Purpose
Bethany International Student Ministries (BISM) exists to welcome international students to live and fellowship in a friendly environment, connect international students to host families and churches, and equip Christians for service in global mission.
We as Bethany International Student Ministries (BISM) envision a community center that affords opportunity to show hospitality by welcoming students to live and fellowship in a friendly environment with connections to like-minded churches (local assemblies). Through residential services, social hosting, weekly activities, outings in the surrounding region, and community groups exploring the Christian faith, we aim to a) engage Muslim, Hindu, and other unreached students with the gospel, and b) train Christian college students in friendship evangelism. Housing is a very practical need for nearly every international student and allows between one and four years of direct contact and meaningful relationship. Currently, no communal space exists for international students in the area. We strive to be a receiving community, walking with international students as friends during their stay in the United States, while also engaging the community of immigrant students in the metropolitan area.
1. Minister to international students through housing and social events (Leviticus 19:34)
2. Equip Christian students for service in the Great Commission (Matthew 28:16-20)
3. Maintain legacy of Christian witness at Bethany Chapel by collaborating with Bethany Chapel board of trustees in the use of the existing properties.
According to Open Doors International, there are 26,000 international students in the Chicago area who study at nearly every urban, suburban, and community college and university. They come from all regions of the world, with China and India as the top represented nations. Gulf States are on the rise as well as sub-Saharan Africa, Central Asia, and South America all sending young people to study in the United States. Many of those coming are representative of unreached people groups (UPGs) with little to no indigenous churches, where the Christian population is less than 2% evangelical.
Most students come from Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh, or secular/atheist backgrounds. In the past two years, our ministry has interacted with international students from Yemen, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, India, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Kosovo, Palestine, Albania, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Egypt, Iraq, and Turkey. More than 25% of international students in the United States come from India, a nation with 47 of the 100 largest least reached people groups in the world. With this reality in mind,
BISM’s vision is to be a platform for global missions by engaging international students from least reached nations with the gospel of Jesus Christ.