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Category: Ministry Updates

Stay updated on how God is moving and opportunities to get involved!

  • IFI Virtual Banquet – 2021: Why Attend?

    “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked…”  Luke 12:48

    Why would you want to attend IFI’s “Making a World of Difference”, annual fundraising event? The top 5 reasons are below:

    1. God will be glorified and you will be blessed as you hear about His amazing work in and through the lives of international students from India, Sweden and China!
    2. You will be spurred on to greater service by the hospitality of an IFI host family who had different internationals students stay with them 3 different times during the pandemic.
    3. The funds raised at the event will help allow outreach events and activities for international students and scholars at Ohio State and expansion to reach students on other campuses. 
    4. You will be challenged to grow in generosity. Giving is an opportunity to be faithful stewards of what God has given us. As we are faithful with what God has entrusted us with, we will be given more.
    5. It is an easy way to involve others at your church, or in your circle, to reach the nations with you. More laborers are needed to reach every international–Come and invite friends!

    To request an invitation visit: https://columbus.ifipartners.org/events/2021-ifi-banquet/ 

  • Newsletter – April 2021: Together

    Making a World of Difference Together!

    “Whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these…”  Jn. 14:12 NIV

    Covid has changed many aspects of our ministry at IFI over the last year, yet with your help we have been able to serve students from over 100 countries.   See this map showing where the students were from:

    IFI started in Columbus 42 years ago in 1979 on the OSU campus with 3 staff members.  Over the last 8 years, we have expanded to over 125 staff with locations on over 30 campuses in 10 states.  The Columbus team has expanded to around 35, with an additional 6 key volunteers leading ministry to Muslims, International Wives and Moms.  

    With all these physical changes and growth, our mission remains the same:

    On April 24, we will gather virtually for our 15th annual banquet and hear a ministry report.  We are sorry that COVID again prevents us from gathering in person for a banquet.  This year we are providing an interactive virtual table platform that is very easy to use and will give you the ability to interact with people at your table, as well as see the main presentation from the virtual stage!

    This is our 15th banquet, and it provides about a third of our year’s funding needed to continue reaching International students here in Columbus, so please join us for an inspiring ministry update and to join IFI’s ministry financially!

    —Phil (IFI Columbus Area Director)

  • Pray, Serve, Give! (Mar 2021)

    PRAY

    • Pray for 3-5 new campus ministry staff in Columbus and for the other open positions: https://www.ifipartners.org/careers#open
    • 2021 Online Annual Fundraising Event on April 24th- wisdom for the the planning committee, for many to attend, and for the needed funds to be raised.
    • Ask for good relations and favor with the administration of the campuses where IFI serves.
    • Praise God for the 140+ volunteers and students who meet weekly as virtual and in-person conversation partners! Please pray for a bond of trust and friendship to develop, and for natural conversations about spiritual topics.
    • Praise God for the 19 internationals who have come to Christ since early 2020! Please pray they would have an opportunity to be discipled and grow in their faith.
    • Pray staff connect with more students as COVID vaccine is spread and there are more in-person opportunities

    SERVE

    • Attend and invite friends to IFI’s 2021 Virtual (online) Fundraising Event: Making a World of Difference on Saturday, April 24th at 7pm.  It will be an inspiring, fun, and interactive experience. For more info visit: ifipartners.org/worldofdifference .
    • Share the true meaning of Easter with a few internationals by inviting them to join a socially-distanced dinner on April 2nd, 3rd or 4th .
    • Sign up to attend one of the upcoming zoom (online) trainings: “Helping Returned Chinese” on March 24th and “Befriending Hindu Students” on April 3rd.
    • Landscapers are needed! IFI is looking for people who are interested in helping care for it’s flower beds and other landscaping at the office, email Leila if interested.
    • Meet weekly online with an international as a virtual conversation partner.

    GIVE

  • We Want to Encourage and Equip You!

    “And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers,
    12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ…” Eph. 4:11-12

    One of IFI’s core values is “resourcing, mobilizing and partnering with churches” (and volunteers) to show hospitality and befriend international college students, scholars and their families.

    One of the ways IFI resources and equips volunteers is to host an annual training day. On Jan. 30th this year we held a 1½ hour zoom event: “Caring for Internationals During a Pandemic” which included international worship, an inspiring message on the topic by IFI CEO, Rich Mendola, and panels of students and volunteers talking about their experience. Click here to watch the whole event. This PDF, “Ideas for Activities to do with Students (During the Pandemic)” is also a good resource to download.

    This year IFI will present a series of one hour zoom training sessions to help volunteers increase their cross-cultural IQ by building more skills for friendship with students from various cultural backgrounds. The first webinar was held on Feb. 25th when volunteers from Columbus and other IFI locations attended the webinar: “Befriending African Students”.

