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Like Wildfire

10/25/2017

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Praise God that our discipleship growth model continues to solidify into a growing movement!
 
 “Do not withhold good from those who deserve it when it’s in your power to help them. If you can help your neighbor now, don’t say, ‘Come back tomorrow, and then I’ll help you,’” Proverbs 3:27-28 (NLT).
 
God has manifested His mighty hand at work through a number of amazing feats throughout International Students, Inc. One of the ways He continues to bless the ministry is through the proliferation of our M28 Global Discipleship program--worldwide! Praise God that our discipleship growth model continues to solidify into a growing global movement!
 
So far, 4,522 people have been trained in the M28 Bible study model, with a projected 113,600 who have been impacted by it!
 
At one of our recent M28 Seminars in South Korea, an attendee remarked that in the 30 years of working with international students, he’d never witnessed anything so powerful and impactful. Another seminar in the Philippines, held in a highly dangerous area, turned out to not only be safe, but also highly successful. M28 seminars also took place this summer in Singapore alongside our International Conference!
 
Over the years, we have been blessed to witness the ways in which participants are reproducing the M28 Bible Study and creating multiplication across the world!
 
How did it all begin?
 
The M28 concept began more than a decade ago when International Students, Inc. staff members began researching returnee success. They wanted to see what happened with international students who were believers after they left the United States to return home. Their research found that within a couple of years, many returnee students had either disappeared or were no longer engaged in Christian fellowship back home.
 
Staffers went back to the drawing board and realized they needed to replace the American model of doing discipleship, teaching and training with something else. After a lot of brainstorming, research and field testing, the M28 Global Discipleship Initiative was born. The Discovery Bible Study is simple, accessible and relevant for any culture.
 
A few years ago, one of our staff members had returned to the US after a successful M28 training in Hong Kong. Shortly after returning home, he received a surprise phone call from one of the former international students who attended the training. The student was from China and that’s where he was calling from. Our staffer writes:
 
“He said that he had just trained 70 more people in the M28 model throughout his large city in China. I thought that was amazing. He then contacted me three months later and said that he had just trained 300 more leaders, or mobilizers. This former student single-handedly trained almost 400 people in four months! Although we don’t personally know all the M28 stories and testimonies, we have seen a significant impact with the M28 model, which has been implemented in over 16 countries so far. We have seen great success in each of these countries.”
 
It’s so exciting to know that M28 continues to spread like wildfire, even in places that are often hostile to the Gospel. Let this be an encouragement for us to continue reaching out to others with the goal to reach every international student for Christ!
 
“Do not withhold good from those who deserve it when it’s in your power to help them.
If you can help your neighbor now, don’t say, ‘Come back tomorrow, and then I’ll help you,’” Proverbs 3:27-28 (NLT).
 
For More Information
Learn more about how the M28 Model is helping others by reading “M28: Impacting Hearts and Minds Around the World.”

 
Learn more about M28 Global Discipleship.



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Priceless Homecomings

10/19/2017

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Sharing the Good News plants seeds that one day can blossom into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ!
 
“Do not take advantage of foreigners who live among you in your land. Treat them like native-born Israelites, and love them as you love yourself. Remember that you were once foreigners living in the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God,”
Leviticus 19:33-34 (NLT)
 
Sharing Christ’s love with just one person can quickly lead to sharing with others. We see this often with our returnee students after they return to their home countries. In fact, we are blessed to hear stories about how God is working in the lives of returnee students and their family members—even in countries hostile to Christianity. One of our ministry friends shared the following testimony:
 
“Marcie came to the United States to visit her daughter Abby, who had been part of a local Asian congregation for five years. Abby had come to know the Lord and was led by God to attend a Bible college in America, where she received a master’s degree in biblical counseling. Marcie experienced God’s love through her daughter’s friends and heard her daughter say that her job was a result of God’s love for her. This touched Marcie deeply. After Marcie came to America, she attended church activities, studied the Bible seriously, and read Christian newspapers, magazines and books. Marcie wrote about her experience visiting her daughter in the US, saying: ‘My heart was touched, and my view of life and the world were shaken. I realized that I was living a life to honor myself—that I was very self-centered and prideful. I then cried out to God and asked him to live in my heart. I want to walk with the Lord and be with the Lord always.’ That is not the end of the story. Two weeks later, Abby’s father accepted the Lord!”
 
This story really shows the impact returnee students and their families have on the world around them. Not only was Marcie’s life touched while in the United States visiting her daughter, she was able to return home and minister to her husband! We see this incredible ripple effect all the time with returnees. This particular story happened to feature a returnee parent, which reminds us that our reach often extends beyond that of the students with whom we minister.
 
I was reminded recently of the incredible impact many of our returnee students have when they return home. As part of our annual ministry conference, held in Singapore a few months ago, we held a special returnee dinner for some of our former students. Nearly 50 students visited us from their home nations! Our speaker, also one of our former students, is now an advisor to key leadership in Singapore. So many of our ministry returnees are currently in strategic positions of influence! The participants were so excited to reunite with those who had discipled and led them to Christ that even after the dinner ended, they lingered several hours, visiting, sharing and praying.
 
