By Angela Ow

Jolynn Wong saw the hand of God throughout the past three years as she led the International Student Ministry. In some ways, the ministry had an unusual start.

Recalling how it began, Jolynn said, “I was feeling bored back then”. She started thinking about overseas missions, but instead a ministry leader challenged her to pioneer a local work among foreign students who are here. It took about six months of Bible study and preparation as she thought through her motivation and the basis for this outreach.

The ministry is one filled with surprises. COVID-19 arrived in 2020 and so did the lockdown. Singaporeans were restricted from leaving or going overseas. But Jolynn was astonished. “The airport was closed but the international students kept coming in!” There was nothing much to do except to get online.

So, Jolynn and her one and only volunteer Ira, spent a lot of time brainstorming and networking with international students through Instagram. “We would just organise a Zoom session ‘Hope for Country XX’ and students would simply turn up to listen and be prayed for”. Very soon, many more started connecting with them through text messages and personal conversations. The network of students steadily grew to over 200.

In 2022, the International Student Ministry started officially. They continued to use the online account to invite students for useful workshops for students to better handle their studies, future career or navigating life in Singapore. The team created many “gospel touch-points”.

Many foreign students come from ‘closed countries’ in East Asia where there is only one dominant religion or race. Being in multi-racial and multi-religious Singapore is unusual for them. “You mean you can talk about religion here?” is a common question from them. Most were unfamiliar with the idea of ‘other religions’. Sharing with them took a longer process as compared to our ‘more exposed’ local students. Nor were they comfortable that one could ‘talk about religions’, and even more so, openly visit religious sites. “In my country, the police will catch if any of us tried to go to a church”, one student remarked to Jolynn. These were the initial unspoken mental barriers Jolynn and her team faced initially. However, these touch points turned many conversations around for further gospel sharing.

As more Christian students joined in, the weekly International Students Christian Fellowship (ISCF) was started. Some of them have been exposed to cult groups in their countries.

Some attended church back home when younger, but have not believed the gospel message. The challenge then is to assess their understanding and teach them God’s word faithfully.

God continued to amaze the team by providing new resources they never expected. Through time, the team grew. Returning missionaries, kept out of the country of their outreach during COVID-19, came to minister to the foreign youths through the weekly fellowship. Being able to meet these youths at the premises of Prinsep Street Presbyterian Church is a great convenience and pull-factor. Many like-minded aunties and uncles from various churches provided food and helped in various ways. God grew the Christian students and some stepped up to volunteer regularly.

“I think it’s very cool that people from different countries can hear the gospel in Singapore. And I feel privileged to be part of this work”. What encourages Jolynn is to see a foreign Christian student willing to step outside of his own background and learn to befriend someone from another culture. “I see the love of Christ being shown through them”. And like her, we hope to see more youths being reached for Christ, whether it be locally or internationally..

Jolynn and her team need more people who can provide food or teach a skill like speaking dialect (Hokkien), playing the guitar, etc. Do contact her (93692606 or jolynn.wong@syfc.org.sg) to find out more.