Chi Alpha Names New Directors of International Student Ministries
00000000000000Chi Alpha Campus Ministries has appointed two Assemblies of God world missionaries, Jerry and Gwen Gibson, as the new directors for Chi Alpha International Student Ministries.
With 15 years of experience working for A/G World Missions, Jerry, who was director of Special Projects for Latin America and the Caribbean for the past four years, will leave his current position providing youth and leadership training in Latin America to now work with Chi Alpha and A/G U.S. Missions.
Jerry’s passion is to see "every student on this planet receive a viable witness of who Jesus Christ is and His eternal purposes," he said. "Reaching international students is a Kingdom command. They are here, they are among us, and we must find a way to communicate the life of Jesus to them."
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National Director of Chi Alpha Campus Ministries, Dennis Gaylor, said, "The Gibsons' educations and cross-cultural experiences with world missions, university ministry and leadership have prepared them for this vital role."
Not only have the Gibsons spent eight years in Mexico City, they have pioneered campus outreach ministries on 11 different university campuses in Mexico City. Most of the time, the couple worked with student leaders. Jerry is also active in the Assemblies of God World Missions Commission on Student Ministries.
Both also have fitting degrees for their new positions. Just last year, Jerry earned a Master of Science in Administrative Studies with an emphasis in Organizational leadership from Southwest Missouri State University in Springfield, Missouri. Gwen became a Registered Nurse two years ago.
Statistics show that there are around 700,000 international students and scholars, representing most of the nations in the world, who are currently studying at U.S. colleges and universities.
"God has brought the mission right to our door and affords us the outreach opportunity of a lifetime," cited Gaylor researcher George Barna as saying.
In some cases, international students studying in the U.S. have come from countries where opportunities to learn about the Christian faith is prohibited through government restrictions on proselytizing or anti-conversion laws as with the case in Sri Lanka. These facts have made international students an even more targeted group.
"Ministry to international students is an integral part of our university ministry," said Gaylor. "Where else in the entire world but the university campus can you find so many future leaders concentrated in one place? Also, these future leaders are in a setting where they are open and able to freely consider the claims of Christ -- and more likely to find Christ than even in their home country!"
