Testimony of an ISM chapter planter - Ministry Exchange (MX)

Testimony of an ISM chapter planter
By Yii-Shyun Lin, former ISM area director for the Greater Los Angeles
Division

Having planted an international chapter at UCLA and coached two other
international chapter plants in the Los Angeles area, I read the Chapter
Planting Manual with a great deal of appreciation for the wisdom contained
within. I wish it had been available when I was dreaming with God about new
worshiping communities of international students! There are, however, a few
key ways in which planting an international student chapter differs from
other forms of chapter planting. These differences change how a chapter
planter approaches an international chapter plant. Here are a few thoughts
within the framework of the planting manual.

Non-Christian involvement
By and large, ISM chapter planting follows the four stages described in the
manual. However, the boundaries between “chapter launch” and “mission
launch” are a little blurry. You will find that a much higher percentage of
non-Christians will be involved in your chapter plant from the very
beginning. Your core may be 50 percent or more non-Christian! Your most
enthusiastic inviter may be someone who has yet to become a follower of
Jesus. I’ll never forget the welcome party we threw the first week of
school for international students to launch our chapter at UCLA. A Chinese
scholar, who arrived in the States the week before, helped us set up and
joined us in prayer afterwards. It was his first-ever prayer experience.

International students may have a natural affinity for one another,
especially by country groups, but need to be encouraged to expand beyond
the horizons of their country or language groups and also to realize the
spiritual nature and foundations of the group. Otherwise, your chapter can
easily turn into just an “international club.” Non-Christians need to be
reminded that the focus of this group is to seek God, and the Christian
students need to be inspired by and equipped for the vision of the chapter.
The communication of vision takes on even more importance in planting
international student chapters.

Rapid transitions
Although some international students are at your campus for four years of
undergraduate education or longer for a PhD, many are there as exchange
students, English language-learners or masters-level students who are on
campus for a much shorter-term. This affects how you plan for the
development of a group. It is important to invest in these short-term
students, but the stability of the group will be compromised unless there
are a few students who will be present for more than six months. Seek out
and intentionally develop these students. The planter must be prepared not
to see the fruit of his or her ministry-the person who “harvests” three
years later may be in another country or state. The planter must also be
ready to “re-plant” and major on the basics at regular intervals. The
timeline for this kind of ministry is more similar to that of work on
community colleges than it is to work at four-year schools.

Cultural complexity
After almost every encounter during the first months of working with
international students, I would develop a headache. I never get headaches
normally, and I don’t even own any pain relief medication! I later realized
that the strain of being cross-cultural to so many different kinds of
people was affecting me physically. As one ISM staff put it, “You might
have a meeting with an African student after prayer with a Japanese
student, before doing a GIG with a group of Indian students.” Each group
requires a different set of lenses and communication skills. The chapter
planter must be prepared to deal with great levels of cultural complexity.
It pays to become culturally savvy in at least the top two or three
cultures of your target population. Additionally, the international student
population ranges from 18 year-old freshmen to the 35 year-old scholar, and
your ministry may also include students’ spouses and families. A wise
chapter planter will be flexible to shift his or her strategy depending on
the doors God opens. For example, some of our best discipleship and
outreach opportunities were with spouses of students, something we never
anticipated beforehand.

Vision
Vision needs to be nuanced for and communicated to multiple target
audiences at each stage of chapter planting-to area and regional staff,
potential staff partners, donors, church volunteers, American students in
an existing chapter, the university’s administration or international
student office and, of course, to the international students themselves.
Vision may also need to be communicated more frequently due to the rapid
transition of international students.

Outreach
Easy-invite events for internationals will almost always involve food
and/or getting off campus to explore the city. Think in terms of meeting
practical needs as well: airport pickups, trips to Target and grocery
stores, etc. Other successful events have included joining or throwing
cultural holiday events (such as Chinese New Year). Many schools have an
orientation just for international students in which you and others on your
team may become involved. There are also certain dorms and apartment
complexes toward which international students are drawn. Consider becoming
a permanent feature there or asking students or volunteers to move there.

Gathering and building
Develop a rhythm of outreach by planning for several key periods of sowing
and reaping. International students are looking to plug in all year-not
just in the fall. International chapters usually do not suffer from a lack
of visitors but rather a lack of retention. Develop a workable follow-up
plan that involves your core. Holidays such as Thanksgiving, Christmas, and
Easter are good front doors to your fellowship, naturally lending
themselves to meaningful encounters and spiritual conversations. It is also
important to plan opportunities for commitment to the community, to
spiritual growth and to Christ at regular intervals during the year. Never
underestimate the catalytic power of overnight retreats and conferences.

Student leadership
Expectations for leaders may vary depending on the availability of the
international student. A married PhD student will have much less time to be
involved than a single undergraduate student. However, I cannot emphasize
too strongly the importance of involving students right away in the
responsibilities of the chapter in order to build ownership and to relieve
the burden on the chapter planter. An alternate scenario is that the
chapter planter becomes too dependent on American students or church
volunteers in the group, and the result will be low ownership by the
international students. Even non-Christians can easily set up chairs,
reserve rooms or pass out Bibles without stepping into positions of
spiritual authority over others.

Mistakes I’ve made

1. Trying to do it all myself-not delegating to volunteers and students and not taking initiative with supervisors and mentors. 2. Discounting the contributions international students can make even in a relatively short amount of time. Some of our best leaders were only in the U.S. for a year. 3. Underestimating the pressures on international students-culture shock, academic stress, parental expectations and newness of the Christian faith-when inviting students into positions of responsibility and spiritual leadership. 4. Underestimating the emotional and structural toll of constant student transition-this affects both the planter and the students “left behind.” 5. Underestimating the logistical demands of planting and running an ISM chapter, including tasks such as organizing weekly dinners for the whole chapter.