By Bill Bray, Special to ASSIST News Service (Writer's Opinion)
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (ANS – March 26, 2015) – The largest and most accessible mission field in the United States has grown another 14% in the last year according to the Department of Homeland Security. The new statistics confirm what missiologists have been saying for decades; the easiest way to reach some of the most unreached people groups in the world is to stay right here at home.
For
example, Saudi Arabia, which forbids Christian evangelism and missions
of any kind on penalty of death, has sent 80,941 students here this
year. Saudi Islamists are the prime funders of the world’s most famous
terror movements including al Qaeda and ISIS. This means one of the only
places to reach out to young Saudi leadership from the world’s most
closed country is in the USA.In fact over 855,807 of this year’s international students are from Asia – 331,371 from China alone, another country which forbids American missionaries. Most of the Asians are in the 10/40 Window, a region mostly behind the vail of Islam, communism or extreme nationalism. Over 146,000 are from India where Hindu nationalists are increasing terror attacks on Christians and American missionaries are illegal.
American student missions are already hard pressed to reach the current crush of students. They will be meeting at Wheaton College May 28-30 to plan a response strategy during the annual Association of Christians Ministering among Internationals (ACMI). “Operation Esther Circles” are being formed in 3,200 Universities communities to mobilize prayer for the incoming students. Besides the Universities, 300 other colleges and institutions are joining in the response.
Among those participating in ACMI are local campus churches and ministries including Bridges International, International Students, Inc., Intervarsity ISM, and Overseas Students Mission.The 14% increase this year reflects a growth trend of 50% since 2010 and 85% since 2005. Although there was a brief slowdown in growth at the 2011 terrorist attacks on the USA, the number of international students has been soaring since WWII. Today, it is booming.
Besides response from international student ministries, strategists are also hoping to enlist more aid from the Ethnic American Network (EAN) which meets in Atlanta April 16-18. There is also hope that traditional domestic ministries to students, and the students themselves will do more to reach out to their classmates.
Photo caption: International students arriving on campus.
Billy Bray, 68, is an author and retired foreign correspondent who frequently contributes to ASSIST News Service. He specializes in covering international student ministries and indigenous missions of all kinds. He has traveled to over 65 countries as a missionary journalist to report on missions and development ministries, returning to some countries as many as 30 times over the years. He can be contacted by e-mail at: bray.william@gmail.com
Please feel free to republish this and any of our ANS stories with full attribution to the ASSIST News Service (www.assistnews.net).
Read more
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar