International students

Remembering Robert Finley – ��ñ��’s First Evangelist

gordon.govier@intervarsity.org — Mon, 25 Mar 2019 23:22:48 +0000

Gordon Govier

Remembering Robert Finley – ��ñ��’s First Evangelist

Robert Finley was hired straight out of college in 1945 by C. Stacey Woods, the founder of ��ñ��. During this formative period for a number of evangelical ministries, Finley met and worked with many other pioneers as they followed God’s call to spread the gospel message across the U.S. and around the world in the post-World War II era.

Finley died at his home in Charlottesville, Virginia, on March 22, 2019. He was 96 years old.

Finley came to the attention of the leaders of ��ñ�� and Youth for Christ by planting and leading a Christian fellowship on the University of Virginia (UVa) campus in Charlottesville, beginning as a freshman in 1941. He also became known as a Christian athlete who used his athletic accomplishments as a platform to share the gospel. Finley was undefeated for two years as a member of the UVa varsity boxing team, and in 1944 he was the inter-collegiate middleweight boxing champion. He was also elected student body president.

The University of Virginia Christian fellowship grew to over 50 students during Finley’s years. When Woods visited Charlottesville, he told Finley that Virginia had the largest Christian fellowship group he had ever seen develop spontaneously at a secular university.

Finley began to receive speaking invitations while still a student, and one in particular changed his life. A telegram from Chicago invited him to come and give his testimony at a Youth for Christ rally. A crowd of 25,000 was anticipated at the Chicago stadium.

Even though this was the same day as his graduation ceremony in Virginia, he decided to go to Chicago. On the platform he sat between singer George Beverly Shea and Dr. Harry Ironside, pastor of The Moody Church. Afterward he was besieged by pastors and ministry leaders, inviting him to speaking appearances.

Two organizations offered him the opportunity to be a traveling evangelist and he accepted both offers. During the week he would work for ��ñ�� on college campuses, and on the weekends he would speak at Youth for Christ rallies.

Finley was constantly on the road, traveling across the Midwest by bus and by train. On Memorial Day 1946, he gave his testimony before a crowd of 75,000 at a Youth for Christ rally in Memorial Stadium in Chicago. Another speaker that day was the young pastor of a local church; his name was Billy Graham.

A lifelong friendship between the two evangelists began. A few months later, when Finley decided he needed to buy a car to begin ministry on the west coast, Graham sold him his used 1942 Pontiac for $1,300.

During his many campus visits Finley became increasingly aware of the growing number of international students studying at U.S. colleges, some of whom he was able to lead to faith in Jesus. Later in 1946, he felt led by God to enroll at the University of Chicago for graduate study in church history. He took the opportunity to move to the International House on campus where up to 500 students from 100 different countries lived.

At every meal in the cafeteria, he would pray and ask God to lead him to a table where he could converse with students about God. His already growing interest in foreign missions was stirred by this unique opportunity to become a foreign missionary without leaving the U.S. Despite his best efforts, ��ñ�� did not begin specific ministry to international students until many years later.

The following year, 1947-1948, he returned to itinerant campus ministry with ��ñ��. At a missions conference for international students that he attended in Colorado, and at subsequent Youth for Christ and ��ñ��-related conferences in Switzerland, his passion for reaching international students was further stirred. But he spent the next several years traveling internationally as a missionary evangelist.

In his autobiography, Apostolic Adventures, Finley tells the story of his 1949 return from overseas ministry on a flight through Hawaii. He had cabled ��ñ��’s Gwen Wong that he would be available for ministry. She met him at the airport with an official welcome from a chorus of students and a full schedule for the next week. “She had arranged for me to stay with Christian families every night, speak for student groups every day, at Youth for Christ Saturday night, and three churches on Sunday,” he wrote.

Traveling in Korea in 1950, Finley was in frequent contact with Stacey Woods who referred to him as an ambassador for the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students (IFES). He found Christian fellowship groups abounded in every department of every college and university. Woods instructed him to help these groups affiliate with IFES.

Finley resisted, not wanting them to risk unneeded persecution for being affiliated with a foreign organization as Communism was growing in influence. War broke out and Finley returned to the U.S., but he was unable to patch his relationship with Woods and left ��ñ�� for the final time.

In 1953 Finley founded two mission organizations which today continue his legacy. International Students Incorporated, now based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, has staff and volunteers sharing Christ’s love with international students in college communities across the United State. Christian Aid Mission, located in Charlottesville, Virginia, supports indigenous evangelistic ministries in countries all over the world, some of which are closed to Western missionaries.

