Resource Topic: International Student Ministry

If you spend time on a college campus of any size for more than a day, you will see that the world has come to U.S. schools through international students. These are not just any international students – they are the best and brightest from their countries and they will someday return to take influential positions of leadership in companies, industries, and governments back home and around the world. They will be the world leaders of the next generation!

As of January 2023, the U.S. government says that there are 1.08 million international students attending higher education in the U.S, almost back to pre-pandemic numbers. The top nations represented are China, India, South Korea, Canada, Brazil, Vietnam, Taiwan, Nigeria, Japan and Saudi Arabia, many places where it is difficult for missionaries to enter and engage in gospel sharing. 

Yet, God has brought these students to your campus where you can show Biblical hospitality by offering friendship, living out the gospel in front of them, serving them at a time when they feel vulnerable in a new country, and building trusting relationships where you can plant gospel seeds. 

As a BCM staff member or volunteer, your days are packed with preparing for new freshmen, planning free lunches, training student leaders, leading Bible studies, raising support and more. There is no shortage of work, but what could God do on your campus if you gave some specific time, prayer and effort towards connecting with the international students on your campus this fall? How might the world be reached with the gospel because you started planting global gospel seeds right on your campus? 

Here are just a few ideas that could help you start taking some steps in that direction this Fall.   

Practical Steps

Prayer walk your campus at a peak time of day.

Where do you notice international students hanging out? What do you observe? Ask the Lord to open your eyes to the international students’ rhythms and experiences on your campus. Ask the Lord to spark an idea for beginning international student ministry through your church or BCM.  

Get a list of the home nations of international students on your campus (usually available from a campus census report or the international office) and then begin praying for the students and for their nations.

Look up news stories to know what’s going on back home for these students and pray for these situations. Learn about the typical spiritual backgrounds for students from these countries and cultures. Ask God if there is a certain group of students from this list that He would like you to focus on this year.

Set up a meeting with the leadership of the international student office on your campus.

Ask them if there are a few things they wish they could do for the international community on campus but haven’t had the time or resources to do. One of the beautiful things about Baptist work is our incredible network of churches. You might just have the resources or connections to make one of these desires happen for the international office and community on your campus. Fostering a relationship with and looking for ways to serve the international office is a key part of international student ministry. 

Take stock of what international student ministry is already happening, if at all, on your campus.

Are there other campus ministries or churches serving international students in some way? Talk to these groups. Ask what they are learning about the needs of the international community on campus, how they are seeing God work, what they are doing to serve students, and how you can work together to do more. Think partnership and cooperation! Relationships, not events, are key in international student ministry. With that, there usually are more international students to relate to, and more work to do on a campus than one ministry can do alone.

Look into felt needs and see how you can practically serve international students.

Would it be helpful to international students on your campus and help with building relationships if you offered airport pick ups to new students, weekly rides to the grocery store, English conversation classes, a weekly chai and chat booth, free furniture or housewares, friendship partners with local Americans, holiday host families, free lunches, cultural outings, Discovery Bible Studies, culture and resumé help during career fair season, cooking lessons, etc.? Consider not duplicating efforts by other ministries on campus but adding to the broader mix of ministry to international students. 

Simply teach your student leaders and volunteers to invite a couple of international students to a meal or coffee – either at a restaurant or in their home or apartment.

Many international students never get invited into the homes or lives of Americans and simple hospitality goes a long way. Food is a fantastic way to build a relationship with international students. Consider taking turns preparing and sharing favorite meals or even enjoying cultural experiences together like the county fair or a high school football game. 

Train your volunteers and student leaders in cross-cultural gospel sharing.

Knowing how to share the gospel is foundational for every Christ follower, but knowing how to address unique situations and questions that come from Hindu, Muslim, Agnostic, etc. worldviews can be very helpful in international student ministry. Teach how to build relationships through being intentional listeners, asking really good spiritual questions, and having patience. Earn the right to be heard and to share the gospel by first listening to the student’s spiritual story. Know that it is rare for an international student to respond to the gospel after one conversation; it usually is a spiritual journey over months and years. Also, many international students are warned by their friends and family back home to be wary of people trying to convert them. Thus, a believer is already in a position of needing to earn trust before the students even arrive.

Some helpful tools for equipping in international student ministry are…

• 3 Circles Evangelism
• The 3D Gospel – Ministry in Guilt, Shame and Fear Cultures 
• Disciple Making Among Hindus 
• Engaging Islam
• Bible Apps that offer different languages – You Version App (1800+ languages), Gideon Bible App (1500+ languages and dialects), etc. 

Don’t get overwhelmed by all these ideas! You won’t have the capacity to start every effort at once. Start by asking God where He wants you to begin with international student ministry. Then get started. God can do much with a dependent, expectant heart focused on Jesus and willing to take a first step to serve international students on your campus! 

