People from different countries often long for the most curious things from their home culture. Joel Saverymuthapulle, a student from Sri Lanka, says he misses Sri Lankan humor, which is “more insulting.” But at the International Coffee House at Portland State University, internationals somehow feel at home. Every Friday night, an average of 130 international students from 20 different countries as diverse as Italy, Ukraine and Pakistan attend the ministry. There were nearly 350 people at our most recent event!

The International Coffee House is sponsored by FOCUS (Friends for Overseas Citizens and University Students). The FOCUS ministry is a combined effort of four campus ministries, including InterVarsity. There are 11 staff and 60 associates involved in various programs serving international students.

One of the ministry’s strategies is to give international students leadership opportunities. For example, the four-member band that plays each week has students from China and Taiwan who play with two Americans. Korean, Indian and Japanese students are assigned to greet newcomers. A Polish student helps coordinate ski trips.

“International students think, ‘Oh, that’s cool, I have a part to play in the U.S.,’” Joel says. Many students aren’t allowed to work off campus because of their foreign citizenship. At the Coffee House, international students not only fit in, but are put in charge.

Another effective strategy is the use of volunteers. Volunteers serve internationals free homemade soup, bagels, dessert and coffee. They fill water pitchers, clean tables, wash dishes, vacuum the floors and stack chairs. And most importantly, they talk with students.

Though the chores become routine to many of the volunteers, their hard work doesn’t pass unnoticed. Andrea Uribe, a student from Columbia, said she appreciates how the staff members go out of their way to try to understand her. “The Christians (volunteers and leaders) try to open their hearts to international people,” she says. “They help them by talking to them. I don’t know why they do this.”

Ron Riesinger is the director of the International Coffee House and an IVCF staff member. He interviews potential volunteers personally before recruiting them. “We want people who are able to engage the students and listen to them, and who are able to share their faith in an open forum,” he said.

Another effective strategy is having a different topic of discussion each week. Groups of five to ten students are encouraged to discuss a set of questions related to issues such as friendship, love or marriage. The topics promote interpersonal communication, but also give volunteers opportunities to discuss Christianity. “Sometimes we have spiritual topics, like the life of Saint Patrick or Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and a spiritual conversation will come up,” a student volunteer says. “My approach is usually to ask people about their culture and what they think about American culture,” she says.

Ron Riesinger says this type of evangelism replicates Acts 17, when Paul freely discussed ideas at the marketplace. “I see the university as a marketplace of ideas, where people have the freedom to discuss, to learn, to grow, to change,” he says. “The coffee house is an open forum where we can talk about these ideas—and talk about truth.”

—Stephen Heckman is a journalism student at Multnomah Bible College. You can reach him at stephenheckman{AT}yahoo{DOT}com

For more information about the International Coffee House, see www.focuspsu.org, or contact FOCUS, East Hall 221, Portland State University, P.O. Box 75, Portland,OR. 97207.