About INK

INK Mission And Vision | INK History | Previous Workshops | Previous Speakers |
Testimonies Of Previous Attendees

      INK Mission And Vision

To invest in Christian international students by providing training and encouragement especially as they face various transitions. To challenge these students that they are chosen by God to make an impact on the world for His Kingdom wherever He chooses to place them.

      INK History

The INK Conference was born out of the need for investing in Christian international students especially as they transition from their current institutions. A small committee composed of senior staff of different international student ministries (Lisa Chinn-IVCF, Nate Mirza-Navigators, Dan Brannen-ISI, Leiton Chinn-ACMI and Barry Chole-Chi Alpha ISM) saw this need and came up with the concept of having such a conference and named it INK, standing for Internationals for God's Kingdom. Four possibilities were identified as options which Christian international students choose as they transition: to pursue further studies, optional practical training (OPT)/internships, returning home or pursuing employment either in the US or in a different country altogether.

Following these deliberations, the first INK Conference was held at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois in May 2004 with 30 student delegates. The next one followed in December 2005 in San Diego, California in which 50 students attended. It was then decided that there would be no INK conferences in the years during which the Urbana Missions Conference was held and that subsequent INK conferences would be student led, trusting in the Lord to raise up student leaders. In December 2007, the first student-led conference was held at Columbus, Ohio with an attendance of about 70 students.

      INK'05 Video

      INK'07 Video

Over the years, the following international student ministries have participated in the sponsorship/support of the INK conferences:

1. InterVarsity Christian Fellowship ISM (IVCF)
2. The Navigators ISM
3. International Students Inc. (ISI)
4. International Friendships Inc. (IFI)
5. International Christian Church of San Diego (ICCSD)
6. All Nations Christian Fellowship
7. Chi Alpha Campus Ministries ISM
8. Association of Christians Ministering among Internationals (ACMI)

      Previous Conference Workshops:

1. Discipleship training
2. How to study the Bible for yourself
3. Relationships
4. God's Goodness: His Providence and Provisions
5. Cultural Voices and Kingdom Choices
6. Apologetics
7. Re-entry
8. Post-Academic Transitions

      Previous Conference Speakers:

• Leiton Chinn
• 
Leiton Chinn has been involved in mobilizing the Church for International Student Ministry for 31 years, and served until 2008 as President of the Association of Christians Ministering among Internationals (ACMI), a 27 year old network of ISMs of Canada and the United States. ACMI conducts an annual, national equipping conference for those ministering among Internationals.


• Lisa Chinn
• 
Lisa Espineli Chinn is National Director of International Student Ministries, IVCF/USA. She served with IVCF Philippines for 8 years prior to serving with IVCF/USA in 1979-81. From 1982-90 she served with her husband, Leiton, in International Student Ministry, and rejoined IVCF in 2000. Lisa has authored several publications and a simulation game on international student “reentry”. She has a Bachelors in Foreign Service from the University of the Philippines and an M.A. in Communications from Wheaton Graduate School.


• Alicia Britt Chole
• 
As a speaker Alicia Britt Chole delights and disarms her audience with genuineness and vulnerability, captivates their attention by wrapping vivid illustrations around life-changing truths, and delivers her message with conviction (and a good dose of humor!). Her messages awaken hearts and minds to consider the intimacy and intensity of God.

Alicia Britt Chole speaks to leaders, professionals, women's groups, ministers, and college students concerning spiritual life, temptation, conflict, disillusionment, commitment, choices, deception, mission, and mentoring. She has authored several books and audio/video series including Anonymous: Jesus' Hidden Years and Yours; Pure Joy; Reflections of a Young Atheist; The Making of A Mentor; Real Life, Real Pain, & A Real God; Choices: To Be or Not To Be a Woman of God; Until The Whole World Knows; and Sitting in God's Sunshine.

Describing her personal pilgrimage, Alicia Britt Chole explains: "Truth to me was dead, God had never lived, life was full of pain, and death was the end of life. As a young Atheist, I sincerely believed that man had created God to fill the gaps in knowledge that would never be spanned by experience, reason or science. In 1983 the God who pursues those who deny Him interrupted my existence. He captured my soul with raw love. Two decades later, God's tangible friendship still amazes me. To deny His existence I'd have to first deny my own."

