God's Heart for the Nations: International Student Ministry

Did you know that there are over 1,000 international students from more than 80 countries on the Clemson campus?  Did you know that a majority of these students come from countries antagonistic towards Christianity like China and India?

One of our goals as a church is to have every person who attends Crosspoint embracing a DNA of the Great Commission locally and abroad.  It is incredibly strategic to seek to reach international students while they are right here, in our own backyard!  "Why is it strategic?," you may ask.  I'll give you a few compelling reasons why,

1. About 750,000 international students come to the U.S. each year and currently less then 10% are reached by the Church in any manner.
2. Students are from the highest socio-economic class in their nations.  They are the future leaders in government, education, business, and military.
3. In India, 99% of the mission effort is among the bottom 50% of the population.  We can reach the top 5-10% of the Indian population right here, in Clemson, South Carolina!
4. From Genesis to Revelation, God's Word commands us to bring the gospel to all nations (Genesis 12:1-3; Isaiah 49:6; Jonah 4:11; Matt 24:14, 28:18-20; Acts 1:8; Revelation 7:9).  Taken from Genesis to Revelation: God's Heart for the World.

I am excited to share with you that Crosspoint Church has begun a ministry this year to reach international students on our campus!  God has already been working in many incredible ways.  Through cookouts, hiking, meals in homes, women's times, and many other events, relationships have begun to be formed!  Ultimately, we desire to have events not just to have more events, but to build relationships with these precious students. Through these relationships, we are praying as a church that the gospel will be shared and disciples will be made!  It is an incredible opportunity for these students come to know Christ, grow in a local church, and be sent back to their home countries to make more disciples!  Please join us in praying for international students on our campus.

Some Indian friends hiking in the Smoky Mountains!

A few girls cooking at our first International Women's Time

A few Crosspoint members at a "Welcome Party" for international students at the beginning of the year

Swing in the Spring

This past Friday night our college students planned and organized a swing dance social to welcome students back for the spring semester. They did an incredible job, and the night was such a success! There were around 200 students that showed up and most of them were new to Crosspoint! It was a great opportunity to expose them to our church building, tell them about our small groups and upcoming events, and show them the love of Christ. Here are a few pictures from the night:

Nathan, our expert swing instructor, teaching everyone how to dance.

Students Molly and Grayson showing off their moves.

Everyone dancing.

Line dancin' - look how many people and this is only 1/3 of the room!

Student Appreciation Day

Last Sunday, Crosspoint celebrated with all of our wonderful college students. We recognized those who were graduating and doing missions over Christmas break. To show our appreciation, we handed out exam packets (goody bags filled with treats, coupons, and scantrons!) and had a big party for them. Several of the families here at Crosspoint chipped in to serve up hamburgers, sides, and lots of dessert! Over 200 people showed up and everyone had a great time.

We got several encouraging emails from students after the party. Here is one that particularly touched us.

Hey Pastor Ken!

I just wanted to write you guys (the staff) an email to tell you how thankful I am for Crosspoint. My roommate and I just got back from the Christmas party (we had to leave a little early to get some more study time in) and on the way home all we talked about was how great our church was.

We both joined Crosspoint at the end of last year and were excited to get to work with Matt and the youth. Both of us come from churches with no real college ministries but strong youth ministries, and we were (and still are) excited about pouring our lives into youth. We didn't realize how great being a part of a college ministry would be.

I left tonight feeling incredibly loved and a part of the body of Christ. Not only did I leave with a full tummy, free scantrons, and an exam packet - I left incredibly impressed by the grace and generosity of the adults and staff at Crosspoint. There's something about walking into a fellowship hall and seeing adults take time out of their busy schedules to cook us dinner and bring food - to see them give generously of their time and effort - and it's inspiring. There's also something to be said for providing free blue books, scantrons, and exam packets for us. It would be so easy, especially in the economy of today, to just not care about something seemingly insignificant like a scantron. I had no idea how much a free scantron can impact someone.

I just wanted to let you guys know that since I've joined Crosspoint I have learned so much about the body of Christ and about community. Each Sunday and Wednesday night I leave church or the youth loving it more. I don't leave loving it more because you guys feed us, or because you give us free stuff - I leave loving it more because Crosspoint is a place I can plug in, receive wisdom AND pour my life out.

Thank you for being generous and gracious to us; for giving us a place to call home when we're away from ours.

Our First Post!

Hello friends!

This is the first post on the new weblog for Generation LINK. Our intent with this blog is to share stories from our various fields of ministry and keep our friends, families, and supporters updated on what the life of Generation LINK staff is like.

God bless!

-Jon