Photo: Robert Finley and Gwen Wong in Hawaii, 1949.

News Keywords

Evangelism

University of Virginia

International students

More than Mentors

webteam@intervarsity.org — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 05:00:00 +0000

News

Abi Christian

More than Mentors

For the last three years, ��ñ�� students at the University of Wisconsin—Whitewater have been serving international students who come to their campus. They have volunteered as conversational partners, attended international potlucks, and most recently helped launch a peer mentor program for new international students.

The idea for the program began with student Megan Gander, who took the chapter’s interest in internationals and began thinking of practical ways to show Christ-like love to them. She envisioned the chapter playing an active role in welcoming international students to Whitewater—showing students around campus, taking them grocery shopping, eating meals together, and simply befriending them.

Meeting the Need
“I’m all about planning and brainstorming,” said Megan. “I needed to find a role that was legitimate for building these relationships.” Megan contacted the university’s international student advisor and learned that while freshmen students participated in a peer mentor program the first few weeks of school, there was not a similar program set up for international students. Here was a need that ��ñ�� members could fill.

When Megan began recruiting people to be peer mentors, a number of ��ñ�� members readily volunteered. For the first few weeks of school, international students met with an American student, who answered questions about classes, the university , and living in the United States.

��ñ�� members also hosted an ice cream party for internationals during an orientation session. Attendees divided into groups for a scavenger hunt around campus, which helped familiarize new students with the university.

Through these events, international students were personally invited to ��ñ�� picnics, bonfires, and outings to Brewers games. Megan saw many initial connections turn into casual friendships between American and international students.

A Spiritual Thirst
As the eventful schedule of fall tapered off, Megan prayed for new ways to serve internationals. One day, the president of the Chinese Student Association told her that there were Chinese students interested in learning more about Christianity.

Megan was thrilled. She offered to start a GIG (Group Investigating God), where students could study the gospel and ask questions in a safe environment. Several Chinese students and a handful of other internationals began meeting with Megan.

Over the spring semester, the students looked at various accounts of the gospel and discussed topics of their choice, such as what heaven might look like. Megan found free paperback Bibles through ��ñ�� Press, which she gave to the students in the GIG.

She was not expecting their surprised and pleased reaction. “They kept saying, ‘This is for me? I get to keep this?’” said Megan. “There was joy that in their hands they held a Bible, something they may never have touched or even read before.”

One Chinese student in the GIG had heard the gospel from visiting Americans in China several years ago, and identified herself as a Christian. But as she studied with Megan, she realized there was much she had not understood about Jesus. Meeting with Megan helped clarify the student’s beliefs, and deepened her faith.

Megan has seen similar examples of growth in other students. “God has been working in them before they even came here,” she said.

Cultural Adjustments
Getting a group of students to meet consistently each week, however, was a frustrating challenge. Sometimes as many as six students attended the GIG. Other times, only one person showed up, or different people attended each week.

“My natural human response was to be upset,” said Megan. “But God has blessed those conversations too.” Through one-on-one time together, Megan found that students asked questions they may not have asked in the group, and she began to understand some cultural differences in work habits.

“On weekdays, these students are all about studying.” said Megan. She tried meeting in afternoons, or during different nights of the week, but weekends worked best. American students at Whitewater typically commute to school or hold weekend jobs, so internationals staying on campus have less activities competing for their time, and are more apt to take breaks from studying.

Despite the challenges and sometimes confusing language barriers, Megan is confident that God can use these experiences in the lives of international students when they return to their home country. Even if they do not yet follow Jesus, she hopes they will remember seeing Christ-like love borne out through ��ñ�� members.

___

You can make a direct financial donation to support ��ñ��’s work at the University of Wisconsin—Whitewater by following this link.

News Keywords

International students

When I was a Stranger

webteam@intervarsity.org — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 06:00:00 +0000

News

Gordon Govier

When I was a Stranger

On college campuses across the country approximately 100 ��ñ�� staff are focused on a specialized ministry to strangers. They apply the admonition of Jesus — “when I was a stranger you took me in” — to the growing international student population.

The World Comes to the U.S. campus
The number of international students on U.S. college campuses grew by almost eight percent last year, totaling 671,616. The “Open Doors” report issued by the Institute of International Education in mid-November declared that the number of students from outside the U.S. attending U.S. colleges has never been higher.