Today, Alicia Britt Chole and her fun-filled tribe of five live in the country off a dirt road in a home devoted to reflection and writing.


• Carol Davis
• 
As co-founder and U.S. Director of Global Spectrum, Carol pioneers pathways to the future. Her heart has been captured by God's heart for the cities of the U.S. and nations of the world. Having served on church staffs for more than 25 years, and now a consultant, she catalyzes, mobilizes professionals, consults and mentors pastors, organizations, global strategists for the next generation. Carol is the conceptualizer and founder of The EDGE and INTERSECTION Conferences.


• Pete Hammond
• 
Pete Hammond was Vice-President at large with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA. He was a pioneer in the areas of evangelism and multi-ethnic ministries within InterVarsity and launched its ministry to the students headed for the marketplace. His work “Marketplace” resulted in numerous products aimed at graduating collegians and marketplace Christians. He ended his 41 years with IVCF when he retired in September, 2007.


• Ivan Liew
• 
Ivan was born in Kuala Lampur, Malaysia and is currently a pastor in Woodlands EFC, Singapore. He was a bioengineering student in San Diego from 1991-1995, during which time he became a Christian through the ministry of an International Christian Fellowship. After graduating from UCSD, he worked in Singapore before beginning his theological studies and entering the pastoral ministry.


• Renata Liew
• 
Renata is currently a Lay Ministry Staff on the Pastoral Team of Barker Rd Methodist Church Singapore. She is active in the discipleship and evangelism ministries and has a passion for missions. She graduated from Trinity Theological College, Singapore in 2004, having studied in Macquarie University (Sydney) as well as Tokyo Metropolitan University. Before joining staff at Barker Rd, she worked in the Singapore Tourism Board, was a freelance translator and did short term missions work in Japan. Renata has been active in a range of ministries including worship, youth, young adults, prisons, community & relief work. Renata is married to Ivan.


• Kaluba Kapapulas
• Kaluba Kapapulas was born and raised in Zambia, Africa. Kaluba graduated from GLO Bible College in Ndola Zambia. Since his graduation, he has served as a Senior Pastor for Lusaka Revival Tabernacle, Lecturer at Shekinah Training Center, and is a missionary to America under Teen Missions. He is married to Precious and the Lord has blessed them with two daughters. He now serves with International Students Inc (ISI) in San Jose, California.



• Sevo Lwali
• 
Sevo Lwali is a native of Kenya. He came to the U.S. 9 years ago to study at Missouri State University where he finished his bachelors in Cultural Anthropology and his masters in Intercultural Communication. While at Missouri State, Sevo was involved in Chi Alpha Christian Fellowship. Today, Sevo, along with his wife Kristina work with Chi Alpha especially focusing on international student ministry in the Springfield area. His mission is to influence the influencers! Reconciling international students to Christ, preparing and equipping them for the Kingdom of God, trying to impact lives wherever God plants him – the university, the marketplace and the world.


• Wichit Maneevone
• 
Wichit has served with ISI (International Students Inc.) since 1974, reaching internationals studying at our local colleges and universities through friendship evangelism, personal weekly discipleship, accountability and exercising spiritual gifts in the body, which characterizes the ministry. Through the growth of International Christian Fellowship (ICF) and the blessing of assistance from EFCC, Wichit partnered with others to start the International Christian Church of San Diego. Their goal is to develop more leadership opportunities and to practically equip international Christians to be able to use their professions for Christ among their own people.


• Nate Mirza
• 
Nate Mirza grew up in Iran's Assyrian community and entered into a personal relationship with Christ as an international student at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. On staff with the Navigtors since 1961, Nate has spent the past three decades ministering to the international students and coaching others to do the same. He is currently a senior staff mentor in the Navigators International Student Ministry. The Mirzas, who live in Colorado Springs have two married daughters and four grandchildren.


