International students are often very open to finding out about Jesus. It is an amazing opportunity and responsibility to share the good news of Jesus with those who have never heard, and may never have the opportunity again, once they return home. Many come from ‘closed’ countries where there is very little Christian witness, and where followers of Jesus may be persecuted.
You will almost certainly have international students at your university, and, increasingly, many CUs are finding that international students play an important part in CU life. If you are an international student, or have experience of other cultures, God can really use you to help the CU have a heart for mission and cross-cultural evangelism.
How do we reach international students with the gospel?
Many CUs have found that having specific International Student Events, even a whole ‘International Track’ of talks, is a very exciting and meaningful thing to do. Even allocating certain evening, or lunch bar talks, to follow a more international theme is hugely valuable.
That said, many CU students are concerned about doing anything ‘special’ for international students, when organising Events Weeks.
There are three very common questions that need to be addressed and settled in the minds of the CU and anyone supporting the Events Week. We will try to address each of these, and suggest some ways forward.
What do we mean by ‘international’ (and why do anything different)?
The term ‘international’ is a neutral word and is not ‘othering’. The term is used by most universities, and by most international students themselves. It is not a discriminatory label and is not considered offensive.
Nevertheless, many of us have been taught to avoid any appearance of discrimination on the basis of race and culture, so some CU members have expressed concern that it seems strange and uncomfortable to label events as being specifically for international students. Are not all students welcome at our events?
We always make it clear that all students are welcome to all events. No-one is segregating anyone, but rather we are offering a wider choice of event to cover a range of cultures and worldviews represented in the student body. We hope that international students will attend those events not specified as ‘international’, and that some non-international (home) students will be interested in some of the topics addressed during the international events. In fact, it has often been a very useful forum to demonstrate to Western students that Christianity is equally relevant to all cultures, everywhere.
As we shall see, unless we seriously consider the needs of international students, the presuppositions and apologetic concerns of students from, say, Asia, the Middle East and Africa, we risk homogenising our approach to the gospel, which excludes people because we do not take time to consider their concerns.
For example: a senior IFES staff member from Southeast Asia told this author that, when looking for apologetic literature for his students, all he found was books written by Westerners to address Western students’ questions, which were not the questions that concerned those at universities in his country. Instead of debating the existence of God, students in that context took God’s existence largely as a given. Rather, they wanted to know how to deal with dark spiritual realities that existed in the non-Christian religions around them.
The not-so international internationals
Many university students who are classed as ‘home’ students may have one or more cultural influence in their background. They may not identify as international students — as this country is their home and forms part of their identity. Nevertheless, they may share some cultural and religious origins with those coming here to study from other parts of the world.
Approaching people and assuming that they are international students because they do not look ‘British’ is not a good idea, as it can cause offence. This is why it is really important to make all students welcome at all events; we let the students themselves choose which events they want to attend, based on what interests them, not based on their ethnic origins or what is on their passport.
For these reasons it is far better if all events of an Events Week — including all international talks — are advertised centrally, on the same literature. This takes the awkwardness out of trying to decide which flyer to give someone!
What is an ‘international talk’? …and why is it different?
It is really important to say from the outset that International Events are not the ‘dumbed-down, English-made-easy’ version of the other talks. While it is true that many speakers use far too many Western cultural references and idioms that make it hard for those who are not native speakers, language is not the main reason for holding International Events.
Consider the following ways in which an international student might differ from a home student in the way they might approach matters of faith:
- Different worldviews: A worldview is not just another term for religion; it is a whole mindset, often a subconscious set of assumptions, as to how the world works, that people from the same culture tend to have. A secular British student might reject the Bible’s account of Jesus’ birth, simply because she does not think it is rational to believe in angels… but her North African friend, as a Muslim, may well accept the existence of angels (and demons) as a given.
- Different starting knowledge: students from the post-Christian West often know about Christianity; mainly from a range of negative stereotypes and bits of understanding from school, television and occasional experiences of church. You may have witnessed how many people equate Christianity with oppression of minorities and judgement of some lifestyles. There is often a lot of unpicking to do before we can explain clearly what following Jesus really means. Conversely, a student from East Asia may feel that Christianity is a progressive, modernising influence, and a force for good, though too foreign for them to consider its claims as relevant to them. They may not consider it wrong or ‘intolerant’, as their European friend might, and they might think that their Christian friends’ moral values are quite acceptable and admirable.
- A Japanese student recently asked, “What is God?” — Because there is no word in Japanese that naturally describes God as a supreme and separate Being to all the other ‘gods’ (kami includes all gods, spirits of the dead, fairies, and even Pokemon!) it was very hard for him to really understand that what we mean. His issue is a common one, that it is very difficult to believe something if you cannot imagine it.
- Different apologetic questions: although Western and non-Western students may ask similar questions, what they are looking for in an answer may be rather different. An English student and his friend from India may both ask, “Don’t all religions lead to God?”, but their concerns about the answer will be very different — as will their presuppositions be.
- Different existential concerns: Although this is a generalisation, non-Western cultures are usually far more collectivist and less individualist. Many international students from Asia, Africa and the Middle East will have a keener sense of how their decisions and actions affect their family and communities back home. Some will feel a tension between their own ambitions and hopes for the future with what is expected of them from home. Some will be bound to a company, organisation or even family members for some years after graduating, in return for the funds and opportunity to study overseas. Typically, international students will have to work extremely hard, especially as they are doing everything in their second or even third language!
Being outside their culture for a period of time often gives international students the chance to reconsider their beliefs, assumptions and priorities. Many do struggle with culture shock, which can affect their mental health quite severely.
However, don’t assume that all international students are lonely! Many are really proactive in making friends and enjoying their studies… neither be put off by international students clustering together in groups from their own or similar cultures. This is entirely normal, and is usually just a way to survive in a strange environment. Try to find opportunities to chat to individuals or smaller groups and ask them questions about their country and culture.