    The one hour Zoom training was fast moving and participants learned interesting facts about Africa and the diverse cultural backgrounds of African students. They also discussed ways to initiate informed conversations with African students and met (2) African students who shared their experience. There was also an interactive Q & A and time to pray for African students using the simultaneous prayer method that is commonly practiced in the African churches.  

    Future topics to be covered include:

    • Helping Chinese Returnees on Wednesday, Mar. 24th, 7pm ET – Abby Zou, IFI Returnee Ministry Coordinator 
    • Befriending Hindu/Indian Students on Saturday, Apr. 3rd, 1pm ET – Danny Walker, Campus Minister & Somita Bucklew, Volunteer Leader on Hindu Ministry Team

     Click here to sign up and to see the complete list of upcoming webinar trainings.

  • Newsletter – Mar 2021: Preparing For Plenty

    Preparing for the Plentiful Harvest!

    “Then he said to his disciples,
    ‘The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.
    Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore,
    to send out workers into his harvest field.’”     Matt 9:37-38

    “Aslan is on the move.”  That is one of my favorite quotes from C.S. Lewis’ The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.  Though ministry has been different for the last year due to covid, we know of at least 19 Internationals who decided to follow Jesus last year.  As vaccines begin to be available, and restrictions at OSU are lessened, we see signs that hope is rising among the International students.  We anticipate that students will flock to events once restrictions are lifted.  

    “When opportunity comes, it’s too late to prepare.”
    John Wooden

    Meanwhile, IFI grew by 50% last year adding 26 staff members nationally.  We have another 30 open positions posted, including a dozen openings here in Columbus.  Check out https://www.ifipartners.org/careers for more information.  

    We are asking the Lord of the Harvest to add to our team so that we are ready to catch a huge increase in students looking for meaningful relationships who have been in isolation for a year and are craving interpersonal relationships.  Please join with us in prayer that God would grant us wisdom as we look at various candidates.  Please also join with us in asking God to provide the funding for each of these staff members.  (Most of the staff at IFI are responsible for raising the funds necessary to support their role on the team.  You could be part of God’s provision by clicking here https://www.ifipartners.org/team#columbus )

    —Phil (IFI Columbus Area Director)

  • New Year’s Celebrations Around the World

    IFI will be helping Asian international students who are far from home to celebrate one of their “most significant holidays of the year” the Lunar New Year, on Friday, Feb. 12th.  The Lunar calendar is so named because it follows the changes of the moon.  Lunar comes from the Latin word luna, meaning moon.  More interestingly, many countries who have a Lunar New Year holiday consider it more important than January 1st! 

    In China they designate an animal as the symbol for the year.  They rotate though 12 animals, using a new one each year.  Since this year is the Year of the Ox, there will be decorations depicting an Ox.  Many people are familiar with the Chinese Lunar New Year; however, it is also celebrated in many Asian countries such as Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, the Philippines, and other countries, for many years.  

    Over time different cultures have found their own way of honoring the holiday.  For example, in China they make and eat dumplings with a coin in them for good luck, but in S. Korea they eat soup with thinly sliced rice cakes that have the round shape of coins, which follows the tradition of putting a brass coin in the rice cake to wish people a fruitful year.  In Japan they eat Mirror Rice Cakes with a large mocha middle and citrus at the top to bring good luck.  Also in both China and Vietnam they clean and decorate the house in special ways to get rid of bad fortune or spirits.  

    If you want to learn more about how people from other cultures such as India and the Middle East celebrate, watch for posts on the IFI Columbus Facebook page.

    Korean New Year’s meal
    New Year’s decorations in Thailand
    City-wide Songkran (New Year’s) water fight in Thailand
    Tet (New Year’s) decorations in Vietnam

    “Sweeping away the dust” to welcome the New Year

  • Newsletter – Feb 2021: Another New Year!

    Happy New Year, Again!

    “There is a time for everything, and a season for
    every activity under the
    heavens…”     Ecc. 3:1

    Were you aware that there are dozens of New Year’s celebrated throughout the world?  The next one I know of is the Chinese Lunar New Year coming up on Friday, February 12.  It’s a big deal in China, where businesses, schools and stores are closed for 1 to 4 weeks!  Some say it is the largest annual human migration event in the world with over 400 million people traveling to their hometown–under normal circumstances.  Not much movement was able to happen last year because of Covid-19 and most travel is still prohibited in China for this year.

