ministering to international students

If you’ve ever lived away from your home country you know how challenging it can sometimes be to adapt to a new culture. According to the Institute of International Education, the number of international students at colleges and universities in the United States during the 2010/11 academic year was 723,277. That’s a lot of students struggling with relating to a different culture! But it’s also a wonderful opportunity to reach out with the love of Christ.

Adri Fonteijn originally came to the USA from Holland as a student and is now a staff worker with InterVarsity/USA’s international student ministry. He works with 2,000 international students at a university in a small town in Washington State, where few students have cars to get to a larger city.

‘Because many students are “stuck” in their dormitories we organise day trips and weekend get-a-ways. Our main weekly event is called Discovery. We eat dinner, study the bible and have games afterwards. During the week we try to meet with students individually, for lunch or just coffee. These moments often create an opportunity to learn more about the student and share the gospel.

‘We’re also encouraging Christians, who are mainly Americans, to start intentional relationships with the international students. Furthermore, a student prayer group meets weekly to pray for the Friday Discovery.’

Larissa Marks is a staff worker in a very different situation – a university in Los Angeles California with over 8,000 international students! Yet the activities she organises are similar to those that Adri plans: events that help students learn about American culture and make new friends, as well as stimulate them spiritually and point the way to Jesus.

‘Chao showed up at our second bible study. He had no personal knowledge of Jesus. During the study, the leader shared how he became a Christian, and ended with, "God really wants to be in relationship with you. If you want that, raise your hand, and we can pray with you to receive him." Chao's hand shot up. Later that night, he shared with the group that he had never before realized that God was such a personal, intimate God, and that he was certain that he needed and wanted to follow that kind of God. Chao continues to follow Jesus, and is currently learning what it means to be a life-long disciple.’

Let’s give thanks for IFES movements all over the world who reach out to international students, and pray that many of these students will return home with a new-found faith to share with their family and friends.

Please pray, too, for an InterVarsity graduates group as they face charges of discrimination at Vanderbilt, an internationally renowned research university. Vanderbilt’s current policy prohibits a Christian organisation from using any religious criteria when selecting leaders. Similar charges have been made against the InterVarsity group at the University of Buffalo. More information can be found on InterVarsity’s website.

Give thanks that God’s plans will prevail, in spite of the difficulties that we encounter. Pray that what the Lord said to Paul might be true for members of InterVarsity at this time, as well as students everywhere who face trials of various sorts:

‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness’…That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong (2 Corinthians 12:9 – 10).