March 28, 2025
The holidays are a time to focus on faith, fellowship and family. For some international students it can be difficult to get together with family during this festive season. And for others, celebrating Thanksgiving or Christmas at all can be a new experience.
To help international students feel more at home, Baptist Campus Ministries at colleges and universities across Georgia welcomed international students to celebrations marking the national day of thanks and the birth of Christ.
At Georgia Tech, students hosted their annual Thanksgiving potluck, especially reaching out to international students. Eric Swenson, BCM campus minister at Georgia Tech, says students from several different countries all over the world participated. First Baptist Woodstock generously provided the turkey and fixings, and students brought the sides and desserts. Swenson says international students were invited to bring dishes from their homelands, and some students from South Korea brought various delicious Korean desserts.
Conversations around the dinner tables provided an opportunity for students to discuss what they were thankful for, and a BCM student at each table shared the gospel with those at their table.
The Georgia State BCM also hosted a Thanksgiving meal with a special invitation to international students. Teresa Royall, BCM campus minister, reports that students from France, India, Turkey, Japan, Guinea, Nigeria, Sri Lanka and Cameroon attended. Volunteers from First Baptist Woodstock, Duluth First Baptist, Lawrenceville First Baptist, and Mountain Park Baptist brought the food and helped serve the students. In addition to the meal, students enjoyed worship music and a message on the meaning of Thanksgiving. Some of the church members who came to volunteer continued to extend hospitality to the international students by inviting them to their homes during the Thanksgiving week.
Tommy Fountain, BCM Campus Minister at the University of Georgia, explains that one of the strategies used to minister to international students is pair them with BCM students at the school. Those students then invite their “global buddies” to events and game nights throughout the semester. Fountain and his family hosted a Christmas game night for international students. After a meal of homemade chili, the students participated in games, led by International Ministry Catalyst McKenzie Cloud and Campus Missionary Aly McDonald, and then learned how to make s'mores.
As the students gathered around the fire pit, Fountain was able to share the story of Christmas and the Gospel. His children and other BCM students were able to share their favorite parts of the Christmas season. Students from Vietnam, South Korea, Japan, Nepal, India, and Saudi Arabia were represented among the international guests. For some students, it was their first interaction with anything Christmas-related.
At Kennesaw State University, Campus Minister Ken Jones says that God has led the BCM to partner with pastors, churches and Christian faculty members to begin the International Student Fellowship at the school. Every Friday night since Oct. 28, international students gather with BCM students and other “hosts” at the Baptist Collegiate Ministry Center for dinner, fellowship, and a fun program. Jones says that relationships have been built, and friendships have formed. Some of the international students have already become regulars at the Tuesday night BCM meetings and have found a home at BCM.
Some students invited their new international friends to their homes for Thanksgiving. Anna Grace Ebert, a sophomore at KSU, and a leader in the BCM, is passionate about connecting with international students and becoming a part of their lives. Because of her heart to make disciples, she signed up for the opportunity to invite international students into her family’s home for Thanksgiving. When two Chinese students visited her home, it quickly became her favorite part of Thanksgiving break. They ate traditional Southern and Chinese dishes around the table and stayed up late into the night finishing a thousand-piece puzzle in one day. “I have realized that there are many more similarities between us than there are differences,” Ebert notes. She is excited for more opportunities in the upcoming semester to connect with international students.
Peter Mullins, another BCM leader at Kennesaw State, has been in charge of meals for International Student Fellowship meetings and is becoming known as the “International Chef.” Students from around the world are finding friends and a wonderful welcome at the Kennesaw Baptist Collegiate Ministry.