At many schools ��ñ��’s International Student Ministry (ISM) staff work closely with the international student office, coordinating activities such as rides from the airport for incoming new students, temporary housing until apartments or dorm rooms are arranged, and other activities.

At the University of Louisville, ��ñ�� volunteer Kristi Peterson also coordinates a friendship partnership program with other volunteers from local churches. “The international does not live with them but the family will call about once a month, take them shopping, have them over for a meal or a birthday celebration, things like that,” said ISM staffworker Bonnie Lecompte.

Internationals Invited to Thanksgiving Dinner
The Thanksgiving holiday is one of the best times of the year to show hospitality to internationals. The theme of the original Pilgrim Thanksgiving resonates well across cultures, and many international students are left on campus while American students go home for the holiday.

��ñ��’s ISM ministry began coordinating a Thanksgiving meal for internationals at Louisville about six years ago and it has grown steadily each year. With 144 students participating this year, it could no longer be held in a home so they rented a conference room at a nearby Christian camp.

Louisville University’s international student center helped promote the Friday night dinner held the week before the holiday, and supplied funds to help rent the facility. Small groups from six Louisville area churches brought food for the dinner. Traditional American folk music was provided as part of the entertainment.

Volunteers are the key in working with Internationals
“One volunteer told the story of Thanksgiving, how the Pilgrims came to worship God in freedom,” Bonnie said. “We did bobbing for apples, which they thought was hysterical; there was water and apples flying everywhere.”

Bonnie estimated about 150 volunteers were involved, either bringing food or hosting one of the meal tables. “One of the families that sat with a Chinese girl invited her to church on Sunday. This girl had also been to our fall international conference. At the conference she said, ‘I want to serve God but I don’t know who God is.’ Sunday, at church, she became a Christian.”

Because ��ñ�� helped connect local volunteers with international students, one student from China no longer feels a stranger to God.

___

You can make a direct financial donation to support ��ñ��’s work among international students by following this link.

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International students

A Celebration to Remember

webteam@intervarsity.org — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 05:00:00 +0000

News

Abi Christian

A Celebration to Remember

Normally, Dunn Meadow serves as a low-key backyard for Indiana University students throwing Frisbees or finishing up class assignments. But on a Saturday night in early September, Dunn Meadow shook with the sounds of Nigerian, Taiwanese and other world music, 200 enthusiastic students grooving to new beats and glow sticks lighting up the night sky.

The event was an international dance party hosted by ��ñ�� students as a way to celebrate ethnicities and reach out to the campus.

“On our campus and most any college campus, parties are a main attraction—let’s be honest,” said Rachael Henson, a fifth-year senior involved in ��ñ��. “And dancing is something people from all over the world can relate to in some way.”

The event allowed ��ñ�� students to connect with their peers and build mutual respect between ��ñ�� and other campus organizations.

A Passion for Ethnicity and Music
The idea for the dance party came about in a brainstorm session after the 2008-2009 school year during one of ��ñ��’s Chapter Focus Weeks, a week of spiritual training and preparation for the coming year. Student leaders planning for this fall’s New Student Outreach wondered how they could use their specific interests to connect with the whole campus.

“We’ve had several spontaneous dance parties in the past,” said staff member Mark Abdon about IU’s ��ñ�� chapter. “We have a love for music in our community.”

That love coupled with a growing passion for the diverse student population on campus produced the idea for a swinging dance party involving different ethnicities on campus.

“We have a God who celebrates ethnicity and culture,” said Mark. Instead of forming an exclusive community of stagnant Christians, the chapter has a desire to share how God loves the ethnic diversity that He created.

Demonstrating God’s Love
The chapter’s student leaders put this desire into action by partnering with ethnic-specific groups. Six campus organizations representing students from such countries as Japan, Nigeria, China, and Tawian composed playlists of world music on CDs and iPods, while a local DJ volunteered his time and an excellent sound system for the event. “You could hear [the music] all over campus,” said Mark, laughing.

Each ethnic group shared briefly about their culture and musical traditions, but the dancing itself required no explanations. Students jumped onto the dance floor with their own moves, adapting to the changing music.

Whether dancing or on the sidelines, Rachael and other ��ñ�� members initiated conversations with participating students. Many non-Christian students enter college with a distorted view of Christianity or a painful experience with religious events. This celebration created an open and safe environment to demonstrate a love for students as creations of God, no matter their racial background. “It was a blessing to share with our campus that there are Christians interested in being united through ethnicity and God’s love,” said Rachael.