• Andre Ong
• 
Andre Ong is the Senior and Founding Pastor of ICCSD. His ministry experiences include being a minister with International Students Incorporated (ISI) and International Christian Fellowship (ICF) since 1996. His educational experiences include being a Ph.D. Candidate in the Religion program focusing in philosophy, theology, ethics and culture at the Claremont Graduate University. Andre Ong's love is especially in composing praise and worship songs, helping Christians understand the world better through Christian lenses and helping the unchurched understand Christ better through philosophy, theology and Christian apologetics.


• Ahror Rahmedov
• Ahror Rahmedov is Uzbek by nationality and grew up in Toshkent, Uzbekistan. Uzbekistan is located in Central Asia. It is a landlocked country sandwiched between Kazakhstan in the north, Afghanistan in the south, Kirghizstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Turkmenistan in the southwest.



• Dr. T.V. Varughese
• 
Dr. T.V. Varughese from Kerala, India, has been involved in international student ministry for nearly three decades. He has earned degrees in science, astronomy, education and two master's degrees in mathematics and statistics and a Ph.D. in mathematics from Indiana University. He has served as faculty on several of US universities, and taught in India and Ghana. He is the founder and president of International Discipleship Ministries Inc., and has authored it Ministry Leadership Institute's Master Design for Life courses in discipleship and equipping, which are being offered in the U.S. and in the 10-40 window nations.


• David Jebaratnam
• 
David Jebaratnam came from Sri Lanka to the United States in 1981 as an international student. After completing his Ph.D. in Chemistry at the Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison and a two-year postdoctoral position at Harvard Univ., he served on the faculty at Northeastern Univ. in Boston. In 1998 he became missions pastor at Grace Chapel in Lexington, Massachusetts. Since August 2006, he has served as executive pastor at the Midlands Evangelical Free Church in Michigan. David and his wife, Gem, have two daughters.


• Richard Mendola
• 
Richard J. Mendola has been serving international students for the past 26 years. He began in 1980 working with students from SUNY Buffalo. In 1987 he moved to Ohio and began working with students at Ohio University. He moved to Columbus in 1991. His present position is Executive Director of International Friendships, a Christian ministry to international students that involves volunteers from local churches in friendships with international students.

Before working with international students, he served as the Housing Director at Colgate University where he graduated with a B.A. in 1978. He also did graduate studies in counseling at Colgate from 1978-80.
Rich enjoys relating to students from many different cultural backgrounds and has been on trips to visit returned international students 3 times. These trips have taken him to China, Japan, Indonesia, Taiwan, Singapore, and Malaysia.

Rich is also a church planter. In 1997, he began All Nations Christian Fellowship, a multi-cultural church that meets near the Ohio State University Campus. Presently, the church has 175 members from 25 different countries. Rich is the lead pastor with main responsibilities for preaching and leading the pastoral team.

Rich is also active in the Association of Christians Ministering among Internationals (ACMI) where he has been a board member and is a frequent speaker.

Rich is an active speaker making known the needs of international students as well as the tremendous blessing of learning from someone from a different culture.

He is married to Janet and they have six children: Grace, Danielle, Hope, Philip, Melody, and Paul.


• Dr. David M. Howard
• 
Dr. David M. Howard is a well-known and widely respected missionary, speaker, author and teacher. He got his M.A degree in Theology from Wheaton College in 1952. He then served as a missionary in Costa Rica and Columbia for the following 13 years with the Latin America Mission and eventually become the Field Director for Columbia.

On his return to the US, he joined the Intervarsity Christian Fellowship as Missions Director and also served as Director for the Urbana Missions Conference in 1973 and 1976. He has provided leadership to various mission agencies and ministries on the international level as Director for the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization (1977-1980), International Director of World Evangelical Fellowship (1982-1992) and President of Latin America Mission (1995-1999) among others.

He recently retired in 2006 and now lives in Fort Meyers, FL, from where he pursues speaking engagements, writing and teaching in the U.S and overseas. Dr Howard is a well-known author, whose writings include numerous articles in a wide variety of magazines and missions journals, as well as ten books. He enjoys interacting with students and sharing from his vast experience and vision for God's kingdom throughout the world.


• Bok & Heidi Chew
• 
Bok (an ethnic Chinese from Malaysia) and Heidi (originally from Germany) have spent more than half of their lives outside of their native countries.