One young returnee from China lit up the room with a beautiful smile and godly spirit. Another from India shared how he was helping reach international students from 39 different countries. In fact, this outreach has been so blessed that despite a hostile turn in Indian politics, he was not only allowed to serve incoming students, but he was even invited to the Governor’s Mansion for an expression of official thanks; he was even given an award for helping welcome foreigners into the country!
 
The following morning, I glanced around the breakfast table at brothers and sisters from six countries and marveled that International Students, Inc.’s impact is much greater, and broader, than I often realize. Let us continue to reach out and make a difference in the lives of those we encounter. Sharing the Good News plants seeds that one day can blossom into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ!
 
For More Information
Read a story about a former ISI student from China in ‘Change Agents Continue Reaching Students in 10/40 Window.’

Learn more about former international students who went on to become influential world leaders.



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Quick to Listen

10/12/2017

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Seeds are planted when we show kindness and offer a safe place for students to be themselves.
 
 “Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry,” James 1:19 (NLT).
 
Often times, we find that international students are longing to talk about issues and topics they would not or could not engage in back home. Though some of these students might be apprehensive about attending a Bible study for the first time, many are more than willing to meet over a cup of coffee for a casual conversation about a variety of other topics. These “coffee dates” can provide a relaxed, nonthreatening environment for students to ask questions and share their perspectives. These meetings can also provide a place for us to share our faith, and talk about why we believe what we believe.
 
One of our ministry volunteers shared his experience with us. He writes:
 
“I look at these discussions as seeds planted in the minds of busy intellectuals and deep-thinking scholars, providing food for thought as they observe the people and the world around them in a different culture and environment. I have had dozens of spontaneous deep conversations with students discussing topics such as alcohol, drugs and addictions, religion—are you born with it or do you choose it?—pornography, abortion, and premarital sex. Many of these conversations lead us into discussions about the Gospel, and why we need Jesus, as well as what His death and resurrection mean to us. When we approach it from a real-world angle, the students seem very open to how biblical truths apply to our life situations and questions today. I am so excited to speak into the open hearts that God brings to us from all over the world!”
 
Here at International Students, Inc., we have such an incredible opportunity to share the Good News of Jesus Christ during our everyday interactions with students from all over the world. Whether we are meeting over coffee, or picking someone up from the airport, we are in a unique position to “be Jesus” to students. Seeds are planted when we show kindness and offer a safe place for students to be themselves. Amazing things happen when we listen well and share from a place of vulnerability and compassion.
 
“Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry,” James 1:19 (NLT).
 
For More Information
If you are interested in helping international students adapt to and learn about our culture, you may want to become an ISI Friendship Partner.
 
Are you a prayer warrior? Learn more about how you can become an ISI Prayer Partner.



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A Whole New Light

10/3/2017

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Keep ministering to those who don’t know Him yet. You never know when something might click!
 
 “I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations,” Jeremiah 1:5 (NLT).
 
“You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name,” John 15:16 (NLT).
 
It never ceases to amaze me how the Lord has crafted each of us with such great precision, so uniquely and in His own image. It’s important to remember this when we are interacting with others, especially those whose hearts may appear to be worlds away from our own! I think of our many staff members and volunteers who graciously invite students from all over the world into their lives. International students come from so many different cultures, family dynamics, and backgrounds, and we can never assume what they are thinking, understanding or responding to. One of our ministry friends sent in a testimony about a student named Duke and his unique experience coming to know the Lord. Our friend writes:
 
“Duke showed some interest in spiritual things, so I spent hours with him discussing the Lord and His claims on his life. We talked about salvation, heaven and hell, right and wrong and forgiveness. Duke always engaged in our conversations with questions and insights. However, as graduation neared, he didn’t seem much closer to making a decision for Christ. When he moved to California after graduation, we said goodbye, feeling sad and never expecting to hear from him again. One day, however, the phone rang and I heard Duke’s voice on the other end. We chatted for a bit before he told me he had opened his heart and accepted Jesus as his personal Lord and Savior! Flustered, I questioned him about how this had come about. He shared with me that after he had moved to California, he met some Christians. In discussing the Lord’s claim on his life, one of them showed him the verse in John 15 that says, ‘You didn’t choose me. I choose you...’ Suddenly, Duke saw everything in a whole new light. It became very important to him to discover if he had been chosen—he really wanted to be! Because of the way this verse explained salvation, Duke asked God to choose him, and he committed his life to Jesus. Since that time, he has been baptized and continues to grow in knowledge and his relationship with His Savior. In spite of our hours and hours of in-depth discussion, Duke didn’t ‘get it’ until he heard it put the way he needed to hear it.”
 
People might not always “get it” right away when we share with them the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It’s important to remember that the Word of God speaks uniquely to people—as we are all crafted by Him to see and respond to things in our own unique ways. I encourage you to keep ministering and praying for those who don’t know Him yet. Include spiritual topics and applications in every possible situation and conversation. You never know when something might click and make it all clear!
 
“You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name,” John 15:16 (NLT).
 
For More Information
If you are interested in learning more about our ministry, as well as how to minister to international students, please visit our Free Resources page.



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