Keith Inman

As I have shared here before, one of the powerful ways that Kentucky Baptists are reaching the world for Christ is through the international missions work of Baptist Campus Ministry. Each year, thousands of students from countries around the world come to U.S. colleges to receive the benefits of American higher education. Many will be returning home to take on leadership positions in business and government. Their presence on our campuses gives us a wonderful opportunity to minister and share the Gospel at a time in their lives when they are open to listening to and considering new ideas.

In this guest post, Keith Inman, collegiate and young adult ministries director for the Kentucky Baptist Convention, shares about how this important ministry of Kentucky Baptists:

The World is Coming to Kentucky’s College Campuses

Every week it seems as if I hear of another international student coming to faith in Christ through our Baptist Campus Ministry on our university campuses. There is a reason for this news.

Ten years ago, Tommy Johnson, currently our campus minister at Western Kentucky University, shared a dream of reaping the harvest that God was bringing here to our state from countries all over the world. The Cooperative Program and Eliza Broadus Missions Offering make this possible. I am so grateful to Dr. Bill Mackey and Joy Bolton for supporting a vibrant international ministry on the campuses.

Currently, we now have committed semester missionaries on various campuses specifically for the purpose of international ministry. Under the influence of Riley Byers, a former International Mission Board Journeyman and Southern Baptist Theological Seminary graduate, the KBC Collegiate and Young Adult Ministry Department, in partnership with students from SBTS, has one of the best international ministries in SBC collegiate ministry. A committed base of lay ministers provides a support that makes our efforts so much easier and effective.

According to statistics gathered by the North American Mission Board, more than 623,000 international students are studying in the United States today. Below is a brief snapshot of who is coming to our country to study on our campuses:

International Students in the U.S.

These statistics are from The Institute of International Education which publishes Open Doors, Fast Facts.

Top 20 countries of origin for international students 2006-2007, 2007-2008.

1. India (over 94000)

2. China (81,000)

3. South Korea (69,000)

4. Japan (almost 34,000)

5. Canada (29,000)

6. Taiwan (29,000)

7. Mexico (almost 15,000)

8. Turkey (12,000)

9. Saudi Arabia (almost 10,000)

10. Nepal (9,000)

11. Thailand (9,000)

12. Germany (9,000)

13. Vietnam (9,000)

14. United Kingdom (8,000)

15. Hong Kong (8,000)

16. Indonesia (7,700)

17. Brazil (7,500)

18. France (7,000)

19. Columbia (6,600)

20. Nigeria (just over 6,000)

These countries contain some of the least reached people groups. Just the top 5 countries send 49% of all international students, with 15% from India, 13% from China, 11% from South Korea, and 5.5% from Japan.

The number of students from India increased by 13%; the number from China increased by 20%. Increases South Korea were 11%, Saudi Arabia 25%, Nepal 15%, and from Vietnam 45%.

According to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Web site, Kentucky has between 2,000 and 4,999 students currently studying on our university campuses. The Baptist Campus Ministry is the most consistent witness to Christ of any ministry in our state.

Recently, I received this e-mail from Brian Combs, our campus minister at Northern Kentucky University which is indicative of the intentional effort to reach these international students.

“We (NKUBCM) are meeting with Dr. J.D. Payne, director of the Church Planting Center at SBTS to develop a strategy of reaching international students for Christ and discipling/training them to be prepared to start a contextualized church at home when they return.  The thinking is that we have so many students coming to the US from countries of unreached people and if we can reach those students while they are here and send them back prepared to share the Gospel, we will be able to continue to make a difference for Christ around the world.  fyi…JD and I grew up together in Corbin, went to UK together…  He’s a great guy that is seeking to follow what the Lord has laid on his heart and I look forward to partnering with him and seeing what God has in store.”

The command to “go” is obviously intended to extend to the “uttermost parts of the world.” In the 21^st Century, the “uttermost” is coming to our back door! This is creating an interesting dynamic: students going overseas on mission are coming back with an awareness that these same people groups are studying with them on their campus. Furthermore, as these Christian students “recruit” others in our effort to be intentional in building relationships with our foreign friends, students find a new desire to go overseas.

International students in the university culture are very open to hearing the Gospel because our students genuinely befriend them and help make life easier as they adjust to a new country. The Gospel is presented, the message is shared, and the presence of Christ is manifested in love. New brothers and sisters are born into the family of God because of a Great Commandment and a Great Commission intersecting in friendship with peoples from around the world.