I have never led a church with so many international students and immigrants. Because of them, BG has the opportunity to exalt the name of Christ in Central and South America, Asia, and Africa without leaving Ithaca. They worship and serve with us in countless ways, from translation to hospitality during bagel time and team building with BG Youth for last Spring’s mission to Ecuador.
We are enriched by their ministry.
But our international family members now face new challenges. Policy changes for asylum seekers raise fears of their being returned to persecution in home countries. The process for highly skilled internationals to get hired in the U.S. is more difficult. And the status of international students seems highly unpredictable.
Our international family members are here legally and are contributing to our community. Here are some ways we can encourage them in the midst of these uncertainties.
- Pray for their growth as Christians. They want the same maturity as other young believers to grow, as one wrote to me, in “balancing career success and building a family, growing in the Lord, not being lukewarm, and learning not to please people at the cost of genuine friendships.”
- Pray for “wisdom in knowing what job opportunities to pursue, which countries to consider after my PhD, and when would be the right time to travel to renew my visa.”
- Pray for peace and protection for their families. Another student told me, “Some of us who are here today are the result of those hardworking parents who sacrificed their lives, abandoning their home countries and taking on jobs nobody else wanted, to give their children a better life.”
- Pray for asylum seekers in particular, who are fleeing persecution for their faith and have found safe harbor at BG. They face highly complex legal processes and live with many fears.
- Ask our internationals how they are doing. Pray with them. I make it a habit to seek them out and check in. It means a great deal to them when we express care even though we cannot change much about their situation. One student wrote of BG, “I feel incredibly blessed by the grace of God to be here.” Another said, “Hugs don’t bother us!”
These are some ways to express the high value our brothers and sisters have to us and to the Lord. It is important that we do so during a season of severe challenges.