Lindsay Venters’ passion to reach international students with the gospel started her freshman year of college. Raised in Baton Rouge, where her father served in Baptist Collegiate Ministry, Venters’ own ministry started by simply meeting international students for coffee and conversations.
“One of the students who came the first week was the president of an international Chinese association,” Venters recalls. “They invited friends and it grew from there. It became an awesome ministry and it’s where I started to see the need for it on college campuses.”
Venters is married to Adam Venters, who has served as the Carolina BCM director since 2022, and the couple has two elementary-aged children. Venters also serves alongside Adam as the Carolina BCM international ministries coordinator, a role that has made her well-known to university staff. After Venters volunteered through the university to help pick up international students from the airport, she was asked to coordinate the entire program. She’s excited to “assign all the church volunteers that we want to be drivers. What a blessing it is to get off plane in new country and the first person you meet is someone who loves Jesus,” she says.
This is just one of the opportunities CMBA churches and members have to serve, love, and build relationships with international students living in downtown Columbia. According to Venters, there is a place for people with any level of interest, availability, and calling to share the love of Jesus with internationals who are curious about faith.
For almost three years “Pong” attended BCM’s weekly internationals lunch, where he engaged with volunteers Mark and Susan, members of Three Rivers Baptist who have backgrounds in international business. Pong is a personable PhD student from China who, though skeptical at first, began discussing the Bible and faith questions with the couple after the lunch each week. He gave his life to Christ last fall, has begun attending church, and had his first Lord’s Supper earlier this year.
“Pong’s story is a great reminder that international ministry is a long process with students,” Venters says. “They have different cultural backgrounds, are rooted in strong family ties, and deeply weigh the cost if they choose to follow Jesus.”
According to Venters, UofSC has about 1,600 international students from roughly 120 countries enrolled each semester, and BCM is currently serving students from 56 of these countries. Most students speak English and want to engage with Americans, so Venters encourages CMBA volunteers to look at partnering with BCM as a “gift, not just a Great Commission commandment.”
Carolina BCM offers a wide variety of ministry opportunities to volunteers:
Meals – Church partners provide meals for internationals. BCM serves lunch to about 120 internationals every Thursday from 12-1:30 p.m. Popular menus include pizza, soups, fried chicken with sides, and, because there are Muslim and Hindu participants, Venters requests a vegetarian menu option. Volunteers can welcome students and engage with them. BCM also offers dinner every other Thursday from 6-8 p.m.
Bibles – Bibles are always needed, and Venters says study Bibles are best for internationals “just starting out, so having notes at the bottom helps them understand and dig deeper.” Students prefer English Bibles as “it’s what they’re hearing in church, and they want to work on their English.”
Rides – The majority of internationals don’t have vehicles and few stores are walkable from campus, so transportation is a frequent need and the university also contacts BCM when it receives calls from international students. Drivers are needed for rides to grocery stores, Walmart, and Indian or Asian markets throughout the school year and the summer semester. Airport pick up or drop off is also needed primarily in August and January. Venters says many drivers offer their contact for future needs.
Friendship Partners – Internationals attending the weekly lunch are offered a Bible and asked if they have faith questions, would like to visit a church, and if they’d like an American “Friendship Partner.” Venters says so many students request a Friendship Partner that often many go without, but she would “love to mobilize local churches to identify groups of two-three people, who often work better for this than one-on-one. We just ask that they contact the student at least once a month, but the details are really up to the individuals.”
BCM Free Store – BCM collects basic furniture and home supplies from internationals returning to their home countries and opens a “Free Store” for incoming students at the start of each semester. Volunteers are needed a few days ahead of each semester to set this up. The university invites BCM to speak at the international student orientation, so Venters says this is a wonderful outreach to engage a lot of students by meeting basic needs.
Trips and Local Activities – Internationals want to experience American life, so BCM plans day trips and excursions that may include volunteers who can assist on day trips to Charleston or by offering personal hobbies students can experience with them, such as fishing or playing golf. “Students are curious and want to experience things we might take for granted, like going to the mall or football games,” Venters says.
Welcome Baskets – BCM’s Welcome Baskets contain basic living necessities along with information about BCM and local churches, and the baskets often the first thing that international students receive when they arrive. Welcome Baskets are perfect Sunday School or WMU projects. Venters says sheets and blankets are two of the ministry’s greatest needs.
Welcome Baskets helped Venters meet three female students from Australia, Switzerland, and Spain, who expressed interest in meeting regularly to study the Bible. Two had Christian backgrounds but weren’t believers and did not go to church, and the third student had no religious background. Venters used Bibles donated by CMBA churches to teach the students how to read scripture.
The girls told Venters they “had never heard the things they were reading before,” and she could tell they “recognized what they were learning was important.” By the end of the semester, all three accepted Christ before returning to their home countries and Venters reports that the International Mission Board has helped the students find Bible-teaching churches in their respective areas.
“God loves the nations. He made them different and wants them to know Him, and He’s bringing them to us,” Venters reminds CMBA members. “We are seeing so many students from countries not open to the gospel, but God has designed this educational dynamic to bring them to our city. We are to be faithful to step into ministry to them while they’re here.”
For more information or to volunteer, visit www.CarolinaBCM.org.