Therefore go and make disciples of all nations…
Matthew 28:19
As our world becomes increasingly connected, we have a chance to reach the nations without necessarily moving to another country.
“How can I get started?”
What we’ve outlined below is definitely not the only way to start an international student ministry, but these are some steps that we’ve taken to get started. We hope it can help others who are passionate about this ministry!
Step 1: Gather information.
Check out the International Office at the college or university where you want to start your ministry.
Learn more about what the international student situation is like on this campus:
How many international students are attending? Are they mostly undergraduate or graduate students?
What countries are they from?
How can we help them? What are their needs? (i.e. conversation practice, airport pickups, etc.)
See if you can sign up to teach English to international students, or become an American host family to host them for the holidays. This is an easy way to meet international students!
Step 2: Start your own English conversation circle.
While a lot of campuses offer their own English groups, starting your own will give you the freedom to decide the content and even discuss deeper questions.
Here are some resources to get you started! The curriculum covers various big questions of life and provides a space to bring in spiritual topics down the line.
Step 3: Invite students to a Life Bible Study.
What is a “Life Bible Study”? Many international students are learning about the Bible for the very first time. To help them see the Bible’s relevance in their life even though they are not Christian, we created a 3-part series called Life Bible Study. This curriculum covers what the Bible says about important life topics such as friendship, loneliness, and so forth.
Step 4: Delve deeper into Christianity.
For students who are more interested in Christianity, another thing you can try with them is to go through Course 101 together! Course 101 is a curriculum we developed that goes through the core principles and teachings of Christianity.
“How does it work?”
Here’s a story about how others have used some of the content that we’ve produced to reach out to international students.