Called to People Not Places

Missionary work has long been part of the Christian tradition. Some of the last words Jesus gave to his followers was, "as you are going," make disciples of all nations, a command that has resonated in the hearts of Christians ever since (Matthew 28:19). In the United States, many churches participate in cross-cultural missionary work, where individuals are typically funded to receive training and then go overseas and minister to people of another country and culture. Considering the cost and challenge of sending missionaries overseas, some Americans are asking, “What could we be doing here instead?”

In Practice: Serving International Students

Riverside, California locals Michael and Kathy Cain have been answering that question for years. The Cains are partners with International Students Inc., an organization that focuses on welcoming and aiding international students who come to the U.S. Having served over 2,000 students and counting, the Cains are now advocates for serving international students as a way to do cross-cultural ministry without having to go overseas.

Originally, going to other countries as missionaries was the goal for the Cains.

“We were what I guess you'd call second-career missionaries back in the early two thousands,” Michael said. “My wife and I had been involved in Missions here in our church on the Mission board, and were doing short-term trips. We felt more and more that God was calling us to do full-time [international Missions work.]”

The couple looked at several Mission boards and ended up going on a trip overseas to an unreached people group in South America. Their daughter, who was fourteen at the time, went along for the initial “vision trip.” Despite Michael and Kathy being inspired to go back, their daughter was overwhelmed by the idea. It was around that time that the Cains first learned about international student ministry at a dinner party.

The Cains were introduced to the party hosts, John and Betty, founders of the Return Mandate. John and Betty shared their views on international students ministry and the Cains were instantly interested.

“I still get emotional [about that day],” Michael said. “It fit so perfectly. The hospitality aspect, the fact that we are impacting nations from here in the United States— it just seemed like a no-brainer. We're impacting men and women at such a critical time in their lives and also impacting those who will have an influence in their home country.”

Within a year, the Cains were on staff with International Students Inc. Michael has seen the immense impact international student ministry can have, compared to overseas Missions. One advantage is the ability to overcome the challenges of cross-cultural ministry without the added challenges that come with being in a foreign country.

“How much better to face those challenges here,” Michael said. “[Overseas] you're also facing the challenge of learning to live in another culture, learning a new language, and your kids are reacting to everything from the physical environment to homeschooling. All those pressures that are on someone when they're working in another culture— how much better to have that cultural ministry challenge here rather than there. It might be a large part of why people go overseas and return after two years.”

The quick turnaround with missionaries being sent to foreign countries is another reason international student ministry is advantageous. That turn-around can be demoralizing and confusing for those who initially felt called to minister in a specific country.

“We get a very romantic view of what it means to go overseas,” Michael said. “I think we've over-romanticized it. … For my wife and I, when we were thinking about going overseas, it was because our generation was moved emotionally [through classic hymns] that spoke of ‘going.’ And then we get [overseas] and it was a shock to us.”

Part of the draw to serve in foreign countries is the urgency many feel to fulfill the command Jesus gave to his disciples in Matthew 28.  However, Michael emphasizes that despite being based in America, international student ministry is still cross-cultural and still impacts unreached people groups.

“We're ministering right here in our own home,” he said. “It's cross-cultural ministry, even though it is on our own home court, but it’s still cross-cultural.”

Michael also notes that more can be done for less. Short-term Missions trips can cost upwards of $3,000. Anything longer also requires extensive training, language courses, and consistent funding. Many never make it to the field, or return home soon after going.  Studies show that in-country national missionaries are much more effective than sending westerners.  Michael proposes that not only can serving students locally be more economical, but it could also lead to discipleship.

“It provides a gateway, or a bridge, much like short-term Missions do, except that, I believe it's a lot more effective than short-term [Missions],” he said. “[With] short-term, you go, you spend two weeks, you get the t-shirt, you come home, and you're done with your Missions experience. In our case, we encourage people to have a relationship with someone from another culture that is long-term, while learning to serve. It's a much truer kind of discipleship.”

The Cains may not necessarily incorporate their faith into everything they do with international students. However, the ministry they do builds long-lasting relationships. For the students who do take interest in their faith, having that relationship makes discipleship easier and more genuine. There are numerous ways the Cains, and others involved in the ministry, can serve international students.

