By Johnson Hsu
Having worked in and with ESL ministries for over 20 years now, I know that sometimes we can question what we’re doing and why. Sometimes we get asked how this is ‘ministry’ work. I’d like to look at that question through the lens of one of the primary groups we serve: international students.
From 2012 to 2018, the number of international students in Canada increased from 275,816 to 572,415 (CBIE, 2019). That’s a 207% increase in only 6 years.
As we deliver ESL to fill these increased needs, we are partially fulfilling Christ’s call upon us to love all peoples, even those whom we might once have viewed as enemies: “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you” (Luke 6:27-28).
Mental health is an increasingly cited concern, and the mental health needs of internationals are potentially great. Not only are they often leaving home for the first time, but they are often leaving their country and home culture for the first time as well. Add to this the burdens of financial, linguistic, educational, and societal pressure, and it is no surprise that suicide rates among internationals is a growing concern (China Daily, 2017).
As we deliver ESL to help build connections, local support networks and other social capital, we are tangibly helping internationals, while demonstrating Christ’s call to put our love into action, because “faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead” (James 2:17).
For those of us who believe in Jesus as the Way to eternal life, international students represent an opportunity to share that life where it has often been restricted.
Out of the top 20 sending countries for internationals to Canada in 2017, 12 were from nations categorized as the least reached and most resistant to the gospel.
Have you or your church ever prayed for Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Iran, Turkey or Japan? China or India? Taiwan or Bangladesh? France or Russia? All of these were among the top 20 sending countries in 2017. China and India alone account for over half of all international students.
God has been gracious enough to answer our prayers… and to send their best and brightest to us here.
As we deliver ESL in open, transparent and unapologetically Christian love, we work towards gospel relationships where we stand, “prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have” (1 Peter 3:15). And of course, we should do this with gentleness and respect.
ESL is an increasingly vital and strategic ministry of the church, whether because of rapidly spiralling international student numbers, student mental health needs, or the opportunity to reach the most unreached peoples here in our own backyards! Where God has provided the need and the opportunity, how will we respond?
I would encourage each of us to deliver strong, professional and well-trained ESL services, that surpass that provided through governmental and private agencies. The work we do should be done as if to Christ Himself, even as we do it for His name. Our interest should not just be to service numbers, but to build up human beings in loving relationships.
If you hear God’s call in your life to explore other possibilities to love and serve international students, I’d also encourage you to attend the Global Campus conference this June 13-15th in Toronto (https://globalcampus.live/). You will meet others who hear that same calling, and explore new directions and challenges in how God is leading us to serve.
Pastor Johnson Hsu is Toronto City Director for International Student Ministries Canada, and a former missionary with OMF. You can reach him at johnson.hsu@ismc.ca