Stuart Aitken, is our guest blogger this week and he shares with us from his first few days working for Transformations Leeds and what surprised him about international student ministry.
I didn’t know what International Student Ministry would be like. So, on my first day working for Transformations Leeds, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I was meant to help the Christian Union with their 2019 ‘Welcome Week Café. But would this be like the times I had doors slammed in my face when doing cold contact evangelism in Poole? Would these students even be interested?
I taught Pastors in Ecuador for 10 years, so was used to working cross culturally, but that was different. It was working with Christians, many of whom were poor, and some that were illiterate. International students at the University of Leeds felt like it would mostly be people of other faiths, many who would be rich, and all highly educated.
As I started to meet international students, that day, many of my assumptions and biases began to unravel. I’d like to walk you through some of this so you can learn alongside me exactly, ‘What surprised me about international student ministry’.
First of all, I was shocked by how many international students there were! When I was at University, I didn't really think about international students and I don’t recall there being that many! However, as I walked from the Transformations Leeds office to the University of Leeds campus, I was stunned by the number of international students walking past me. Later, I discovered there were over 12,000 international students at the universities in Leeds, from over 140 different countries. Incredible!
My next observation was how open the international students were to speaking with Christians. Instead of rough refusals, similar to those doors being slammed in my face, many warmly accepted our invitation to the pop up café. Soon we had a queue of students waiting for drinks and many more chatting with the volunteers at the tables. Making conversation was so much easier than I thought it would be! The international students were incredibly polite, many wanted to practice their English, and even more were keen to learn everything about the local culture.
I also realised that the international students who come to the UK universities tend to be a specific sort. Many will return to positions of importance and influence in their country. Just to be here means they're either wealthy enough to afford it or accomplished enough to have been given a scholarship. In fact, I learned that one of the pervious students who came to our social events was a Japanese Princess! And other international students had routinely gone on to become important politicians in their home countries after graduating.
Seeing how "open" to Christianity many students were who had come from what are considered "closed" countries was a big surprise. These students knew that their government had prohibited the practice of Christianity and persecuted Christians and yet these students were undeterred. The fact that they still wanted to know what Christianity was about in spite of the potential backlash was amazing!
Finally, I was surprised at how international student ministry helped me discover new things about myself. I realised that I’d had massive cultural stereotypes regarding Asian students; assuming that their cultures were more or less the same. However I discovered that was wildly off base. For instance, many Chinese students like spicy food whilst Japanese often don’t. Most Chinese students adopt a western name, whilst this is almost never the case with other Asian students. I also discovered just how individualistic I am in comparison to students from collectivist cultures. They weren't thinking, “Will I go to the meeting?” but rather, “Will *we* go to the meeting?” This meant we either got very large, or very small, numbers of students along to our events!
On reflection, I realise that we have an amazing opportunity right here in Leeds, today. I truly loved being a missionary in another country. But the idea that you have to go abroad, learn a language, and a whole new culture in order to share the gospel with the nations of the world is no longer true. If it ever was at all.
In Leeds I have the opportunity to meet with students from all over the world. From closed and open countries, people of power and influence, and I don't even need to travel to another country to do it! These international students genuinely want to talk to me, to share their culture with me, and to learn about what's important to me and my culture. This makes it natural and effortless to share, in word and deed, about Jesus with them. If you’re a Christian in Leeds, I'd challenge to experience international student ministry for yourself. Volunteer for an event and, if you like it, there's plenty of room to get involved long term!
To get involved in welcoming international students to Leeds this autumn just email phil.thomas@transformationsleeds.org.uk
