God has brought the world to us! Over 1 million international students are in the U.S. each year.  On your campus, people from many nations of the world are in your dorms, your classes, in the cafeteria. Many are lonely, being away from home. Most are eager for friendship and conversation and learning new things.  

Did you know that most international students will spend their whole time in the US without ever being invited into an American’s home? 

78% of international students are from countries with limited or no access to the Gospel.*

Imagine if God could use you to share the love of Christ with someone who has never experienced that or may never even heard who Jesus is! What a privilege God has given us to engage with many ethnic groups and learn about various cultures. 

Watch this video to see the faces and hear the stories of people who came to the US as students.

Now is a great time to engage with them. Here are a few ideas to connect and meet with international students:

1. Pray about who God has for you to befriend. Pray that God would bring those into your life who He’s already drawing to Himself. Pray for heart-to-heart connections that will grow into deep friendships.
2. Look around you! Who do you see in your classes or dorms? Who looks lonely on campus with whom you could strike up a conversation? Recently, I was told by a Chinese student how surprised she was by how friendly Americans are, especially with strangers. She really appreciated it.
3. Is there a people group that especially interests you? Go to Facebook and look up a club name. For example: a Japanese Club on your campus. Many clubs will welcome Americans to join their club to learn about their culture and for mutual engagement.
4. Engage with what interests them. Maybe it’s sports or cooking or hiking or theater. Find a mutual interest and be intentional about spending quality time together.
5. Volunteer with a ministry already working with international students.  Experience what it would be like to engage full time in cross cultural ministry.  Search for ministries near you and start with International Students, Inc. (ISI).  They have been serving International Students for over 70 years on university campuses.

You can change a life and maybe even a culture forever!  Plus you may get to make lifelong friends along the way.  

*Some stats shared from The Traveling Team