During Isaiah’s time at Virginia Tech, the Lord burdened his heart for people around the world who had never experienced the love and grace of Christ. He began to look around and noticed that there were people on his campus who were from across the globe and many of them had never even heard of Jesus. He learned about Cru’s Bridges ministry to international students and he began to spend time with the ministry. He quickly formed friendships with many international students and thoroughly enjoyed spending time sharing his life with them.
Isaiah grew in his leadership and was soon in charge of the Bridges movement on campus. God allowed the ministry to grow tremendously under his leadership. One of the centerpieces of the ministry is relationships that are developed through a language partnership program where international students can sign up for partners to practice conversational English. With Isaiah at the helm, the partnership program grew to the point where more than 100 pairs of partners met on a regular basis. Most of the international students in these partner relationships were given multiple opportunities to hear and respond to the Gospel.
After graduation the Lord led Isaiah to Washington D.C. where he currently lives and works. He carried his love for international students with him and quickly began volunteering with his church’s ministry to internationals on campuses nearby. Soon after he got involved, the leaders of the ministry transitioned, and this provided an opportunity for Isaiah to step into the things he loved. He applied the things he learned during his time with Bridges to the international student ministry through his church. They hold social events, conversation classes, and, of course, organize language partners!
Now Isaiah is the deacon of international students at his church giving oversight to the entire ministry. He and his team have seen many students place their faith in Christ as they invest in relationships with people from around the world.
Irish is a Chinese student who came to English Bible classes weekly. She also came to church almost every Sunday and developed friendships with some of the women in the church. During a Bible study in January of 2013, the participants were asked for a New Year’s prayer request. Irish asked for people to pray that she would become a Christian that year. God answered her prayer, and Irish gave her life to Christ before the semester started a couple weeks later. Isaiah was so encouraged to see the Lord work on her heart over time through so many people who were involved in the international student ministry.
The international student ministry at Isaiah’s church has seen many students become believers. One of the things they focus on now is preparing these students to return to their home countries to share the Gospel. A new believer named Shawna has already shared the Gospel with her Asian parents and has seen them come to faith! Praise the Lord!
Isaiah is a Sent One!
Want to learn more? Check out Bridges International.
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