sims lent his name to the ubiquitous "Do you agree with Kyle?" campaign, which popped up on posters and t-shirts during Jesus Week, a celebration of Christianity organized by Harvard's Christian student groups.

At the beginning of the week, Kyle was a mystery. By the end, students might not all have shared his beliefs, but at least they knew who he was.

Campus Christian leaders say that's exactly the result they were hoping for. At a College notorious for its longstanding indifference to religion, many Christian students say they want their peers to recognize their growing numbers.

"We feel like there are a lot of people who don't actually realize that there is a sizable Christian presence on campus," said Harvard-Radcliffe Christian Fellowship (HRCF) president Alicia E. Ingalls '01.

Jesus Week, which included Bible study sessions, interfaith dialogues and a well-attended Good Friday speech by Sims, was the most prominent--and unified--display by Christian student groups in years.

But despite the outward show of unity this spring, Christian students have found it difficult to reach agreement on sensitive subjects like homosexuality and race. This year marked a renewed effort among Christian groups to close ranks.

"Jesus prayed that his disciples should be unified," Ingalls. "[Disunity] does not happily reflect the community."

One God, Many Goals

Christian students had different emphases during Jesus Week.

Ingalls said the official purpose of the campaign was to highlight the presence of Christians at Harvard. Others took a more active approach.

"People know we exist," said Benjamin T. Littauer '03, a member of Christian Impact (CI). "We just wanted to spread the Gospel across campus."

Jill C. Stonehouse '03, another CI member, said that although the goal of Jesus Week was not to convert non-believers, organizers wanted the campus to know that anyone can join a Christian group.

"We wanted to extend a invitation to others to let them know that we do love all people," Stonehouse said. "Anybody is welcome in our group. Anybody."

But while virtually all members of Christian groups say that Jesus Week was successful in spreading awareness about their groups, others say the more important purpose was helping Christians build ties to one another.

Li-Chung Chen '01, president of the Harvard-Radcliffe Asian American Christian Fellowship (AACF), said that Jesus Week achieved that goal.