Regional mid-year camps for international tertiary students

We always look forward to the end of the first semester at university, not because we need a break, but because when exams finish, we go straight to mid-year regional camps with International students and graduates. The world is at our doorstep, we serve and welcome students from a multitude of nations and numbers are slowly picking up post-covid.

 Our camp theme this year was “the God who searches for us.” Jesus illustrated this beautifully and powerfully in his encounter with the woman at the well in John 4. He crossed many barriers to meet her. For a good Jew, he was in the wrong part of the country (Samaria), the wrong company (alone with a woman) and at the wrong time (he was exhausted from a long journey, and it was the heat of the day). Jesus took huge risks to talk with her in terms of cultural and religious misunderstanding and rejection. He took the risk for her sake, and the sake of her people. And what a wonderful outcome resulted; she and her people concluded he was the saviour of the world.

We design our camps with seekers and believers in mind, trusting that wherever students are, all can see that God wants a relationship with them. It was a joy for us to see each person encountering God in ways that we trust will be transformative, just like for the woman at the well.

From a student:

I really enjoyed it. It was a good refresher after all the assignments. It was like a hug from God. The impact for me is to strive harder to have that deeper relationship with God and to not be afraid to talk to others about my faith and have that "awkward discussion" of sharing Jesus to others.  

If you would like to explore working with tertiary international students, please contact us via our website: https://www.ismnz.org.nz/ and go to “Get Involved”.