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Following Jesus, Serving Others

4/25/2016

How do we navigate the challenges we face when serving Jesus in a self-serving world?

“For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give His life as a ransom for many,” Matthew 20:28 (NLT).

As we share the love of Christ with international students, which the Lord sends into our lives, it’s important to remember just how life-changing the Word of God can be in their lives. Sharing the Gospel with international students here in the US often traverses into the hearts and minds of people in countries around the world.

Jesus came to minister, not to be ministered unto. Scripture illustrates this beautifully in the following verse: “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give His life as a ransom for many,” Matthew 20:28 (NLT). Jesus served people without regard to who they were because God created them. We are called to do the same as we reach out to international students.

It’s not always easy, though, to dedicate our time and resources in our fast-paced culture. We all face so many challenges in our day-to-day lives. It can often be a struggle to make time for those in our own families. How do we keep atop the challenges we face as we strive to follow Jesus? We can do this with T.O.P., an easy-to-remember acronym that highlights the importance of the following actions:

Turning our burdens toward the Lord.

It’s easy to get bogged down in a world full of intimidation and pressure, and we can really struggle trying to serve others. But Scripture reminds us to cast all our cares upon Him.

Overcoming Barriers.

We live in a very divided society. In our ministry, we sometimes receive resistance from various sources. As we minister to international students, we are trying to send the message of love and unity in an environment that is often times the opposite.

Praying and Interceding.

We need prayer and intercession to overcome these obstacles, many of which are spiritual barriers. In our ministry, we have found that prayers of intercession work wonders.

I am reminded of a story from one of our friends at International Students, Inc. Several years ago, in addition to being one of our ministry volunteers, our friend was employed at a large university. In his position, he was responsible for the operation of a large campus office. In that role, several international students were assigned to work for him through the work-study program.

One day, he decided he wanted to assign a large photocopying project to Jose, a young man from Central America. After looking around the office for Jose, another international student told him something that blew him away: Jose returned home to run for President!

Our ISI friend said you could have knocked him over with a feather! Isn’t it amazing? Many of the students we work with here at ISI return home to hold leadership positions in government, law, academia and other fields. This underscores the value of taking the time to minister and serve these students when they are here in the United States. The ripple effect of sharing the Good News can change the world!

Friend, I believe we are called to prayer and to be proactive, realizing we are all on a timeline like the Bible says. We are so thankful for all the people who pray for us as we strive to reach every international student for Christ!

For More Information
Want to make a difference in the life of an international student? Learn how to become an ISI Friendship Partner.

Need some encouragement? Read these short essays from some of our ISI staff members.

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Vine

4/18/2016

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M:28: International Student Resonates with ‘The Gardener and the Vine’

Read this profound story shared by one of our staff members about his time as an M:28 Bible Study facilitator.

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit, he prunes, so that it will even be more fruitful,” John 15:12 (NLT).

If you are familiar with our blog or our ministry, you have probably heard of the M:28 Discovery Bible study. The study, which is part of the M:28 Global Discipleship initiative, goes above and beyond the “typical” Bible study. We often refer to it often as a reproducible, accessible study that anyone can participate in and even lead!

As our M:28 website states, students in the M:28 process “experience authentic biblical community and are imprinted from the very first day with the DNA of spiritual multiplication.”

One of our staff members, who helped design the M:28 Discovery Bible Study curriculum, has had the privilege of training international students to implement and facilitate the curriculum in their respective home countries. His story highlights the very reason we are so blessed to be able to share this amazing study with international students from all over the world.

When sharing his experience, our staff member mentioned that one M:28 training in particular stood out to him. He and other ISI staff members were hosting an M:28 course to train ministry leaders and mobilizers on how to implement the study.

“One of the girls who was in training came up to us and asked us if it would be okay if her friend attended the training the following day,” he said.

She and her friend, a Chinese scholar, were planning on hanging out the next day after the training. We said, “Sure why not?”

The friend, who was not a believer, came to the training the following day.

“Training is very practical,” the staff member continued. “We go through and practice doing an M:28 Discovery Bible Study. We select different passages for them to go through together as they practice the M:28 process together. We do several iterations of that in our training session so that it gets imprinted in the trainees.”

The staff member said he happened to select John 15 for the group to discuss that day.

“That’s the message of the vine where Jesus was talking about God pruning the vine and how it’s necessary for our growth and our maturing process,” he said. “It was not an easy passage for the group to deal with. I kind of hesitated when I selected the passage, but I just felt impelled to do it.”