Beginning Relationships
Already, ��ñ�� students’ respect towards other campus organizations has affected the campus groups involved. Members from the Japanese Student Association were greatly honored that ��ñ�� asked them to share their music. As the first chords rang out, they ran to the center of the dance floor and waved the Japanese flag, while other students circled around them to dance.

“There was a real sense of pride,” said Mark, who saw this as the highlight of the evening. “They appreciated the opportunity to partner with a mostly Caucasian group.”

IU’s Union Board, who helped sponsor the event, also responded well to ��ñ��’s efforts to reach out. Mark is confident that they will want to collaborate again with ��ñ��.

“It was a positive experience,” said Mark. “Several people were surprised that a Christian organization would take time to put something like this on.”

This fall, ��ñ�� chapters nationwide are hosting events like the international dance party to meet students and begin building relationships where God can be revealed.

“We should love people of every culture, gender, and sexual orientation, just like Jesus would,” said Rachael. “This campus event was a great step in showing that. We could preach that or say it all we want, but I believe we followed through in showing it with this celebration.”

News Keywords

International students

International Student Ministry

webteam@intervarsity.org — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 05:00:00 +0000

News

Gordon Govier

International Student Ministry

��ñ�� staff who work with international students get to try exotic foods. They develop friendships with students from almost every continent. And they just may be counseling the future leader of a foreign country.

“The U.S. State Department produces a list containing name after name of former international students who are leaders of their countries,” said Lisa Espineli Chinn, director of ��ñ��’s International Student Ministry (ISM). “That’s our mission field.”

More and more internationals study in the U.S.
There are 730,000 students from outside the U.S. studying at U.S. colleges and universities. ��ñ�� has international student ministry on about 50 of those campuses and is expanding to more.

The University of Southern California, the school at the top of the list with the most international students, and the University of California Los Angeles, seventh on the list, are both slotted to receive ISM staff this year. Several schools in St. Louis, including the University of Missouri (UMSL) and St. Louis Community College, are also expected to get new ISM staff.

India is the country sending the most students to the U.S., 94,563 this year. Several years ago it overtook China, which is now number two. Speaking in a chapel service at ��ñ��’s National Service Center, Lisa noted that students from the two countries come from vastly different religious climates. “It’s a real challenge for us,” she said. “The Indian students can take Christ, and put him in their pantheon of gods. And the Chinese are still struggling with the concept of God. They say, ‘I don’t know him or know how to know him.’”

She noted that the number of Saudi Arabian students has grown rapidly in the last year, as has the number of Nepalese students. “Really, the world is coming here,” she said. “In Japan, one tenth of one percent of the population are Christians. Japanese students are here and they are open to the Gospel.”

��ñ�� offers internationals hospitality
The first ministry that ��ñ�� offers to international students is hospitality. The new motto of International Student Ministry is “First to Welcome,” Lisa said. At some schools, such as at the University of Wisconsin, the get-acquainted tour of the local community has become an annual tradition. Students at Lindenwood University near St. Louis recently launched Culture Break, to fill a void of activities for international students during weekends. Another ISM holiday tradition is Christmas-season house parties for international students at ��ñ��’s Cedar Campus and BearTrap Ranch conference centers.

More than 1,000 people participated in the International Student Track at ��ñ��’s Urbana 06 Student Missions Conference in St. Louis. Lisa is hoping for 1,300 in attendance at Urbana 09 this coming December.

Lisa remembers talking with a Chinese scholar at the beginning of one ��ñ�� conference. “I would never consider becoming a Christian,” he told her. When he saw her at the end of the conference he said, “That never is now a maybe.”

She concluded, “From never to maybe is a major work of God. God is at work among international students today.”

Download or listen to Lisa’s talk
Find out where ��ñ�� has ISM chapters

You can make a direct financial donation to support ��ñ��’s work with international students by following this link.

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International students

Defending True Christianity

webteam@intervarsity.org — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 05:00:00 +0000

News

Jason Toman, Western Michigan University

Defending True Christianity

What image does the word “missionary” conjure up for you? Do you think of someone from Great Britain or the U.S. heading to remote islands, central Asia, or African jungles? Let me tell you about Jared, a young student from Kenya coming to study at an American university, a student involved with our International Student Fellowship.

