By 2000, IFI had grown to the point that we needed to relieve Rich and others of administrative duties so they could continue to work directly with internationals. IFI hired a part-time Financial Director and Development Director positions that became full-time within 10 years. God also brought a volunteer to relieve Rich of the management of the Chittenden Avenue building.
In 2004, God led a long-established, church-based ISM at the University of Cincinnati (Ohio) to IFI through Randy Bruins, who had volunteered with IFI Columbus before moving to Cincinnati. God brought full-time staff Pat Durst, Julie Rhine, and Shaun Rudolph to serve in IFI Cincinnati along with part-timer Duane Villenauve. (Read a history of IFI Cincinnati) Madeline Trotman, a long-experienced ISM worker in central Virginia, brought her ministry at the University of Virginia into IFI in 2007, making it the first out-of-state location for IFI. IFI leaders were further encouraged when Stephanie Taylor, a church-based ISM worker at Muskingum University in eastern Ohio joined IFI in 2010. In 2011, the leader of an international student ministry at Cleveland (Ohio) State University asked IFI to send him a staff person to take over the ministry when he retired in a year or so. In spring 2012, Art and Kristin Wells, IFI Columbus staff, moved to Cleveland to join the work of International Friends. After the leader retired, Art brought that ministry into IFI in January 2014. Within a year, Eric and Ryo Benson, long-time volunteers with IFI Columbus, joined the Wellses when they moved to Cleveland for Ryo’s work as a radiologist at The Cleveland Clinic. The Bensons soon took IFI to Case Western Reserve University.
International Wives and Mothers. In the early 1990s, IFI leaders recognized the opportunity to serve international students’ wives but did not address it for a long time, since the International Women’s Club, which met at University Baptist Church on West Lane Avenue, seemed to meet the need. IFI’s ministry to wives and international mothers and their pre-school-aged children began in fall 2002, through a prayer-formed team encouraged by Leila Gardner and headed by Ruth Ann Saksa and Joyce Aubuchon, among others.
Friendship Partners and ESL. God opened more ministry opportunities: From the beginning, two very popular IFI services have been the Friendship Partners (FP) and English Conversation Partners (ECP) programs, which match local followers of Jesus with internationals who want an American friend who can introduce them to American culture and help improve their English. Improving their English is often a primary goal of new international students. The Friendship Partners program has drawn more students and volunteers in Cincinnati than in Columbus, but is appreciated wherever it is offered.
In 2000, IFI Columbus hired Julie Thoms, who has a degree in teaching English as a Second Language, to run our ESL program. After Julie moved overseas, several iterations of the ESL program followed. Now it’s the English Conversation Club (ECC), a 6-week program held at the beginning of each semester to help internationals practice conversational English through games, questionnaires, storytelling, and other informal conversation activities. The ECC was designed and led by Columbus staff Russ Sermon. Each school year, many volunteers serve as ECPs or FPs, some continuing with the same student from arrival to graduation. Through a program called Conversation and Cuisine, IFI encourages church small groups to incorporate internationals in their meetings once a month. The small groups enjoy the energy and different perspectives that internationals bring to their meetings.
A Change of Directors. As the ministry grew, God used General Director Phil Saksa’s experiences with a Muslim-background follower of Jesus to call Phil and Ruth Ann to full-time service to Muslims. In 1998, the IFI Board asked Rich Mendola to serve as Acting General Director of IFI while Phil took a sabbatical and served people from the Middle East, a ministry that—at that time–seemed quite different from IFI’s campus ministry, which had grown large. Almost immediately, the Saksas began to see God’s blessings in their new friends’ lives. In 2004, The Navigators asked the Saksas to help them find someone to pioneer a Navigators ministry to the thousands of immigrants from the Middle East and North Africa in the Detroit, MI area. In 2005, God placed His hand on Phil and Ruth Ann and said, “Leave your family (they had 5 children and 5 grandchildren by then) and go to pioneer a new ministry.” The Saksas obeyed, rejoined The Navigators, moved to Detroit, and have been blessed there ever since.
International Worship. Large-group Bible discussion gatherings on Friday evenings in Columbus begin with worship. For several years in the 1990s, volunteer Drew Alatis led worship with his guitar. Gradually, God raised others to join or replace Drew.
But God, through Rich, had a larger plan: He wanted internationals to lead worship. God brought talented worship leaders from China, South Korea, Mexico, and Mongolia. Tuyata Tserev from Mongolia formed a worship team called “Voice of the Nations.” This group led worship and did special concerts for several years. Even today, internationals lead worship in their respective Bible discussion groups, wherever possible. In our efforts to put students into leadership in all areas of ministry, leading worship has been a good first step for many students.
Worship is essential for setting the tone for the evening, orienting hearts, and minds to God. Many internationals say that God first touched them through the beauty of worship music.
Two Internship Programs. From 1996 to 2012, Phil, Rich, and other staff ran an informal internship program that served a few recent college graduates each year. Students from China, Taiwan, and Japan benefited from one-on-one meetings with staff and volunteers. In 2012, IFI leaders became more intentional and started formal classes and activities for international interns, much of it overseen by Rich and John Scroggins of the Work As Mission (now the Baton Exchange) program. That internship program attracted participants from Albania, China, India, Romania, South Korea, and Uzbekistan.
In 2014, God moved IFI Columbus staff Russ Sermon to begin the American Apprentice program to prepare American believers to do ISM. The first intern was Mike Fisher, who took IFI to Ohio University in Athens in 2015. The revised and renamed program (International Student Ministry Apprenticeship Program–ISMAP) had three participants in 2015-16.
Also in 2014, God brought Estera Pirosca, a former intern, to the IFI staff as the new coordinator for the international internship program. Estera and Teresa Wang Smith, then the assistant campus ministry director, added much value to the program and renamed it ISEED (International Students as Equipped and Empowered Disciples).