Being a volunteer is a hard job. You have to sacrifice your time and energy for things which are time consuming and never get paid for it. Even more so—from time to time you get to go to some boring training…
We do our best to equip volunteers for their work with International students. Of course, we cannot be ready for every situation. Every meeting with International students is a new learning experience not only for them, but also for those who teach them.
On the first Saturday in March, St. Paul’s Chapel organized a retreat for volunteers involved in International student ministry. Rev. Max Mons and ISM Director Leonarda Decker provided volunteers with information and means to help them feel more comfortable approaching international students and sharing the Gospel.
We set and reviewed goals for the ISM program, emphasizing that our ultimate aim is to spread the Gospel.
The work that we do is important at many levels. English Conversation classes improve
students’ English skills, which also positively affects their social life in the USA. As a Church we welcome to the Chapel’s community everyone who is looking for a familiar place, a second home, which is open for them and their families.
Guest speaker Gilsun Lim introduced volunteers to the Korean culture and talked about many ways in which it differs from American culture. It was fascinating to learn of things which are important in Oriental culture but are disregarded in the USA. This raised awareness among the volunteers to be aware of certain things that we might say and do with people from Korean culture—and with other International students. The volunteers then had a opportunity to ask questions about traditions in Korea and learn “first hand” instead of reading about it in books or on the Internet.
Also, the volunteers had the opportunity to listen to the ISM Director present on Oriental religions (Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism and others) and compare them to Christianity. The presentation helped the volunteers to see the differences: that all religions in the world are Law based, and only Christ offers the Gospel by fulfilling the Law for His people.
The last part of the training aimed at giving providing tips on how to share the Gospel with people who are not familiar with or know very little about Christianity. Pastor Mons introduced devotions and prayers which are easy to use and explained how to present them in the way that could reflect the essence of Christian teaching. He also shared a list of recommended literature which will help volunteers to prepare for devotions and Bible lessons with the international students.
The retreat ended with a potluck which crowned the long morning. It might be true that training is not always fun, but the knowledge gained was priceless.
It is amazing to see the willingness with which the ISM volunteers ask questions and wish to learn more. Training cannot increase the faith in our students, but certainly can improve our knowledge about good news. Spreading the Gospel is not only about sharing something what we know, but it is an opportunity to tell people about God’s love which leads us from death to life. Faith is the question of life and death. The answer is Jesus Christ. His love is the motivation which drives our volunteers and the foundation which our ministry stands on.
