Friendship Partner Program

and Other Opportunities

What is a friendship partner? It’s an American Christian or Christian family who befriends an international student and commits to meeting with them once a month or so. Pray for your student, and introduce them to other family and Christian friends when there is an opportunity. Pray for opportunities to love them and tell them about Christ naturally through your friendship. Without your involvement they may have no opportunities to experience Christ’s love.

* Please contact me at d.b.sawyer@usa.net or 517-902-2771 to notify me of your interest and for any questions.

Important guidelines/beliefs related to international student ministry necessary for participation as a Friendship Program participant:

v      Christ is Lord of all. His desire is for His people, the church, to love the nations in His name and to share our lives with them.

v      Jesus is fully God and fully man, and He is the only way to God. We do not represent an all-inclusive entitlement to heaven and truth. The Bible is God's true revelation, and Christ's substitutionary life, suffering, and death are the only available means to bring back anyone from the fallen human race to God.

v      Jesus Christ's incarnation, death, and resurrection are the central events necessary for anyone's restoration to God through faith.

v      Any activities of a religious nature (gospel presentation or other spiritual message) must be presented as religious meetings with a religious message when inviting students. There is never to be any sense of a student being tricked or coerced into attending or responding to any message about Christ.

v      As opportunities arise, we are to share our lives and faith -- God's message of redemption through Christ -- with internationals. However, only the Holy Spirit can bring about a change of heart and mind.

v      God calls us to unconditionally love and serve the internationals whom He has sent here regardless of their responsiveness to our lives and/or to His gospel.