Greeting new students well provides a strong start to the school year.
Fall is in the air! Football teams take the field, students return to campus and Bridges staff members across the country pour their energy into one of the most important activities of the year – welcoming new students. In fact, this welcome can determine the course of the entire ministry year.
New international students often arrive on campus bewildered and unsure of themselves, yet eager to experience life in America. Many need to outfit their apartments with furniture. Others are looking for friends. And often, students from non-Christian backgrounds are curious about what Christianity teaches.
Bridges staff members meet these needs in many ways, from picnics to airport pickups to tours of local landmarks – such as Boston’s “Freedom Trail.” As they do, they build relationships and lay the groundwork for future contact.
Sometimes these activities lead to spiritual conversations, as at New York University. The Bridges team hosted a cricket match, after which a South Asian student asked Matt Pursley, “So what is Christmas like here?” Like many, this student was interested in experiencing American holidays, and Matt shared the meaning of Christmas.
WELCOME TABLES
Nearly every campus has a day in which new international students stream through orientation. Setting up a “Welcome Table” on these days offers one of the best ways to meet these students and introduce the work of Bridges. Often the tables include a world map, where passing students can mark their home with a push pin.
Many Bridges teams help new students explore America’s great outdoors. At the University of Tennessee, staff members take students camping in the mountains. At Penn State, they lead a hike up Mt. Nittany, a local landmark overlooking campus. And at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Bridges sponsors an annual River Float. This year, 30 students from 13 countries jumped on inner tubes and floated two miles down the Vermillion River.
Since many graduate students must set up apartments with little money, a popular event is the “Furniture Giveaway” – it enables students to receive free furniture and kitchen appliances that were donated by local church members.
At Texas A&M, this has been so popular that students line up the night before to get first choice of the goods, waiting as long as 12 hours. “Since we have a captive audience, we wait overnight with them,” says staff member Rebekah Preston. “This is a great opportunity to meet their practical needs, such as serving snacks and drinks, and to build relationships with them.”
This year, the Texas A&M team served nearly 300 students at the Furniture Giveaway, helping lay the groundwork for a fruitful year. “We follow up with each student who is interested in learning about God to get to know them personally and share the gospel,” adds Rebekah.