Ideas For Ministry Among Internationals In Academic Settings

IDEAS FOR MINISTERING TO INTERNATIONALS IN ACADEMIC SETTINGS (International Students, Visiting Scholars and their family members)

SERVING INTERNATIONALS AND MEETING NEEDS:

For recent arrivals:  Temporary housing before dorms and other campus housing opens  Provide rides from airport when students first arrive  Care packages at the first of the year and during finals  Host a welcome party at the beginning of the school year to let internationals know about your ministry, hold it on campus or at your church  Provide pots, pans, linens, etc  Furniture loan program  Provide simple recipes, measuring cups, spoons, chart on metric system conversions, etc  Volunteer to help with new student orientation at local universities  Offer rides for shopping trips to get needed items for dorm/apartment

On-Going Ministries:  Conversational English classes  Conversation partners  Help with proof-reading papers  English classes for spouses and other family members  Shopping trips  Baby showers  Family activities (designed for parents with children)  Education assistance for family members (GED, community adult education courses, TOEFL preparation, help finding appropriate schools for children, etc)  Mommy and me group  Marriage enrichment class/retreat  American culture class — share about the different states in the US, US government, etc.  Provide childcare during activities and at other times for international wives to free them to shop or run errands  Create a scholarship program for childcare  Use the skills, talents and hobbies of church members/other Christians and share those with international students: tennis clinic, scrap-booking workshop, hand crafts, etc.  Cooking classes, teaching how to make American food, learning to cook food from the students’ cultures  Have an international potluck  Host an international fashion show for your church, possibly combine with a potluck  Use international students as a resource for your missions programs at your church, invite them to teach you about their culture  Mentoring program — business people, engineers, doctors, dentists paired up with internationals in their field  Help with interview skills and resume-writing  International Friendship center/coffee house at a church or other location where students can hang out — drink coffee, play games, get help with English (such as proof-reading), meet for group activities, Bible study, etc.  Driving lessons  Car-buying and car-maintenance workshops  Excursions — to the beach, mountains, state parks, amusement parks, historical sites, museums, etc.  Retreats and camping trips  Holiday parties  Friendship families — Christians families “adopt” an international student, talk to them on the phone once a week, have them over for a meal once a month, invite them to family celebrations, etc  Families to host students during holidays and/or when dorms are closed  Holiday exchanges — have students who are studying in other parts of the US stay with your church members/Christian families during holidays  Culture shock/reverse culture shock seminars  Introductory Bible studies one on one or in groups  Introduction to Christianity class/discussion group  Explanations of different Christian holidays  Invite pastors and church members from ethnic congregations to share testimonies in the languages of your students  Discipleship/equipping class for new believers  Assist students who move or return home to connect with other Christians, ministries, churches, etc (through personal network, ISI, ACMI, etc.)

SCRIPTURE RESOURCES:

 Scripture in the student’s heart language (Multi-Language Media)  Easy English Bible translations (such as Contemporary English Version, NIV Reader’s Version from the International Bible Society, Today’s English Version, etc.)  Bilingual Bibles  Jesus film, God’s Story video, dvd’s, etc  Easy-English Bible study material

PRAYER SUPPORT:

 Monthly prayer email, letter, and/or meeting  Ask church members to pray for one international or family (give pictures of those internationals)  Participate in a prayer network among those involved in international student ministry  Mobilize campus student ministries to pray for the international students in their midst  Let missionaries know of the internationals involved in your ministry that might be from their country or people group.

NETWORKING/PARTNERSHIPS

 Other churches  NAFSA (National Association of Foreign Student Advisors) See: www.nafsa.org  Various on-campus staff: International Student Advisors, Student Activities Director, Director of Religious life, etc  International student ministry workers world-wide (ACMI email network) http://www.acmi-net.org/  ISI (International Students Incorporated) See: www.isionline.org  Student workers and campus ministries (such as InterVarsity Christian Fellowship: http://www.gospelcom.net/iv/ism/index.html)  CBF Global Missions field personnel

COMMUNICATION WITH STUDENTS:  Web page  Email list, such as a yahoo group  Flyers in international student offices and other places on campus  Welcome letter at the beginning of each semester to new students if you can get their addresses from campus  Regular phone and email contact  Follow-up contact with students who have returned home