Outreach to the Indian Community
I’d began dreaming of outreach to the South Asian community during my own college days at Hofstra University when I lived in community with Hindu graduate students. Since coming on GFM staff at Columbia, I’d not felt I had the resources to connect with Indian students.
The story I was telling myself about why it wouldn’t work to reach Indian students was one of scarcity. I’d say, “When I was at Hofstra, I had a ministry house near campus. I had relationships with key influencers in the Indian student community. I had a support network of fellow Christian students who were committed to pursuing this community alongside me.”
At Columbia, our fellowship was comprised of 90% Chinese international students. I didn’t have meaningful relationships with any Indian students, and as much as I would cast vision for reaching this population, no one on my team seemed interested in joining me in this effort. To top it all off, I had a $20K deficit which meant I had limited hours to spend on campus.
With only 5 hours a week of campus time divided between two campuses, how could I justify branching off to start something new all by myself? Shouldn’t I focus on maintaining and growing the ministry we had to Chinese students?
But God kept nudging me about this dream that He had given me, and the invitation that I sensed from him was, “Just show up.”
Showing Up
I asked God to show me where the Indian international students at Columbia were. It became clear to me that God was guiding me to look in the most obvious place - the Indian Student Association.
In September of 2016 I just showed up to their welcome mixer for new students. I was amazed by the tight-knit nature of this community. Indian students are somewhat like Pokemon - you catch one and you catch them all. I texted my supervisor, Anna Lee-Winans, with the above photo saying, “I found them!” We had been praying for a whole semester, and now a door was beginning to open.
I wore my Columbia InterVarsity t-shirt, and asked Jesus to help me push through the awkwardness of having to explain why I was there as someone who is neither Indian nor a student. To my relief, the students graciously welcomed me and even invited me to come along for dinner at an Indian restaurant nearby campus.
As I asked Jesus to help me identity a person of peace among this group, he prompted me to look for someone with influence. It was clear to me that this person was a student named Avneet, a second-year grad student from a Sikh background who was one of the leaders of the organization. I made a bee-line to Avneet, thanked him for all he and his team were doing to serve Indian students and introduced myself as InterVarsity staff. Over time, I’ve established a relationship of trust with him, and he’s even added me to the group’s closed facebook group and allowed me to post InterVarsity-related activities there.
Over the course of the past academic year, I kept showing up to events hosted by the Indian Student Association. I’ve eaten some great food, I’ve learned some new dance moves. And over time, I’ve become a familiar face.
A Dream Continuing to Unfold
I can’t say that my dream to see a thriving witnessing community among Indian students has been realized yet, but Jesus is doing something. Over the course of this past year, eight Indian students from the Indian Student Association have come to outreach dinners hosted by Global InterVarsity simply because they’ve seen the way I keep showing up for them.
I feel like I’m just getting started with the Indian Student Association at Columbia. As I model this type of incarnational ministry, my hope is that students in my chapter see that they can do this as well.
What would it look like if Christian graduate students in our fellowships each asked Jesus: “What is the community or people group on campus that you are sending me to?”
Trying Something New, Again!
This year we’re launching what we’re calling “adopt a student organization.” The idea is to ask Jesus to expand our hearts for a particular community on campus. This may be another student organization, or it may be the people in a particular lab or residential space. If we’re called to the whole university, we need to ask Jesus to give us eyes for the places where we haven’t been yet.
I’m asking each student on my core team at Columbia to ask God which community he is inviting them to invest in, to look for people of peace, and to invest deeply.
How Will You Reach Out This Fall?
How is God calling you to reach new students and faculty this fall? Spend time seeking possibly dreams God has for you and your campus. And may he show you ways to reach out – perhaps through avenues you’d have never imagined. May God richly bless your NSO efforts this fall.
