IBF: Reloaded
“International Bible Fellowship” (IBF) is the name under which my wife, others, and I have conducted much of our ministry to international students at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas since 1997. IBF has existed to serve students and their families, share Christ, and disciple and equip believers.
Over the years IBF has met for Bible studies in homes, apartments, and on campus, conducted a church-type ministry (for 2 1/2 years), eaten tremendous food at pot-luck meals, conducted cross-cultural events such as field-trips to Houston markets and historical sites in Texas, game days, house-hold furniture and kitchen supply give-aways, and introduced students to American families for relationship purposes through the “Fellowship Family” ministry.
~ reach students … disciple the “nations” ~
We have been blessed to meet and know many wonderful people from around the world who have come to Texas A&M to pursue their academic careers. We remain in relationship and contact with many of these men and women and their families even though they have returned to their home countries or relocated to other parts of the United States.
The Lord has allowed us to know, relate to, and interact with two language congregations in our community. One is a Mandarin congregation, the other is Korean. We continue to know and relate to these churches.
IBF has been a part of the Lord’s activity in the bringing of men and women to salvation through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. We have had the privilege of baptizing those who professed Christ as their Savior and Lord.
~4,699 international students … 126 countries ~
International Bible Fellowship was a Texas A&M University recognized student organization from 1999 to 2005. That status gave our ministry an official presence on campus. As a student organization we had a TAMU website, were eligible for the use of meeting rooms on campus for the conducting of activities, and had permission to post promotional fliers on campus.
Our status as a recognized student organization lapsed in 2005. IBF was doing more ministry in homes and in relationship with the Mandarin congregation so we did not continue our organization status with the University.
Recently, though, we have decided to re-activate our organization status with TAMU. We are doing this because we believe the Lord would have us spend more time on campus with students in an “official” student organization capacity.
~ ibf welcomes the “nations” to tamu ~
Therefore, we are in the process re-activating, or “re-loading,” International Bible Fellowship as a student organization. We have enlisted a professor who has agreed to serve as our faculty advisor. A PhD student in physics has stepped up to serve as the one who will be our contact with the Student Activities department and will actually imitate our re-activation process. He has also agreed to serve as the organization’s “president” and is helping to enlist two other students to serve as our vice-president and treasurer.
We are exited about our sense of the Lord’s call and direction to reactivate IBF as a student organization. We believe that the Lord will use that status and our presence on campus - interacting with and ministering to students – to bring Him glory as we minister and share the Name and love of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
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If you are interested in the ministry of International Bible Fellowship, or ministry to international students, in general, please leave a comment and your contact information and we will be happy to get in touch with you.
Tags: Discipleship, Evangelism, Great Commission, International Bible Fellowship, Texas A&M University
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