Michael shares that it all starts with blessing the students with anything from car rides, to gifts, to helping them set up their new life in the U.S.

“This fall, we'll be picking up students at the airport,” he said. “Then we help them get set up in town— you know, cell phones and bank accounts and those kinds of things. We have furniture giveaways and that sort of thing to bless them.”

Students also need day-to-day assistance for basic errands and outings. “We're a car society. Most of them come from places where they can get around on a bus or train,” Michael said. “So just providing a ride for them, as someone who knows their way around, is huge.”

Hosting social gatherings is another way the Cains minister to the students they interact with. From welcome parties to holidays, there is always something being planned that allows students to feel at home. To help offer students a broader community, the Cains do progressive dinner parties, an “old-fashioned idea where they go from one house to another, for different courses.” The goal is to introduce the students to new people, and offer them hospitality they may not encounter otherwise.  “We have some ethnic celebrations too,” Michael said.

It is often those acts of service that allow Michael and Kathy to have deeper conversations about faith. Students will often ask questions about Jesus or the church purely out of curiosity. The Cains are always willing to engage those conversations, but make it a priority not to push their beliefs on any of the students.

Instead, the Cains have committed to showing love and kindness in hopes that the students will want to know more. “They often will ask us why we do this, and we'll just say, ‘God has blessed us and we want to pay it forward to you.’ If the conversation goes deeper from there, we take it deeper, but we try not to push at all that point. We just want them to feel the love of Jesus.”

“Our approach is to respectfully come alongside their culture,” Michael said. “I spend a lot of time with . . . students … I try to be very culturally sensitive and I don't ever criticize their culture or their religion. I just present that Jesus has changed my life radically.”

Sending westerners to other countries can be a loaded subject. In 2018, the death of John Allen Chau, a U.S. citizen, made headlines. Chau traveled to India where he attempted to share the gospel with the people of the isolated North Sentinel Island despite local laws. After being killed by natives, his journey sparked national debate on whether or not Missions are beneficial. No one who knew Chau would question the deep sincerity of his love for the people he sought to reach, but the debate isn’t new. For centuries people have argued about the impact sending westerners overseas has— both good and bad. Some countries frown upon American missionaries due to their association with colonialism. It is because of these familiar hesitations that the Cains are very careful how and when they present the gospel.

“I kind of hope that we are growing out of that colonial, superiority position,” Michael said. “The statistics say that the global south is going to carry the church in the next century ….”

The global south refers to South America, Africa, and other countries below the North-South global divide. As church planting in the U.S. shows a decline, there is rapid growth spreading in these southern countries. What works for western churches may not be what works for the communities and cultures in other countries.  This is one reason national Christians have a tremendous advantage in reaching their own and nearby peoples.

“I try not to assume that the American way is the best way,” Michael said. “It's interesting because students often come here and they're enamored by everything American. So it's hard for me not to say, ‘yeah, you know, aren't we great?’ They're here because they want to learn about our culture. We invite them to an American church because that is part of our culture.”

Helping international students see Christ-centered love is more important than getting them to accept the American approach to church. Cross-cultural ministry can be a way to build empathy and allow western churches to listen and learn more about the countries they are trying to reach.

“I read an article this morning that was saying we need to hear the voice, the voices of the global church before we can grow the global church,” he said. “I feel like listening is a very important process.”

By listening to international students, the students feel seen and heard. Trust is built, and those relationships lead to a memorable experience that the students will share back home.

“It begins with us being part of a student's life,” Michael said. “Someone coming from another culture when they're at their most vulnerable point. So we have the privilege of being that person who is there to help them and kind of shepherd them through those difficult first few hours and days that they're here … Some of these students return to their home culture and when they do, they're the influencers. They're the leaders in business and government … The exciting thing is they can take the gospel with them too.”

The call to serve international students coming to the U.S. is a high priority for Michael. For those feeling called to go overseas, he would encourage them to check to see if that calling is really to a particular place, or to something more.

“Especially to younger people who begin to feel called, that calling has to be to people not to places,” he said. “That's the core of what calling is— is Jesus' love for people.”