Let’s remember international students at this time. Perhaps isolated, likely confused, missing home and in need of our contact. Even if they don’t know it, internationals are in need of support and prayer.
Many are stuck in the UK unable to get home, uncertain how long lockdown will go on. The good news is at Fusion we’re hearing stories of the Church engaging with these precious students.
Internationals reaching out
A Church in Northern Ireland received a call from an international student who had been ill for a number of weeks. She was self-isolating because of covid symptoms. She called the Church office after getting almost no sleep the night before, was alone, desperate and felt defeated. The Church was able to pray for her over the phone, offered to facetime that week and dropped off a care pack on her doorstep.
Asking the uncomfortable questions
This story struck me as it was the student who reached out initially to the Church. It made me question, are we available and visible to international students at this time? Are they able to contact us? Are they able to connect online with us? I have a close friend in Manchester who is a student from Mauritius, in the last week he has shown openness to prayer for the first time as he has been unable to find a flight and get home. He is feeling uncertain and is beginning to ask the bigger questions of life. There must be hundreds out there just like my friend in need of support and connection. Are we available?
Internationals on mission
I recently heard that a group of internationals had gone back home to Singapore and started an online small group. Based at HTB London before heading home, they’d felt stirred to reach their home friends online and not be limited in their mission by social distancing. They have begun to meet online to pray and worship with their home friends. I was encouraged by this example of a UK Church commissioning their students back to the nations to share Jesus. How can we encourage those students who have returned home to be sharing their faith and participate in God’s mission to their home nations?
Two internationals who I haven’t connected with for around a year joined our small group online this week! One based in Spain and the other in Georgia. I was so surprised! We were able to share Jesus with them and encourage them to hear God’s voice for themselves and their friends at this time. I believe we will disciple them to make disciples in their home nations. As we go online, let’s extend our invitations further than we normally would, we’ll be surprised at who joins, even those we might have been disconnected from us for a long time. Who might you invite this week?
Creatively reaching out
For some internationals, all they will need is an invitation to re-connect or try church. Others will need a different kind of invitation, this is where we get creative with our mission online. Two ladies in my student outreach team have been getting creative with engaging internationals online. Last week, they hosted a ‘coffee and conversation’ zoom call online to encourage connection and offer tips on how to stay healthy when social distancing. One international joined, from Nigeria. They’d never met him before (he connected through social media) and he was really keen to get to know them, share his experience of social distancing and was ready to listen for some tips to stay healthy. As they shared about being honest with our emotions, grieving our normal routines and looking after ourselves he became emotional and was visibly impacted by the time they’d taken to speak into his life. I believe God is working in this man’s life and this friendship with him will continue to deepen. Pray for this man!
Let us pray for creativity and innovation to transform our mission to Internationals. Life has changed, so should our mission. We cannot rely on our old strategies, we must take initiative to reach out at this time. Which international might you reach out to this week? With some prayer and thought, your interaction with them might just change their life!