They have had many opportunities to improve their cross-cultural IQ by working and studying on three continents, studying cross-cultural training, working with international students, and being married to each other (guess, where they've learned the most!) What started out as being 'only friends', turned into 'best friends' who married 12 years ago.

They first became involved in International Student Ministry (ISM) as students (Bok holds a B.B.A. and M.B.A.; Heidi B.Div., M.Div, M.Th., M.A. in Journalism and in ESL, and a Ph.D. in ESL/cross-cultural training).

They found it so fun and addictive that they continued as volunteers after graduation. In 2000, they became full-time ISM staff with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship in Cleveland, OH, where serving internationals has become a lifestyle that is shared by their kids Anya (8) and Lukas (4).


• Honglin Li
• 
Honglin Li came to the United States in September 1998 as an international student at The Ohio State University. After completing his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering at the end of 2003, he served on the faculty at North Dakota State Univerisity for three years. In November 2006, he joined Truveo, the AOL video search team, and has been working from AOL San Francisco office ever since.

Honglin became a Christian in April 1999 through international student ministry in Columbus, Ohio, and has since been actively involved in a variety of ministries including public speaking, and organizing and leading bible studies. Honglin and his wife, Haiying, live in the Bay area with their two sons, Jed and Daniel.


• Ichwan Chahyadi
• 
Ichwan Chahyadi came to the U.S. as an international student from Indonesia for his Masters in Chemical Engineering at the University of Wisconsin. He then returned home as a working professional where he had a successful career for 15 years, eventually rising to become the Director of a synthetic leather company. Besides a brief stint teaching at the Universitas Surabaya, he also established the "VISI" Christian bookstores in Indonesia. Ichwan recently returned to the U.S. to study counseling at the Denver Seminary. He is married to Arvilya, have two children, Michelle (10) and Raymond (8).


• Dr Pete Trott
• Charles E. "Pete" Trott earned his doctorate at the Ohio State University in March 1969. He began his career as an Economist in the Research Department of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland. His tenure there was from August 1967 through July 1969 when he and his family moved to the Washington, D.C. area where he took employment as a Regional Economist with what is now the Bureau of Economic Analysis in the U.S. Department of Commerce. His tenure there was until August 1972 when he and his family moved to northern Illinois. Here he assumed the position of Associate Professor in the Geography Department of Northern Illinois University [NIU]. He became chair of the department in January 1978 and in the summer of 1980 was named Associate Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, a position he held until the summer of 1988. He accepted the position of Director of the Center for Governmental Studies at NIU and remained in the position until his retirement at the close of 2002.
  His entire research history was spent in applied public policy research, especially in workforce development programs. His teaching was primarily in research methodologies and procedures at the graduate level in the Geography Department. Since retiring, he has continued teaching, but the topics now are issues in Christian living and in topical Biblical studies at his church.

      Testimonies Of Previous Attendees

• Monica Johnson
• 
I am an international student from India. I met Jesus when I was in India and was well connected to a local Church. I came to the US to pursue Graduate studies in Biomechanics. I experienced many struggles that most international students go through in a foreign land. Some of these included learning to adjust to a new system of education, leaving family and friends behind and learning to live in a new culture. Also, not being able to connect to a local church and or a Christian fellowship left me feeling alone and confused as to why God brought me to this country.

It was not until I moved to Columbus, OH that I started to see God’s hand behind all the various things that I went through in my first year. I realized that one of the main reasons that God brought me here was that he was molding me into a vessel that will become a “world changer”. He was using my time here in this land to train and equip me to be his witness to my home land and wherever He takes me. I heard about the INK conference in 2007 as it was being held in Columbus, OH where I live now. A friend, a fellow international student from my church was co-directing it. As a team of us from Columbus spent time praying for this conference I was starting to see how God was using INK as a platform to bring many Christian international students to share their experiences.

