Peer Ministry to Internationals

Purpose:

To welcome international students into the Christian community, to be a friend to them and to assist them in their spiritual quest or development.

Basic Activity:

Contact international students by phone, through a personal visit, during a special event and invite them to discuss themselves, their land, culture and religion in a private one-to-one setting.

Staff & Cost:

One persons working 5–10 hours a week.. Students must be upper division (juniors and seniors) or graduate students. Applicants will be screened and interviewed by the campus pastor (others may participate in interviewing).

Guidelines to Peer Ministry

I. Resources for Contact

A. International Student Affairs Office
B. Campus Pastor
C. Other international students
D. Events hosted by international students

Once you receive the names of international students, make an index card and on the top left corner write down the student's name, address, and phone number. In the top right corner put your name. This is your student. Put the index card in the International Ministry file box and come back to each card after each visit or phone call with that students. Make any important notes on the card.

II. Phoning

A. Before you begin, pray.
B. Before you begin, have a calendar in front of you.
C. If they are in . . .
1. Identify yourself as a student. “My name is . . .”
2. “I'm working with Lutheran Chapel here on campus.”
3. “I'd like to get acquainted with you, to learn about you and your country, and your religion, and to tell you about me and my country and my religion. Maybe I can be of help to you. Can I meet you sometime this week?”
4. If the person is busy, ask “What about next week?”
5. If the person is willing to meet, give him/her the option of his/her room, the Student Union, or the lounge at Campus Center.
6. Once that is established, arrange a mutual day and time to get together.
7. If the student chooses your campus center, you may have to give directions.
D. If he/she is busy or no one answers, try again after you have completed other calls.
E. If the person is not at home but you reach a roommate, leave your first name and phone number and ask if he/she would return the call.
F. As a rule, international students are very studious. The best time to call is in the afternoon or evenings. The best time for a visit is usually the weekend.

III. The Visit
A. Take a few moments beforehand for prayer. Ask God to be with you and to let you see Him in the people you meet.
B. If the visit is at your campus center, find a place that is not busy and where you can be alone—the lounge, library, office, classroom, or kitchen. Do not use the chapel—at least for the first visit. If the visit is in the person's room and the roommate or other people are there, ask “Do you mind if we go to the lounge or somewhere where it is quiet and private so we can talk?” Do this not only for you, but especially for him/her. Use the opportunity to get to know the roommate before having a private visit with the person you came to visit.
C. Greet the person you came to visit. Be sure to repeat who you are and carefully listen to how he pronounces his name. Work with the pronunciation until you have reasonably mastered it. In greeting the person you may want to shake hands. Be at ease yourself and put your visitor at ease. The main purpose for your visit is to provide an atmosphere where the person can talk freely to you about himself, his family, his religion, and his needs and to inform the person of the opportunities that Lutheran Chapel has for him (especially if he is a Christian) and to analyze from the conversation what the chapel can do to continue to befriend this person. Extend to the person a personal invitation to worship, Bible study and other activities.
D. Questions to ask a person to help him/her open up and share.
E. (See attached form—International Survey) Note: if you want the person to share his/her life with you, you must be open to share your faith and life with him/her.
F. f the response to the visit, and especially if the survey warrants it, you might want to give the person a Bible or New Testament in his/her own language. Tell the student where to read in order to find out about Jesus Christ. You might also want to read through a tract about basic Christianity with the student.
G. When your visit is over, offer a personal invitation to worship with you if you have not done this already. If you are at the campus center, introduce him/her to the pastor, the secretary and any student who is in the building. In your introductions refer to the international student as your "friend." As you say your goodbyes, tell him/her you hope to seem them again soon and wish him/her well in their studies.
H. After the visit, spend 15-minutes or so in quiet reflection. Write a brief summary of the conversation in a journal (i.e., how you felt, what the attitudes were, etc.). Try your utmost to write in your journal as soon after the visit as possible while the answers and observations are fresh in your mind. You may wish to write some good words that apply to international ministry. If you have any good ideas for the program, write them in a journal also.
I. Remember to keep those whom you visit in your prayers. Do the follow-up paperwork.
1. On the back of the index card in the International Ministry file, write down the date you visited the student.
2. Check the student file cards in the secretary's office to see if there is information you can provide. Under "other comments" put down the date you visited the person and your initials. Entry would look like this: Visit, 4/46/94 REL. Put information you want to add or information for a student not in the file on a piece of paper for the secretary to add to the list.
3. Write your visit on the International Ministry weekly report sheet.

IV. Attend International Events

A. Obtain a schedule of events sponsored by the international students and arrange to attend at least two international events each month.

B. Be a learner at the international events. Absorb as much as you can of the culture and the people to understand the international students.

C. Make yourself known to the international students at these events. They are the hosts, and thank them for sponsoring the event. Tell them who you are, use the opportunity to set up an appointment for a visit in which you can exchange information and ideas at a deeper level.

D. Record in your journal immediately after the event the impressions you had, the important things you learned, the contacts you made, and whatever other observations you might have.

E. Write your participation in the event on the "International Ministry Weekly Report."

V. Student Volunteers

Enlist and supervise the help of student volunteers as opportunities for expanded ministry arise.

VI. Keep a Time Sheet on All You Do

A. Phoning
B. Visits
C. Writing in your journal and other paper work
D. Attending international events
E. Reading
F. Training