Reaching Out to Chinese on Campus

This is how it works. When the students are still in China, the Chinese Students and Scholars Association and Christian campus fellowship members collect names from friends or prospective advisers. Then the missionary organizations contact students by e-mail, arrange to meet them at the U.S. airports and take them to Welcome House for a few days to help them get settled.

"The students are spoiled," Meng Tian laughed. "We give them a temporary place to stay, make friends with them, drive them to Chinese grocery store, give them tours on campus, organize picnics for them, and we bring them to Bible studies."

He added: "We talk about the Good News with the students. Some of them may feel offended, but in the end they will know we just want to introduce a blessing to their lives."

Missionaries believe this is the way to seed China with Christianity.

"College is where our thinking and ideas are changed, is where new values and ideologies are formed," said Meng Tian. "Now many of them will go back to China after accomplishing their degrees. We hope they will take the Christian concept and perspective to China. It will make a difference."

Their efforts, however, can be a hard sell.

Xiaolan Yang, 29, an accountant and former graduate student at the University of Virginia, said she rejects the fellowships because she feels pressured.

"I feel if I continue to go, I have to return them something," Yang said. "Probably, receiving Jesus would please them best, but I am not ready yet."

News aide Jillian Jarrett contributed to this report.