WHERE WE GOING IN THE NEXT 5 YEARS?

Tom: How do you envision Asian-American/International student campus ministry in the next 5 years? 25 years? (challenges, praises, etc.)

Jean: Deep question, Tom! There’s actually quite a bit that I can espouse here, but I will choose one word that summarizes it: Complex. More and more we’re seeing on the field that students are coming out of complicated home-life (with divorce on the rise all across the board, AAs and Internationals are no longer the exception.) Of the 31 students at our summer urban mission project 6 of them had parents undergoing a divorce through this summer and that doesn’t count the ones who already come out of divorced homes.
Additionally, our country is becoming more and more globalized. Asian-American ministry now sees a growing number Indonesians, Hmong, Malaysians, Philippinos whereas before it mainly consisted of Chinese, Korean and Japanese. Add to the mix students who are Asian adoptees.

And in the midst of all this complexity, the desire to connect is an incredible felt perhaps more so now than ever. (This explains the rise of online social networking.) And with the popularity of these new mediums (texting, tweeting, and facebook) many students may feel “connected” because on the surface they are, but as we probe deeper, we are seeing that many students still experience a deep sense of feeling unloved and forgotten. Which is why meeting Jesus is such a much needed and profound experience. I suspect that in the next 5 years we as staff need to get more savvy in communicating these deep truths through these medium (text/facebook) that are designed for surface level connection.

In the next 25 years? I can’t know. But I wonder if Americans will start meeting Jesus through refugees, immigrants, and missionaries from other countries coming here. As we slip into our sleepy comfort here in America, it may take someone from a different world to really speak into our hearts.

REFLECTIONS ON MINISTRY

Tom: What do you miss most about on-campus ministry?

Jean: I miss helping students grow from freshman to senior year on a day to day basis. So much can change in these four crucial years. However, in my current role I am able to still engage students on a broader level. A couple of weeks ago, I not only got to see the staff that I work with challenging their students and leading them to faith, I was one of the conference speakers at the Iowa Fall Conference. I spoke on Lordship in all avenues of faith. Students afterwards responded by writing down areas of their life that they wanted to give over to God and praying for God to help them. Some memorable examples were: “Help me forgive my father.” “I want to love my professors better.” “Help me with lust.” “I want to invest in the city.” “I want to know you have a plan for my life.”


Tom: What do you like most about your new responsibilities?

Jean: Probably the most compelling thing about my new responsibilities is being a part of our Region’s vision. We have set the ambitious goal of reaching 50 chapters and planting 1 overseas movement by 2020. Currently we are only at 22 campuses. All the unplanted overseas countries are in semi-intense unreached nations like N. Korea or Iran. Imagine in just 10 years having wide impact in the Midwest and even abroad. I’m privileged to contribute to this global vision through my passion—leadership development. 1/3 of my current role is training and empowering staff/volunteers (for example, I worked with a WashU faculty-volunteer to develop a speaking training for our staff this past summer). 2/3 of my time is helping staff to strategize and work through character issues in fund development. 100% of my work contributes to growing our capacity to touch students’ lives. God is sharpening my skills in teaching, training, speaking, and supervising. It hasn’t all been easy, but I feel like I’m a part of something bigger, grander, and exciting. I suppose this is the joy of saying yes to God’s colossal story.

CRIS’ CORNER

Tom: what has God been showing/teaching you on a personal level lately?

Jean: Cris has a great story to tell on our recent work with the International Student group on WashU’s campus. I’ll let him have the mic.

Cris: I paused to catch my breath. Looking up, I saw there was one more floor to go before we’d be done with the monstrous couch that was causing us so much trouble. Sweat dripped off my forehead and I reflected on why I’d said yes to helping with the International Friends Annual Furniture Giveaway.

Each year, the International Friends student ministry organizes a free furniture giveaway, in which International students are able to gather some of the basic amenities for student life: desks, beds, book shelves, old television sets, etc. We then help the students move that furniture to their apartments. This is what brought me to the tired, sweaty state I found myself in: a couch on my back and an impossibly tight staircase to navigate.

This was a completely worthwhile use of my energy. The furniture giveaway served to connect a tremendous number of students with both InterVarsity Staff and existing Christian students. It served as a practical expression of love that enticed the students to find out more about the fellowship. It opened doors to relationships that would have otherwise never been possible.

So my efforts were more than just exercise. I felt as if I was entering briefly into what Jesus was doing in this community of students and seeing the doors being opened by this practical expression of love. What a great way to spend a Saturday.