Also, don’t miss this! Each month, the International student ministry team for BCNet hosts a Zoom call to share ideas, hear about ways God is moving, and to pray for each other. The next call is Tuesday, September 12 from 3-4pm. Sign up at this link to join: http://ismbaptist.net/connect

Kaitlin Warrington is the Cross-Cultural Consultant for the UT Dallas BSM. Her e-mail is: kaitlin.warrington@texasbaptists.org. 

God has brought the world to us and you can reach the nations whether you live in a small town or large city. Jesus said “Look to the fields they are white for harvest.” There are about one million international students around our country that Jesus would have us to look for and find in order to host, befriend, and reach with the gospel. Many of us live within 30 miles of a college campus and we can literally touch the world during the holidays. God has brought the nations to our doorstep and we must be obedient to welcome them into our homes and hearts. International Student Ministry (ISM) has been my life’s work. Part of the joy of my life has been to help others join the club by sharing their lives on mission through hosting and hospitality –doing global missions from their own home. Indeed, holidays are a great time to care for international students. 

     Last night I hosted our 21^st annual International Thanksgiving Banquet in Cambridge where we brought believers to host tables of students from about 32 different countries. Each table host was meant to act as if we were in their own home, and in fact my strategy is for them to invite some from their table to their home for Thanksgiving Day. However, there are other holidays throughout the year where this can happen. Hospitality can be missional around Valentines Day, for a Memorial Day picnic, a cookout on July 4^th, a beach trip in the summer or apple picking in the fall. Have you ever thought about inviting a group of internationals to your church and home for Easter Sunday celebration or family meal? Of course, Thanksgiving is a key time to open your home, but what about the Christmas season and New Year’s Eve? Whatever the family event is you can invite an international student: little league, soccer game, ballet or music recital, church picnic, hike in the fall, or even just a regular shopping trip to the mall.

    Sometimes we think we need to do something fancy, or the house needs to be in perfect shape, but all that is needed is a heart that loves God and loves the nations. ‘They will know we are Christians by our love’ is a line from an old song, but it is true. Last night a Christian young man from India came up to me and said, “Michael, you have a very big heart!” as he gave me a huge hug. He was deeply touched by our sharing a Thanksgiving meal with him and his friends, and he had recognized God had placed a deep love in my heart for the nations. I quickly pointed him to God so that I would not steal the glory that belonged to Him alone. Indeed, God has a heart for the nations and if we say we love Jesus, then we need to demonstrate that love to those around us. Rather than keep the love of Jesus for ourselves we need to allow God’s love to flow through us to touch others. Who needs more love expressed than the international student who has moved halfway around the globe? These students are usually here without family, are often challenged to make friends outside their cultural group and at a time when all ‘Americans’ are heading home for the holidays it would be a tragedy to leave them literally alone in a dorm. (If the dorms remain open; by now most campuses have realized at least some temporary housing plan for international students who cannot go home across the globe).

     Imagine if we challenged our college students to bring home an international student during the holidays or perhaps for just one week. My brother did this when we were in college when a young Uzbek student came home with us for the break. This could sound like a huge ‘ask’ but imagine what it would mean to a young man or woman who may come from a Muslim nation or another place far away. They could really become like another member of our family. Indeed, this week one scholar from Algeria told me, “Thanks for the opportunity to meet beautiful people and find a new family.” Even a student from nearby Mexico told me after our Thanksgiving meal, “We felt like home during these couple of hours.” Another couple from Colombia said, “thank you for creating a family … that makes us feel like home!” He and his wife have become close even though they will only be here for 10 months. They too have felt the love of God expressed in word and deed. What better bridge is there for the gospel to travel over than hosting or demonstrating hospitality during the holidays? (Or really any time of year).

     Sometimes just hanging out with your family for a day between Christmas and New Year’s is just what an international student needs. Imagine the benefit for your children to get to learn firsthand about another culture. If extended family members are present – even better, since many international students would welcome this. There really is something special about hosting for the Christmas holidays. Each year we have an open house and invite a few believers and a group of international students to have some finger foods and sweets and we sit around the piano and sing Christmas Carols – the good ones, which actually communicate the good news of Jesus Christ. And we explain the songs so others can start to know Jesus as Immanuel, God with us. You can also simply invite students to your Christmas ‘Eve service at church and have cookies to follow. It really does not matter much how or when you show love to international students – just do it. If you need someone to coach you or cheer for you to get in the game, then reach out to me. Happy holidays everyone!

Michael Dean has been working with international students for 35 years since he was in college. In 1998 he started Boston International Ministries to reach the world in Boston/Cambridge where he still serves as a campus pastor & chaplain at MIT. He helped to start our Baptist ISM Network which brings together others reaching international students across North America. Reach him at mdean@mit.edu or become part of his support team at bsf.mit.edu/give.