BSU and International ministry

This article was written by our friend Lori who worked with us for 10 months this year. She has since left Hattiesburg and is about to head overseas for assignment. She played a major role in helping our students minister to our international friends. We will miss her investments in the lives of our students.

God has given the student leaders of the International Team great opportunities to reach internationals on campus this semester! Last semester, (Spring of 2009) we averaged about nine international students with several Americans attending our weekly Coffee Talk (English practice) event, but this semester we’ve had about 21 internationals and 25-28 American students attending! The leaders have seized many opportunities to check internationals into their dorms the moment they arrived from the airport, taking them out for meals, inviting them into their homes, giving them rides to Wal-Mart, taking them to church every Sunday, and spending extra time doing various activities with them both inside and outside the BSU. The students have already invited many international students to go home with them over the holiday in order to experience what it’s like for an American family to celebrate Thanksgiving together, with the purpose of telling them what we are most thankful for: Salvation through Jesus Christ!

The International Team has made the following items their central goals:

1 - For every international student on our campus to have heard the gospel message in full AND to have been given a personal invitation by a Christian BSU student to accept Jesus Christ as their Savior & Lord.

2 – For every Christian BSU student to have shared the gospel message in full with an international student.

Based on these two goals, they are not only leading internationals to the Lord, but are also mobilizing other BSU students to become involved in reaching internationals. Together, they are leading internationals in Bible studies, sharing the gospel message with ones who are lost and are discipling the ones who have accepted Christ. The world is at our doorstep…the field of internationals is plentiful at USM, and these students are stepping up as workers in the harvest field to lead them to faith in Jesus Christ. They are using both fun activities and the activities of daily life to build purposeful relationships with them. The leaders are striving to share the love of Christ with internationals in both words and actions while leading other BSU students to do the same…all for the expansion of the kingdom and for the glory of God!