Every year hundreds of international students from all over the world graduate from Portland State University (PSU) not only prepared for a career in their field but often with an understanding of the Christian faith that would be unlikely in their home country. FOCUS (Friends of Overseas Citizens and University Students) is part of InterVarsity’s ministry at PSU, working closely with campus officials, five other campus ministries, and local churches to make sure that internationals feel welcomed and have the opportunity to meet members of Portland’s Christian community.
A Ministry of Hospitality
FOCUS offers free airport pickups for newly arriving international students and scholars plus home stays for those who need a place until they secure housing as well as those who want to learn more about American culture. English language classes, and spring workshops to provide tax form assistance are also offered. More than 100 members of Portland’s Christian community, from more than 40 churches, are involved in providing these services.
“The best outcome is seeing these students come to faith, being built up in their faith and trained as leaders, and then being sent out,” said Ron Riesinger, who lives in Portland and is Area Director for InterVarsity’s International Student Ministry (ISM). “They go anywhere in the world.”
Ron well remembers a young couple who came to PSU from Germany 15 years ago. “They were new Christians,” he recalled. “They were only here for one year but they committed themselves to ministry. We had a wonderful time together. The wife came to our International Coffee House every Friday night, ministering to non-Christians. We met every week for prayer and Bible study together. Today the husband is the Chancellor of the University of Tubingen.”
Dedicated to Student Ministry
Growing up in a retail family involved in the jewelry trade, Ron appreciates precision in small details. However his heart isn’t in jewelry. “I had seen what God had done in my life as a student at Oklahoma State University,” he said. “My experience with InterVarsity changed my life and took me a lot deeper in my faith than through the other campus groups I had experienced.”
In 1991, after serving on campus staff for six years, and then working in a jewelry store for another six years, he was ready to rejoin InterVarsity. A short-term mission trip to Ecuador through his church gave him a new focus. “That really whetted my appetite for international student ministry,” he said.
Some friends invited him to Portland, to climb Mt. Hood, and check out the employment situation. He spent the week discussing international student ministry with Oregon InterVarsity staff Fred Wagner and never got to the mountain. Ron ultimately accepted Fred’s job offer. He’s been in Portland ever since and now oversees ISM at seven campuses across the Northwest Region.
Keeping the Vision Strong
As a hotbed of liberalism, PSU is hostile to faith in many ways. But FOCUS has such a strong relationship with the campus that PSU officials often ask for additional assistance in dealing with international students. About ten years ago the university realized that students were having trouble filling out IRS tax forms. Fred recruited an accountant, Greg Steward, who eventually joined InterVarsity staff after volunteering for several years. “In the past few years hundreds of students at PSU have benefitted from Greg’s training sessions,” Ron said.
Lisa Espineli Chinn, InterVarsity’s ISM Director, credits Ron for making the Northwest InterVarsity’s most active ISM region. “Ron has been faithful in keeping the vision of ISM strong in the Northwest Region,” she said. “He has seen growth in the number of staff and is currently overseeing the planting of two new ISM chapters in the region.”
Ministry to international students at PSU predates InterVarsity’s arrival on campus. But today PSU is home to the largest International Student Ministry in the country.
Every year FOCUS has contact with 600-800 international students, about half of the international student population. Ron said ISM started to flourish when the campus Christian groups began to work together and got more of the community involved.
“It’s a very diverse group,” he said, with everyone from Pentecostal churches to Lutheran churches involved. “It’s a lovely expression of the community, a beautiful picture of God’s grace, and God’s mercy, and his eternal family.”
Ron keeps working to expand ISM to more campuses because its significance is undeniable. “These are the movers and shakers of society,” he said. “These are the top five percent from most of these countries. They are going to be the ones that remake their country.”
