Reaching Out to Chinese on Campus

Zheng came in the fall of 2002 for the George Mason doctoral program in statistics. Before he came, he said, he received an e-mail from the George Mason fellowship offering to meet him at the airport. Fellowship member Jihong Zhao greeted him holding a board with his name on it, then took him to dinner. After letting him settle in, members invited him to fellowship activities.

"I like people in the fellowship," he said. "They are warm and kind. And at school, nobody cares about you."

Zheng initially participated in Bible studies, he said, because he thought it would be rude to reject the invitations. He already had some familiarity with Christianity.

"I read the Bible when I was in China," Zheng said, "but I treated it as a Western literature, Western culture, as a good way to learn English. Definitely not faith."

Faith for him had always involved Buddhist doctrines, but in the fellowship, he found the Christian God. By the Thanksgiving break, he'd begun to believe in Jesus, and less than a year later decided to be baptized.

For many Chinese students, being baptized is a difficult decision because Christianity carries a stigma in China. They fear that being Christian could affect their careers.

Zheng overcame his concerns at a Christian retreat in Lancaster, Pa., during summer 2003. "I choose Christianity based on my belief, not my future concerns," he said.

More than 70,000 Chinese come to the United States to study in higher education institutions each year, according to government figures. "They are China's future leaders, and they represent a strategic core, which will greatly affect China's culture and future," the Rev. Glen Osborn, president of China Outreach Ministries, said.

China Outreach, Bridges and the Maryland Chinese Bible Study Group work closely to evangelize the 900 Chinese students, visiting scholars and professors at the University of Maryland.

"Through our ministries at UMD, 40 to 50 percent of the students and scholars have come to learn Christianity, and 10 percent of them have become Christians," said Tim Mountfort, 41, an American missionary with China Outreach Ministries. He likes to be called by his adopted Chinese name, Meng Tian.

The Maryland Chinese Bible Study Group, founded in the 1970s by Taiwanese students, regularly draws about 40 people to its Friday night prayer sessions, half Taiwanese and half from the mainland, said member Guojian Lin, 29, a Maryland doctoral candidate in electrical engineering. In 1997, China Outreach Ministries and Bridges jointly established Grace Fellowship at the University of Maryland, with about 30 students regularly attending its meetings.

Grace Fellowship created Welcome House, a three-bedroom apartment with Internet access provided free to new Chinese students. While funding help comes from the Maryland Chinese Bible Study Group and other Chinese organizations, the $1,200 monthly rent means it has an apartment available only about one month a year, usually in August, when most new students arrive.