When he came to Western Michigan University, Jared brought along his relationship with Jesus. Jared and I have recently been talking about him leading evangelistic Bible discussions with his friends. We call them GIGs, Groups Investigating God.

Then just a few days ago, Jared told me about a recent experience of sharing his faith.

A Library Conversation
I left our ��ñ�� leadership meeting and headed to the library. I was sitting at a computer in the lower level and next to me were two girls discussing the history of Christianity for their history exam.

I heard them say that Christians today are so fake, that we are hypocritical, selfish, and greedy, and the only real Christians were those around during the times of Jesus 2000 years ago.

I flashed back to what Chris was sharing at our meeting from the book Unchristian, and its statistics about how many Americans feel that Christianity is judgmental, unwelcoming, and hypocritical. I felt the Holy Spirit compel me to share something about real Christian faith with these girls, and I prayed to God for courage.

Listening to the Holy Spirit
I hesitated because I was scared of what they would think of me or how they would react. I walked out of the library, but as soon as I got to the first floor I felt the Spirit urging me to take the risk and talk to those two girls.

I went back, but fear overwhelmed me one more time and I retreated. I left the library and was walking outside in the snow when I felt the Spirit telling me to go back one more time. This time I decided to write down what I was feeling on a piece of paper and hand it to the two girls, but I discovered that they had left!

As I headed out to meet a friend for tacos I felt like I had really failed God. Then a most amazing thing happened. I was seated at the fast food restaurant and one of the two girls showed up to have some dinner. I knew that God was giving me a second chance to share with this girl.

I went up to her and at the risk of looking like a total idiot, I handed her the note I had written. She read it, and we had a pleasant conversation about Christianity.

How amazing is that! I told her that we could meet some other time and talk and she was open to the idea. Since then we have communicated online a number of times about the subject of true Christianity.

Jason Toman works with international students and with ��ñ��’s undergrad student chapter at Western Michigan University.

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International students

Witnessing

International Student Ministry

webteam@intervarsity.org — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 06:00:00 +0000

News

Eva Liu

International Student Ministry

One of our California State University campuses has the most diverse international student ministry groups that I have ever seen. Getting together with this unexpected concentration of Asian, Middle Eastern, European, and African students was a truly cross-cultural experience.

This ministry has gone through significant staff and structural changes in its 25-year history, and I believe this is a season of renewed student leadership development. This group’s great diversity is its strength as well as a challenge, as great diversity adds to the complexity of group dynamics.

During Friday Night Fellowship we worshiped in Malay and other languages, and a Christian Sudanese spoke in Arabic with a student from the Middle East. After a fellowship event, a small group of students gathered to play basketball; one student pointed out to me that they were not only from different countries but five different continents!

“Sam,” a Chinese student, led his mom to Christ half-way around the world, over the phone, exactly one year after his conversion. His mom then led his step dad to Jesus shortly thereafter. Since there are no churches or Christian presence where they live, both parents were baptized in “Sam’s” church in the U.S. while visiting this January.

I was humbled to attend a prayer meeting with a Sudanese student who had been imprisoned and beaten for his faith. I was blessed by two Indian guys—Hindu and Christian—who fed me authentic Indian food, served the Indian way, where the host will not eat until his guests have finished.

This group’s cross-cultural witness extends all the way around the world.

Eva Liu is a regional coordinator for ��ñ��’s International Student Ministry in California.

___

You can make a direct financial donation to support ��ñ��’s work in International Student Ministry by following this link.

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International students

A Worldwide Witness

webteam@intervarsity.org — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 06:00:00 +0000

News

A Worldwide Witness

Study abroad, once thought exotic, now seems almost commonplace. Students and scholars are crossing oceans in every direction to broaden their educational experience. According to the Institute of International Education, over 2.5 million students annually pursue higher education outside their home countries; last year, 623,805 of those students came to the United States.

With over half a million students and scholars from around the world coming to the United States for their educations, American Christians have unprecedented opportunities to share the gospel globally without ever going abroad. The increasing international diversity of American campuses invites Christians to view the campus as a global missions field, particularly since many international students are from nations that have either limited or no access to Christian missionaries.

Befriending Internationals
��ñ�� is called to see students and faculty transformed through the gospel Jesus Christ; so we welcome opportunities to befriend internationals, minister to their needs, and introduce them to our Savior.

