What constitutes a “Win” while hosting?
What motivated you to host a Chinese student in your home? It’s essential to determine that, because your motivation will drive every decision you make as you bring a temporary new family member into your home.
For many of our host families, they ultimately want to see their student become a follower of Christ if they already are not one. This would be the ultimate “win” for many families.
Our team at Premier Education would celebrate alongside you as well if your student chose to become a follower of Jesus. However, we want to remind you that this is not our expectation for every student that enters into a host family.
“At the end of the day, the relationship you have with your student probably has far more influence over their lives than any church activities.” –Ed Wu
Our hopes for host families include:
- That your student would be physically, emotionally, and spiritually cared for while in your home.
- That your student would see Christ in you as you live and work and worship in your daily life.
That’s it! The list stops there! Does that give you a sense of relief or frustration to see such a short list?
Our team wants you to take a deep breath and realize that it’s not YOUR job to “win” your student’s heart to turn to the Lord. The Holy Spirit is already pursuing your student. God is working. Acts 17:26-27 tells us that God scattered the nations across the face of the earth and already has determined your student’s boundaries. And His purpose for this scattering is “that they should seek after God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him – although he is not far from any one of us.”
God purposely scattered your student into your home for this predetermined time so your student will seek God and perhaps find Him while under your roof. However, it’s not a promise or command that they will find Him while in your home.
For this reason, Premier Education asks that our host families take their students to church one time each week to worship with the corporate Body of Christ. Premier Education does not require extra church activities. For a student who has not yet found God, all these church activities may become a burden, and it may even turn them off to seeking spiritual things.
“We are called to share the gospel with our students. Our life is the best testimony, and our home is the real mission field. Having a situational conversation and bringing God into real-world examples will be far more effective for the students to understand who is our God and how Christians are living our lives.” –Ed Wu
Consider the fact that your home is an extension of the church. You and your family are a beautiful picture of the Body. Make the moments in your home be a reflection of what it looks like to live the Christian life.