Thousands of Chinese students have come to the U.S. to study since China began its Open Door policy in the late 1970s. Currently, there are about 50,000 Chinese students studying in the U.S., and God has prepared the hearts of many for the acceptance of the gospel.

Because most are graduate students, it usually takes just a few years for them to complete their studies before they enter the job market. Many of them choose to stay in the U.S. and become successful business professionals, engineers, research scientists, or college professors. Some of them return to China and take important positions in business, academia, research institutions, or government offices. Regardless of their success, there is emptiness in their hearts that can only be satisfied by God.

Although they were brought up in an atheistic educational system, the education can never wipe out God’s invisible and divine nature from their hearts (Rom. 1: 19-20). They were taught that there is no God and that “religion is the opium of the frail and the crutches of the weak,” but God’s power is so mighty that many of them have been reached by the gospel of Christ and saved by God’s wonderful grace.

God has done many wonders among Chinese intellectuals in the U.S. Many Chinese students and scholars have turned away from the atheism they were brought up with and have become followers of Jesus Christ. It is even more amazing to see some scholars who were educated by the government for the very purpose of promoting communism become Christians and even preachers of Christ’s gospel. The training and education they received from the Communist Party schools are now being used as powerful weapons to fight against the very atheism they were taught to promote. The impact of those former Marxists on their fellow countrymen is immeasurable. God’s way is beyond our imagination!

As the Chinese economy continues to grow and its trade with the U.S. continues to increase, Chinese students and scholars will keep coming to the U.S. What can we do to bring the gospel of Christ to the students that God has brought to our doorstep?

The first thing we can do is to pray for their salvation. We also need to pray for a burden in our heart for the lost souls. When we start reaching them, we also need to gain their trust through true friendship. It takes a long time and great effort to build trust with those who have different cultural and social backgrounds, but the investment of our time and effort is worthwhile because it is the vehicle through which we can bring the gospel to them.

There are many ways we can help to build trust and friendship. A window of opportunity is immediately after (or even before) a Chinese student’s arrival in the U.S. Imagine yourself as a stranger arriving in a foreign airport thousands of miles from home, where people speak a different language and you do not know anyone. That can be a desperate and terrifying experience. There are many things that need to be done in a short period of time, and you do not have a car and do not know how to use public transportation. That is the time when help is needed most. It is also the best time for us to show the love of Christ.

An incomplete list of ways to help might include:

• Get the names of incoming new students from the International Students Office at the local university by indicating that you would be willing to serve as a host family for new students;

• Start communicating with students while they are still in their home country;

• Pick them up from the airport;

• Arrange temporary lodging for them;

• Help them communicate to families back home on the day of their arrival.

In the next few days, you may help them get to the International Student Office to complete the documentation process, to the university department to meet with academic advisors, to open a bank account, to apply for a taxpayer’s ID number at the Social Security Office, to find an appropriate apartment and sign a lease, to go to a store to get utensils, groceries, blankets, and toiletries. The higher-than-expected prices of groceries, unfamiliarity with the merchandise, and language barrier are some of the reasons these trips can take longer for students to accomplish. Even after they have settled down, they may need help for weekly grocery shopping because they do not have cars.

Most Chinese students studying in the U.S. are graduate students. They are highly motivated, so they usually perform very well in the lab and the classrooms. Most of them also have a strong motivation to stay in the U.S.—which is “heaven on earth” to many. There is no room for failure in their study, and success is the only acceptable alternative.

That has some implications for reaching them. The strong motivation for success makes everything unrelated to study a lower priority. Worshiping God on Sunday and Bible study after school are secondary issues to them. Do not feel disappointed at this stage if they do not come to church to worship with you. Try to maintain the friendship with them after they start the busy study schedule.

Their strong motivation, however, is often frustrated by their weakness in English, lack of social skills, unfamiliarity with the American way of life and loneliness. Many students do not travel with their families even if they are married and have children.

The frustrations are often God-given opportunities to serve them. For instance, in order to survive in the profession, they also have a strong need to improve their language skills—including conversational English, job-related technical writing (business memos, résumé, fund applications, and research papers), and public presentation skills. Many Chinese students’ lives are changed because of the help and love they receive from American Christians in learning English. Conversation classes, English Bible studies, and business writing classes can all serve this purpose. What is more important is the love and care expressed through the contacts in these classes—especially after the students encounter frustrations and failures.

After students have survived a semester or two, they might consider buying a used car. Some Christians have shown their love by helping them to get a learner’s permit and a driver’s license, a used car, and auto insurance. Most of them have never owned a car before, so everything about cars is new and overwhelming.

After being here for a year or more, they may consider having their family join them. At this time, they may be concerned with the approval of visa applications (because the financial aid they receive may not be considered by the U.S. Embassy in China to be enough to support the entire family). We may express our love to them by praying for them and with them. This is also the time they need help to get used furniture to prepare for their families’ arrival. Some Christians show their love toward the international students by helping them move. After their family arrives, they may need help in identifying a pediatrician. Some Christians help translate the children’s immunization record into English and serve as interpreters when the families and children visit doctors.

International students in general, and Chinese students in particular, are different from Americans in many aspects; but they are also similar to Americans in many aspects. They too face hardships in life—sickness, the uncertainty about the job market, the threat of unemployment, loneliness, and even death. Quite often, God uses hardship to drive them to His presence. God also uses their hardship as opportunities for us to show our love for them. When Chinese students realize that we love them not because we have a hidden agenda—as Marxism has taught them—but because of our devotion to our Lord, they can come to appreciate and respect our faith, and many will eventually accept our Lord as theirs.

Resources

For English-Chinese bilingual Bibles, the following might be useful:

Ambassadors for Christ

21 Ambassadors Drive

Paradise, PA 17562

Phone: 717-687-8564

Bookstore: 1-800-624-3504

Chinese Literature: 1-888- 999-7959

For Chinese Reformed theological books, contact Reformation Translation Fellowship through the Bloomington, Ind., RP Church:

www.bloomingtonrpchurch.org

Belteshazzar Leo (a pen name) is a professor of business and is a member of a Reformed Presbyterian Church. Because of his overseas missionary travels, further identifying information is being withheld.