We recognize, as did the apostle Paul and the early church, that preaching at the crossroads of international trade routes is strategic for advancing the kingdom of God throughout the world. And we further recognize that today’s American colleges and universities comprise the intellectual crossroads for many academic travelers, and that this campus intersection along the trade routes of ideas may be the only place outside their own country that some international visitors will encounter a Christian.

So ��ñ�� does not dally with our witness on campus to internationals, but stands in this intersection to offer hope and direction to every passerby. While all ��ñ�� staff and students are called to reach internationals with the gospel and encourage their transformation through Jesus Christ, the staff and volunteers within our department of International Student Ministry (ISM) are particularly dedicated to such a mission: They understand that a significant number of international students and scholars will return to their homelands to eventually become leaders in government, business, education, or the arts. To change such a potential leader’s life promises godly change for this world.

“International students who become Christians while studying in this country,” said Lisa Espineli Chinn, director of ISM, “return to their home countries as witnesses for Christ. And many of these internationals eventually attain high levels of leadership in their countries, where God uses them in significant ways.”

God is presently using ISM in many significant ways to reach more internationals for Christ. Last academic year 109 internationals came to trust in Christ through the befriending activities of ISM. “God is truly moving among us,” said Lisa. “That number of conversions was 28% greater than the previous year.”

For internationals on campus, conversions in Christ are typically preceded by friendships with Christians. Every fall ISM staff welcome internationals to their new campus by hosting homemade dinners, family-style picnics, community tours, and assistance with grocery shopping, medical appointments, and local transportation.

Welcoming Internationals into Community
At the University of Wisconsin—Madison, ISM staff member Terrill Smith coordinated an old-fashioned hayride through rolling, green farmlands for internationals new to campus. Over 300 internationals boarded buses and climbed into cars for the ride to a scenic farm, where they enjoyed an afternoon in the countryside.

At the end of the day, participants were invited to take a Bible that was printed in their national language. “A visiting scholar from India was so surprised to see a Bible in his own language that he came to show me what he’d found,” said Terrill. Many of the participants of this day’s excursion indicated on a response card that they wanted to know more about Jesus. And a significant number signed up for a small group Bible study.

God is moving among international students and scholars elsewhere too. In Florida, ��ñ�� students invited a group of visiting Chinese students to dinner; two of these students desired to learn about Jesus. A few days later, these same ��ñ�� students invited a few visiting French classmates to a meal; they also wished to learn about Jesus.

In Mississippi, ISM staff planned a conference for only fifty people but were delighted when nearly one hundred showed up. In North Dakota, over one hundred people regularly attend ��ñ��’s Friday Night All Nations Meal at the now well-known Pink House near campus.

The Pink House (see photo) has become so popular among internationals at North Dakota State University that Collette Michal, ��ñ��’s cross-cultural ministry coordinator, has met visitors from over twenty countries, and the non-religious International Student Association on campus has asked to partner with the Pink House for some all-campus events.

“The Pink House is an international hang out,” said Collette. “We offer a diversity of experiences for internationals.” Among the community experiences offered by the international students themselves are Global Connections, a cross-cultural friendship network, and Monday Night’s Tea Talks, practice in conversational English.

Christian discipleship groups also meet weekly. ISM staff regularly give Christian international students opportunities to grow in leadership, leading Bible studies and serving in various capacities to reach the campus with the gospel. “The holiday of Thanksgiving also presents an opportunity for many of us to develop international friendships by inviting international students to our homes to share our hospitality,” said Lisa.

Hosting Winter House Parties
��ñ��’s ministry to internationals has a tradition of hosting winter house parties at our two training facilities—Bear Trap Ranch in Colorado and Cedar Campus in Michigan—where internationals have opportunities to learn more about the Bible and Jesus Christ.

Lounging on the couches before a blazing fireplace in a lodge at Bear Trap Ranch, internationals feel free to ask challenging questions and receive truthful answers about the Christian worldview. Conferences on campuses and tours of major cities, such as Washington DC, are also offered for internationals throughout the academic year.

The number of international students attending colleges and universities in the United States is growing. Through ��ñ��’s International Student Ministry, students from around the world are discovering the love of God through Jesus Christ and learning that they, too, are called to be witnesses of Christ and servant-leaders of people when they return to their homelands.

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International students

Iowa City Flood Recovery

webteam@intervarsity.org — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 05:00:00 +0000

News

Kevin Kummer

Iowa City Flood Recovery

Each August hundreds of new international students arrive in Iowa City to attend the University of Iowa. There is always a scramble for housing, furniture, and other necessities for their new life in the United States. ��ñ�� Graduate Christian Fellowship (GCF) has been active for years, assisting the university in the process of welcoming and orienting these adventurous students from all over the world.