    For those of us who experienced the smallest Thanksgiving dinner and Christmas in our lifetime (our Thanksgiving was 10% of the normal size and Christmas was 25% of the size it normally is!)  Imagine being ‘stuck’ 10,000 miles from home all alone in a dorm room during the largest global pandemic in 100 years and having a mid-term on Christmas eve!  If you can imagine that, then you will get a tiny glimpse of the loneliness that some of our Asian friends are experiencing as they get ready for what should be ‘the most wonderful time of the year’.

    Just as food, gifts, and conversations with relatives that we don’t see on a regular basis are all key elements to our Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays in the US, the food and social aspect are a huge part of this event for the Asian world. Read more about these traditions in the article in this newsletter, “New Year’s Celebrations Around the World” to learn more.

    IFI is planning an event on Feb. 12th to help students celebrate by having a mix of virtual and small in-person gatherings.  We are following the University and governor’s guidelines and only having small groups of 8-10 people, limiting mixing and mingling and requiring masks when not actively eating the dinner.  Please pray for safety and wisdom as we do our best to follow the guidelines to keep everyone safe as we plan to celebrate this important holiday with the students!

    —Phil (IFI Columbus City Director)

  • Pray, Serve, Give! (Feb 2021)

    PRAY

    • Please pray there will be no technical issues during IFI’s online Lunar New Year event on Feb. 12th.
    • Please pray for the safety of students and the staff and volunteers who are interacting with them.
    • Praise God for the 120+ volunteers and students who meet weekly as virtual and in-person conversation partners! Please pray for a bond of trust and friendship to develop, and for natural conversations about spiritual topics.
    • Praise God for the 18 internationals who have come to Christ in 2020! Please pray they would have an opportunity to be discipled and grow in their faith.
    • Pray for wisdom for the staff planning the IFI Spring Banquet.
    • Pray for God to raise up staff to fill open positions: https://www.ifipartners.org/careers#open

    SERVE

    • Meet weekly online with an international as a virtual conversation partner.
    • Sign up to attend a quarterly Prayer Meeting on Feb. 18th at 7-8pm
    • Sign up to attend a training on “Befriending and Understanding Anglophone (English-Speaking) African Students” on Thursday, Feb. 25th, 7-8pm – Samson Wasao, IFI National Training Manager
    • Help other volunteers to pray for IFI! Join the IFI Columbus Prayer Team. To learn more email Leila.

    GIVE

  • Newsletter – Jan 2021: Vision for New Things

     A Vision for New Things

    There have been challenges in reaching out to internationals during the pandemic, but God is faithful, and 18 internationals came to faith in 2020!  He has made a way and is doing a new work through IFI staff and volunteers!  As we have trusted him to provide wisdom, our faith has been stretched and there have been opportunities to reach out in new creative and more personal ways.  Perhaps you have experienced some of these same things in your ministry to internationals?

    “See, I am doing a new thing!  Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?  I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.”
    Isaiah 43:19

    We want to help you get a “vision” for your ministry during COVID in 2021, and have planned a virtual kickoff event for volunteers: “Creativity, Compassion & COVID: Caring for internationals during a pandemic.” on Sat., Jan. 30th from 2-4pm. Please join us online for worship, student testimonies, and to learn and share ideas with other volunteers about how to deepen friendships with students during this time. Sign up here by Jan. 25th.

    We are so grateful for you and your ministry to International students! As you read these stories, we hope that you are inspired to continue your faithful service and participate in the upcoming events.
    —Phil (IFI Columbus City Director)

  • Pray, Serve, Give! (Jan 2021)

    PRAY

    • Praise God for the Vision Conference–there were 60 IFI participants including students, staff, and volunteers who participated virtually. Please pray that the seeds sown will take root and grow.
    • Please pray for the safety of students and the staff and volunteers who are interacting with them.
    • Please pray that the students who traveled back home over the holiday break will return to Columbus safely.
    • Praise God for the 130+ volunteers and students who meet weekly as virtual and in-person conversation partners! Please pray for a bond of trust and friendship to develop, and for natural conversations about spiritual topics.
    • Praise God for the 18 internationals who have come to Christ in 2020! Please pray they would have an opportunity to be discipled and grow in their faith.
    • Praise God that Karen Mack and her conversation partner were able to host an “IFI Virtual Kitchen” event where they showed how to make Lasagna. Pray that this might turn into a regular outreach event, and that there would be more ideas for outreach in these unusual times!

    SERVE

    • Meet weekly online with an international as a virtual conversation partner.
    • Please join us on Saturday, Jan. 30th from 2-4pm for an online volunteer training event: “Creativity, Compassion & COVID: Caring for internationals during a pandemic.”! Enjoy international worship, hear from students about their needs and get ideas from other volunteers about how they have maintained friendships with students during this time. Sign up here by Jan. 25th.
    • Involve your small group in preparing care packages for students during finals. Email Leila for more info.

    GIVE