I attended INK 07 and was blessed by it in so many ways that it may be hard to express it in just a few words. I was blessed with a global perspective on how God is moving among the nations. As I walked into the conference and looked around my heart was gripped to see that I truly worshipped a God of all Nations. The stories and testimonies of international Christian students from all over the world was a tremendous encouragement to me. We shared our hearts and lives with each other and found a deep connection with each other because we had much in common and the Love of our Lord bonded us into a community instantly. The sessions that were held on learning from the hidden years of JESUS touched me deeply and gave me clarity and peace about what God has been doing with me during my stay in the US. The topics such as preparing to go back home and dealing with the reverse transition were very helpful.

The prayer times were one of the most powerful experiences I had at the conference. The 70 international students gathered in small groups according to the nations they came from and prayed over their land. That’s when I knew in my heart that God has chosen me to be part of a global movement he has began and deeply impressed upon my heart the significance of having a conference that is focused on internationals.

I left the conference with a clearer vision for my life and a godly confidence to meet the several challenges that awaited me and have seen his faithful hand guiding me thus far. I would encourage all my fellow internationals to come and experience the God of all Nations at INK 08.


• Hee-Kyung Lee
• 
Hello everyone!

My name is Hee-Kyung Lee and I go by Kathee as well. I am a student at Shepherd University in Los Angeles studying Music. I am from Korea and have lived in Germany for four years and in Illinois for six years where I received a B.A. in International Studies at University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign.

During my undergraduate years, I had a chance to go to INK 2005 in San Diego. I was a student with a limited resource and was overwhelmed by the pressure from my studies back then. I was going through extremely tough times with my family troubles, academics and being withdrawn to myself thinking all things were my fault. I wondered why God left me alone during tough times as an international student living by myself in a new country.

After the cold winter semester was over, I joined the community of global networks at INK conference in San Diego with staffs and students coming from all over the U.S. I was immediately plunged into new set of friends with whom I found out that we were going through similar situations in life and needed encouragement. I felt that my soar heart was being released and had a fun time by hanging out with them in the nature and talking to staffs and friends about my plans. The Speakers poured out God’s message affirming me that there is still hope standing for me and that God himself understands all the pain and suffering that I was going through.

During the last INK EQUIP 2007 in Columbus, OH God led me to serve in the leadership team again this time as a co-director of INK ACTION 2008 taking place in Baltimore, Maryland. It is honor for me to partner with other international students who are also working on the same goal to give glory to God. I would like to invite all students and staffs to join us again and wait and see what God has in store for us during the five days of the conference. Please join us and pray with us as we invite God to put us into actions based in love that will heal and transform us and the world!


• Shemu Nixon Ariyasivam
• 
Born to a family of pastors; Christianity God and going to church was one of the chores that I had to do in my house. The value of it rather was more to my parents than to me. God thought otherwise and met me when I was sixteen and said He wanted to change me and use me for His glory in His service, for which I conceded for my life at that time had hit rock bottom in a way.

So till then till now God has been changing me more and more and challenging me even more to be obedient and available to Him regardless of my circumstances. It is very humbling, praise God for that.

INK 07 was something that was introduced to me by my staff worker for IVCF who works with international students. And thanks to her and God ultimately I got an opportunity to be a part of this conference. I was excited to go to an international conference for in a way it made me special, and I knew I will meet other students who are going through the same problems and issues that I am facing hence be able to relate to them more freely. And that is all I expected from the conference, but I was wrong God had other things stored for me.

Out of the many things that I learnt I would like to share a few things which stick out for me. I never realized that I need additional preparation to go back and get settled in my home country, until I cam to the conference. Having the seminars on that topic help me further realize the importance of me going back and the importance of me keeping that availability so that I wouldn’t get settled here. For life here is far better and easier here than home. I must go back for that is where my conviction is and my calling in God. This conference helped me further understand and equip me in my calling. And last but not least the people, there were fantastic I simply loved them. I felt like I knew everyone for years, for we all just connected without any effort at all. There was no need for introductions and stuff. It was literally a taste of heaven. People of every nation and tongue have come together to worship the one and only true God.

Simply speaking INK 07 equipped me with my continuing walk with Christ; it was a blessing from God which I am grateful to God. He is good.
“so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." (2 Thimothy 3:17)

I know and believe God did this in my life and still continuing to and I encourage you to step out in faith and let God take care of things.

Amen

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