Empowering International Students from the Majority World to Thrive in the Global North as Missions Help in Global Missions.
Ten years ago, I moved to Seattle, WA, to pioneer an intercultural campus ministry where locals and international students are integrated into one local campus ministry. The LORD blessed our ministry with international students from different parts of the world, like Japan, Hongkong, Myanmar, South Korea, Indonesia, and China where they heard the gospel and became followers of Christ through our Every Nation Campus Ministry.
However, over the years, I witnessed a paradigm shift among our international students, where I met Tikhala, Loretta, Irene, Jessica, and this year, Dabeluchukwu. They are all Christians from their home country and they all came from one continent, Africa.
Loretta from Ghana (2016), Irene from Nigeria (2018), Tikhala from Malawi (2019), Jessica from Madagascar (2018), and Dabel from Nigeria (2022)
God has blessed us with many international student ministries that saw international students coming into America as missions at our doorstep, especially after WWII. Jack Burke published a book in 2019 on Why International Students are so Strategic to Global Missions.
What more can be done?
In my dissertation, "From the Philippines to the Global North," I quoted Jenkins, who wrote about the global shift in the centrality of Christianity.
"Over the last century, however, the center of gravity in the Christian world has shifted inexorably away from Europe, southward, to Africa and Latin America, and eastward toward Asia. Today, those regions occupy the largest Christian communities on the planet."
(Jenkins 2011, 1).
One of the most outstanding scholars of world Christianity and missiology, Andrew Walls, made this statement: In the past half-century, the theological map of the world has been transformed. We have seen the Christian populations of Africa, Asia Pacific and Latin America significantly outnumbering the combined Christian populations of Europe and North America; and patterns of growth and decline that make it possible that in the foreseeable future two-thirds of the world’s Christians could belong to the southern and eastern continents. Andrew Walls: An exciting period in Christian history | Faith and Leadership
Gordon-Conwell’s Center for the Study of Global Christianity states that nearly half of the world’s top missionary-sending countries are now located in the global south The World’s Top Missionary-Sending Country Will Surprise You | CT Pastors | Christianity Today , because of this trend, many of them will pursue theological education. The United States has a record of “nearly 300 world leaders, current and former, who chose US institutions, a trend that analysts say reinforced the nation’s status as the global leader in higher education.”World Leaders Study in the United States | Study in the States (dhs.gov)
Interestingly enough, "The top three countries of origin of international students
are China, India, and South Korea. All these three countries currently belong to the
largest Christian communities globally, as stated by Jenkins. South Korea is one of the
largest missionary-sending countries to date. China’s underground Christian churches and
house churches are continuously multiplying. The Philippines, which is also part of the
10/40 window, is believed to take the place of the fourth largest Christian community on
the planet by 2050.
We are not just looking at ministering to international students as an
opportunity to reach those who belong to the unevangelized, but they are coming in as
missionaries and church planters in the global north, a perfect example of glocalized
missions. We are indeed experiencing a reverse mission that is polycentric and multidirectional."
(Martin "From the Philippines to the Global North," Doctorate diss 2022, 25).
"Africa is the most Christian continent in the world today. Hallelujah! In the year 2018, for the first time in history, there were more Christians in Africa than on any other continent in the entire world! The continent now has well over 630 million Christ-followers. It gets even more impressive: By 2050 there will likely be more Christians in Africa (1.25 billion) than in Latin America (705 million) and Europe (490 million) combined.
What shall we say to these things?"
(Perbi & Ngugi 2022, 27).
Since the launch of the book Africa to the Rest #A2R, God has been awakening visions, dreams, and passions among the African community to be involved in some ways either through prayer, youth empowerment, or church involvement.
The recent survey (116 respondents from 17 African countries) conducted by Kwiverr, on the Missiological Preparedness of International Students, presented us with these fateful and pivotal accounts: check the results on the left.
"How does the continent with the most Christians (by far) contribute so little to the global missionary enterprise in terms of even projected vocational missionaries? We worry about the quantity and quality of Africa to the Rest"(Perbi and Ngugi 2022, 119).
Our Partnership
A local church in Ghana is stepping up to equip their international students before they leave home. THEIR PETITION? Give us a course SO THAT we can envision and equip, train and empower our African international students to become a blessing to the Global North (or wherever God sends them) while serving as students.
And this is where I ask for YOUR partnership.
Now comes another opportunity as a part-time Senior Research Fellow with Kwiverr, Dr. Ria Llanto Martin, created this course that will equip churches in the majority world to train their international students before leaving home, equipping them to thrive for global missions.
A unique training module that is written from the lens of the majority world, who migrated to the global north.
These are the proposed courses for local churches to equip their international students
Released NOW!
email engage@kwiverr.org for questions and concerns.
Phase 1.
Understanding diaspora missiology and the polycentric nature of Jesus' ministry.
Phase 2.
Intercultural challenges in evangelism and discipleship to the global north.
Phase 3.
Missio Dei and Imago Dei
HOW CAN I PARTICIPATE?
Partner with other churches on how we can empower internationals students.
Although all courses will be available for FREE, to any church that would like to equip and empower their outgoing international students. In the futureI hope to visit the churches and collaborate with them to make these projects more meaningful and efficient.
To fund this project, please click the appropriate link: Monthly (for a year) or one-time special gifts are welcome.
US-based: The Friends of Great Commission.
Canada-based: The Great Commission Canada
Use the drop-down menu, Designation: Dr. Ria Llanto Martin
All Gifts are tax deductible. When you give, you will have a special access to the module and see it's progress.