Church-based

A Challenge for Professionals to Mentor International Students

As International Student Ministries continue to proclaim, “The nations are here,” creative methods of engaging them through friendships develop. Traditionally, we have engaged through friendship partners, church family “adoptions,” conversation partners, conversational English groups, intramurals, class study partners, holiday hosting, cultural events, and a variety of other ways. The purpose of these programs and methods is…

Bringing International Students to Church?

Eric Warren writes about discipling international students within the context of a local American church and shares a new model for trying to address some common tensions. A big issue that those who minister to international students wrestle with (or need to wrestle with more) is how to think about the relationship between international students (Christian…

Ten Reasons for Your Church to do ISM

Jon Varner writes about international student ministry being a simple way that every church and ministry can begin engaging the nations for Christ. Have you ever heard the phrase, “…can’t see the forest for the trees?” I believe the opposite is the problem concerning major missions strategies at this time. We have become so overwhelmed by…

A Holistic Approach to International Student Ministry

By Chase Jenkins, FBC Durham, NC. I remember eight years ago being asked to serve as an English teacher during our church’s weekly ESL outreach, a ministry I didn’t know we had. It was an urgent need; the ESL team was already at capacity and needed additional teachers. My students would be Nepali refugees who spoke…