The students wrestled with the passage. While discussing its implications, the staff member could tell that they were having a hard time with it.

“At the end of that session, we talked about it as a group. I said, ‘Now, why do you think I selected that passage?’ And it was really interesting. The visiting Chinese student shot her hand up and said, immediately, ‘I know why.’”

She was the only non-Christian in the whole group. Our staff member remembered that his ISI colleague, the one who invited the Chinese scholar to the training, had previously shared with the staff that she had been witnessing to this scholar.

“She told us the scholar just seemed to be stuck somewhere,” he said. “It was as if there was a barrier and our colleague was not sure she could get past that barrier.”

But there she was at the training. The scholar, with her hand raised told the group that she had really been thinking about “the whole faith thing.”

“She said, ‘I’m just really starting to understand why things happen the way they do in life.’ And then she asked, ‘Where’s God? And why does God allow those things to happen?’”

She told the group that in her degree program, she does a lot of work with plants.

“I work in a greenhouse,” she shared, “where we have to prune. I get it. This passage—the reason why you chose this passage today was for me.”

That was it!

Our staff member realize at that moment, that the whole point of that M:28 session was for that one person, the one non-believer in the group.

“God just impressed upon my heart to pick that passage,” he said, “because she was going to be there. Because that passage was going to clarify for her the role of God in her life!”

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit, he prunes, so that it will even be more fruitful.” John 15:12 (NLT).

For More Information
Learn more about the M:28 Global Discipleship Initiative.
Read testimonies from students whose lives have been touched by our ministry.

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Guide

4/11/2016

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ISI Initiative Guiding Students to His Word—Everyday!

Learn more about how ISI reaches one student per hour each day for Christ!

“Guide my steps by your word, so I will not be overcome by evil,”
Psalm 119:133 (NLT).

International student growth in the US and worldwide is estimated to double by 2020. Early projections indicate that by 2025, 50% of world leaders will have been an international student!

At International Students, Inc., we are more focused than ever on preparing for the 7 million international students that are expected worldwide in just a few years. As you may know, we have launched Strategic Advanced Leadership Teams (S.A.L.T) to help meet this need.

S.A.L.T. is a three-year initiative focused on accelerating ministry impact through Church Mobilization, Outreach and Technology, and our M:28 Global Discipleship model. I am excited to announce that the initiative is going strong.

I want to share with you some exciting updates on the initiative:

Church Mobilization

We have successfully launched our first Church Mobilization Initiative through the Churches Reaching Nations campaign! We are reaching out to pastors and churches to talk with them about the possibilities to get involved in international student ministry and make possible the M:28 Global Discipleship Training! To learn more about the campaign, please take a moment to visit our new website www.ChurchesReachingNations.org.

Outreach and Technology

We’re growing our online missionaries to help even more students learn about Christ and receive discipleship! Many site visitors are from closed countries and we’re excited for an opportunity to reach them! Visit the site at www.godlovesstudents.org!

M:28 Global Discipleship Model

Through this model, students around the world continue discovering God on their own directly from the Word in a community setting. Approximately 4,096 leaders in over 31 states and over 16 countries have been trained in M:28 Global Discipleship. We project over 102,400 people have been impacted by M:28. Visit www.isim28.org for more information.

The M:28 Discovery Bible Study continues to create a ripple effect across the nation and world. It brings me great joy to share stories like the one below, sent in by one of our staff members who writes about how he invited a Muslim, a Hindu and a Chinese student to attend his M:28 Bible study:

“It was a thrill to facilitate their understanding of Christianity as they navigated week-to-week through the key passages. The Muslim student, who had never read the Bible before, seemed to really enjoy the narrative detail and history surrounding the people, places, and events in the Bible. The Bible’s message was understandable to him for the first time! All three students discussed what they liked and disliked about each passage. They all grew in their understanding of the Bible’s message. It was obvious that about halfway through the semester one of the three students was clearly interested in becoming a follower of Christ. I met with him separately and shared what it means to be a follower of Jesus. He said he needed more time. Six weeks later, the student said he was ready to follow the Lord! He personally prayed and accepted Jesus as the forgiver of his sins and now the leader of his life! I had the privilege of baptizing him a few weeks later at one of our partnership churches. The whole church was thrilled by the student's testimony!”

This is just one of the many powerful stories we hear about international students who have decided to follow the Lord after participating in an M:28 Discovery Bible Study! We are so blessed to work toward such an incredible mission: To reach every international student for Christ.

When we share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with others, we offer a new path—a chance for new life through our Savior! This can change the entire course of one's life in unimaginable ways. I am reminded of a plea of the Psalmist who said, Guide my steps by your word, so I will not be overcome by evil,” Psalm 119:133 (NLT).

Friend, our S.A.L.T. Initiative is providing opportunities for even more students to learn and then be guided by His Word. Please join as we continue praying for the hearts and minds of the students whom we are blessed to know. Please pray that the they may come to know Him and let His Word guide them in all things!

For More Information

Please take a moment to visit our new church mobilization website www.ChurchesReachingNations.org.

To learn more about our outreach and technology efforts, visit www.godlovesstudents.org.

Visit www.isim28.org for more information about our M:28 Global Discipleship Initiative.

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Gentle

4/4/2016

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ISI: Doing God’s Work from the Inside Out

Learn more about how our ministry is touching the lives of international students in profound ways!

“Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain. But do this in a gentle and respectful way. Keep your conscience clear. Then if people speak against you, they will be ashamed when they see what a good life you live because you belong to Christ,” 1 Peter 3:15-16 (NLT).

It’s no secret that we live in an oftentimes harsh world where broken hearts and spirits yearn for unconditional kindness and gentleness. Even though some of us might shy away from describing these qualities as our top attributes, I believe there is a place within each of us—a “God-shaped hole”—that craves both kindness and gentleness. Combined together, these two attributes really help reveal Christ’s presence in a person’s life. Jesus was gentle and kind in a way that spilled over into His dealings with everyone He met—especially those whom the world tends to cast aside. It’s never too late to ask Him for ways to share His gentleness and kindness with others.

Here at International Students, Inc., we are blessed to hear stories of how the kindness and gentleness of our staff and volunteers spill so beautifully into the lives of so many international students. In God’s world, gentleness happens to rank as one of the most powerful forces at work today. The strongest statement in God’s Word that supports this is found in
1 Peter 3:15-16 (NLT):

“Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain. But do this in a gentle and respectful way. Keep your conscience clear. Then if people speak against you, they will be ashamed when they see what a good life you live because you belong to Christ,” 1 Peter 3:15-16 (NLT).

Friend, this is exactly how we minister. We show our international students unconditional kindness and gentleness in the way we share our lives with them. We treat them with respect and integrity no matter where they are from or because of what they believe. We so enjoy receiving testimonies like the one below that highlight the ways in which God touches the lives of international students through our staff and volunteers:

“This Sunday morning when I was in church worshipping our God, all of a sudden my heart was moved. Images were coming through my mind. Some people are providing their houses and food to the international students who gather together, to establish friendship, and to spread God’s love; some people are devoting all their lives to the international mission for God’s work. What can I do? I could stand there and let everybody know that the love from God is touching and saving international students like me. But I want to be used by God as a container. I want to follow His will, not my own. I believe…I know and I can feel the Lord is going to work on me in my heart and in my life. The Lord is loving me, saving me, changing me and strengthening me inside.”

What an incredible illustration of how our love for Christ and for others can spill so graciously into the lives around us! We see this at work all the time in our ministry. And by God’s blessing, we are thrilled to announce that our ministry is growing and expanding. You may have heard of our Church Mobilization Initiative. Friend, this effort to fully equip and train the U.S. Church for effective outreach and long-lasting ministry is also growing! This will allow us to reach even more students with the gentleness and kindness of our Loving Savior!

As part of our newly launched Church Mobilization Campaign, we are currently mentoring 645 churches who have previously responded to our outreach efforts. By focusing on these partnerships and training and equipping them for effective international student ministry, we believe we can greatly increase the number of students we are currently reaching. In addition to providing mentorship to responding churches, our goal is to gain new church partners as well. In partnership with Outreach, Inc., we are advertising International Students, Inc. and M:28 on their websites, which have the capacity to reach 350,000 pastors nationwide!

For more information on the Church Mobilization Campaign, I encourage you to visit and share our new website www.ChurchesReachingNations.org. This site is designed to introduce pastors and churches across the nation to International Students, Inc.

If you know a pastor or church elder who may be interested in our Church Mobilization Campaign, please send this blog their way! You never know how many people may be impacted by your simple “share.” We wish you a blessed week. Thank you for all you do to help support us and our mission to reach every international student for Christ!

For More Information:

Learn more about the Churches Reaching Nations campaign.

Read more about this campaign from Dr. Shaw’s previous blo g.

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Following Jesus, Serving Others

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