Engaging Internationals – Discerning Your Approach

International students in InterVarsity . . .

. . . are generally involved in three chapter settings:

• ISM* (Stand-Alone) chapters: designed primarily for international students
• Multinational (M/N) chapters: any chapter that isn't exclusively for international students but intentionally includes them in its mission and practice
• Emerging Multinational (EMN) chapters: chapters with international student involvement through little intentionality or effort to include them

*ISM stands for International Student Ministry

Up to 1 in 3 students on your campus can be an international. Over 1 million internationals are here. Are you ready to welcome the world on your campus?

ISM and M/N chapters are both recommended approaches, and a chapter can evolve from one approach to another intentionally or unintentionally. Chapters may be “hybrids” – be in transition or have characteristics of two or more types. Read on to better recognize or determine which approach best suits a specific context, and to grow international involvement in different settings.

Here are the top determining factors for which approach fits your context:

1. Cultural Assimilation

The more assimilated the internationals, the more they naturally integrate into a primarily American chapter. Campus cultures and contexts can also promote assimilation (ex. small liberal arts schools tend to foster integration into the mainstream culture and a smaller international student population may force internationals to integrate). Look at the cultural continuum below for examples of ministry settings for various populations.

How would you describe the majority of the internationals on your campus or the ones you're drawn to reach? Where do they stand on the cultural continuum above?

2. Available Resources or Laborers

You may or may not have enough laborers for more than one chapter. What resources (staff, volunteers, supervisory or coaching support, etc.) do you currently have?

3. Vision

ISM chapters are best for those who want to primarily influence internationals, while Emerging Multinational chapters are for those who want to primarily influence Americans. Multinational are best for those who have a vision to influence both-to see Americans become global citizens, embracing a global perspective on discipleship and Scripture, and to see internationals as insiders invited to the table. What’s your vision for your chapter? Who do you want your students to become? Who do you want to influence?

4. God's Leading

Finally, God may be leading you to a model or approach that may not fit neatly with the factors above. Which approach(es) is God leading you to? What next step is he nudging you to take to involve more international students?

…there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne . . .

—Revelation 7:9

Discernment for Next Steps

View Discernment Tool (PDF)

Read through the chapter category descriptions and recommendations in the Discernment Tool pdf, then work through these questions:

1. Which chapter category or examples above best describe your context currently?
2. Reflect on the questions in the four determining factors (above):
   1. How would you describe the majority of the internationals on your campus or the ones you're drawn to reach? Where do they stand on the cultural continuum above?
   2. What resources (staff, volunteers, supervisory or coaching support etc.) do you currently have?
   3. What’s your vision for your chapter? Who do you want your students to become? Who do you want to influence?
   4. Which approach(es) is God leading you to? What next step is he nudging you to take to involve more international students?