GCF members have met people at the airport, offered temporary housing while longer-term accommodations are sought, helped with registration at the Office of International Scholars and Students, taught people to square dance, offered friendship, and more. We, in turn, are enriched by the friendship that internationals bring.

This August, our welcome campaign has been complicated by the fact that Iowa City experienced severe flooding in June. Despite an impressive effort of community sandbagging, the flood waters crested at record levels and millions of dollars of damage was suffered by this university with the Iowa River running through it.

The ��ñ��-connected director of choral music got 50 percent of his music, instruments, and files out of his building in one day, but when he arrived the next day with a team of helpers, he was barred from re-entering the building by National Guardsmen. (The newer, more expensive grand pianos were rescued, but the older, better sounding grand pianos were lost.)

The GCF faculty advisor was displaced from her office in the English/Philosophy Building. Mayflower dorm, where international students and scholars are housed along with US students, was evacuated. Graduate students and internationals were ordered to leave their apartments in Hawkeye Court as the waters continued to spread.

GCF members volunteered to sandbag, helped others move out of apartments, and assisted those displaced to find temporary housing. When the waters receded, this pattern of assistance was reversed. The work being done to clean up and repair will continue for years.

In the meantime, a record number of international students have arrived and not all the dorms have been re-opened. Emergency short-term housing was needed, so my wife and I decided to open our home to a student. My son (also part of the GCF community) – in need of temporary housing himself – moved back home at the end of July. He agreed to vacate our second bedroom and sleep on an air mattress on the study’s floor.

So we were able to welcome a twenty-year-old undergrad, originally from Lithuania, into our home for a week. She entered into our family life, joining us for outings and attending church for the first time in years. Though she lived with us for only a week, a relationship has begun that I think will blossom. She wants to visit church with us again and come see what GCF is about. Who knows what will develop as a result of a flood and the opportunities it has allowed for God to work through his people in unforeseen ways?

^{Kevin Kummer is Central Area Team Leader for ��ñ��’s Graduate Faculty Ministries and works on the University of Iowa campus.}

News Keywords

Graduate Faculty Ministry

International students

Joy in Christ

webteam@intervarsity.org — Thu, 08 May 2008 05:00:00 +0000

News

Katie Montei

Joy in Christ

When Joy, an international student from the Far East, made the decision to believe in Jesus Christ, she expressed concern about her inability to pray in English. In Revelation 7:9, John paints a vision of heaven with colorful lines. He sees standing before him, “a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language.” Ethnically diverse peoples and different languages bring richness to our Christian faith that would be otherwise missing.

Last summer, Joy’s sister began speaking to her about Jesus. She had recently become a Christian herself and wanted Joy to share in the new life that Christ brings. When Joy returned to Knox College in the fall, she approached some students in ��ñ��; Joy was curious to know more about Jesus. The ��ñ�� students developed a relationship with Joy, answering her questions and watching as the Holy Spirit worked in her heart.

Soon Joy’s friends in ��ñ�� could see that she was ready to follow Christ. When they asked her if she had prayed with anyone she answered, “We weren’t able to get together so I just prayed on my own. I’m not sure if it was ok though, because I prayed in my own language.”

To some people outside our country, Christianity seems synonymous with the United States. To them, being a Christian means to be from America. Fortunately, the Holy Spirit speaks deeply enough to the heart so that those misconceptions crumble easily. Joy’s ��ñ�� friends began to tell her about God’s intention for people of all ethnicities and cultures.

Not only did God create all peoples and languages, and not only does he understand them, but he loves and celebrates them as well. We should rejoice in our shared faith and also in our varied cultures and languages; our differences bring together a multitude of perspectives and thus a more profound understanding of the Lord. We learn from each other about who God is, what it means to worship him, how to serve each other in the body of Christ.

With the encouragement of her friends, Joy has become passionate about her new faith. And because she now recognizes God’s incredible design for a multi-hued tapestry of people, she has begun passionately praying for students in other countries to hear and understand the gospel.

Not only has she joined the multitude of believers that John speaks of in Revelation, but with courage and faith she is living out Jesus’ mandate to make disciples of all nations.
��ñ�� students often walk alongside international students like Joy, loving the stranger in their midst, and showing them the light of Christ.

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