Grad School Evangelism

While I was in graduate school I had the opportunity to have many international classmates. In fact, in most of my classes I was the only American. The other students were mostly from India and Nepal. I felt that it was my duty to share the gospel with them.

My first step in this process was to make friends. This was relatively easy in the academic setting. I got to know a few of the guys pretty well. We would work on homework together, talk about class (and professors) and occasionally I went to their apartment to hang out.

I had very little past experience with witnessing. I used two basic methods. The first is what I now call name dropping. I tried to mention God, Christ, or other Biblical characters as often as I could. I attempted to “spiritualize” the common things around us.

“This is a nice table. Did you know that Jesus was a charpenter?”
“Do you eat fish? (Wait for reply) Some of Jesus’s disciples were fishermen.”

How much of this was lost in translation I’ll never know.

The next method was compare and contrast. I would ask them a question about Hinduism, and then compare it to Christianity. I tried to focus on the central message of the gospel, and I tried to quote scripture.

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One day one of my friends came and asked me to meet him on campus later that night. He told me he wanted to talk to me about something very important. I agreed to meet him at the gazebo. I was very excited. I thought that I was going to see the fruits of my labor. I was proud of myself for being such a good little evangelist (notice that my focus was on myself).

So I arrived that night with my J. Mac Study Bible, several gospel tracts, and my spiral notebook of “How to be saved” notes. I sat down next to him and I could see that he was nervous. We made small talk for a few minutes. My mind was racing with what I was going to say. He then nervously glanced around to see if anyone was in earshot.

Then he looked me square in the eye, and with a thick accent said, “I want to ask you an important question. Something I have been thinking about and I want your help.”

“How do I meet American girls?”

I sat there silently shocked. My surprise must have been written all over my face because he asked me again.

“I want to know how to meet American girls.”

“Church” I said finally. “American girls go to church.”

He never did come to church, or ask me about Jesus or Christianity. We lost touch after that semester. All I can do now is pray for him.

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So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth;
It shall not return to Me void,
But it shall accomplish what I please,
And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it. – Isaiah 55:11

So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. 1 Cor. 3:7