For over 15 years, IFI Cleveland has been waiting at the door when international college students step off the plane, often disoriented, jet-lagged, and without so much as a meal plan or a city bus pass. That initial welcome has quietly become the heartbeat of everything the ministry does.

DJ Bradley, IFI staff member who joined the team in 2021, has watched that evolution up close. The first point of contact is simple yet effective: a welcome dinner and driving them to Walmart. It sounds small, but ask the students– it’s the kind of thing that earns trust in ways a flyer or a campus event never could.

“These events have been very good to fill practical needs and to give us ‘street cred’ with students,” DJ said. “When they first arrive, they barely have anything.”

From there, the rhythm of the year takes shape. Discussion and Dinner gatherings, known as “D&Ds”, happen regularly for both campuses at Cleveland State and Case Western. Community dinners, a fall and winter getaway, road trips to Amish country and Niagara Falls, among others, aren’t just events on a calendar; they’re the slow, consistent work of building a community where students feel less like foreigners in a strange land.

Perhaps the most exciting development in recent years has been entirely student-led. Two IFI graduates who stuck around the area saw a need for a space that spoke more directly to the other South Asian students. They began what’s now called the Upper Room Gathering, a church service they plan and lead themselves, focused on giving South Asian students a place to worship or learn more about Jesus in culturally relevant ways. IFI Cleveland’s role? Encouragement and funds for dinner.

“For over a year now, they’ve been running the service,” DJ stated. “They’re in charge of how it goes, and we’re just there for moral support. I’ve really seen them grow as leaders, improving with every next service they do.”

That same spirit of doing life together extends outside of the workplace and into IFI Cleveland staff members’ homes, where they either do temporary homestays or lease to international students. Students are constantly stopping by for a homemade meal, spontaneous outings, or midnight runs to Denny’s. 

Like anywhere else, there are challenges, too. Students are busy, pulled between coursework, jobs, and family pressure. Finding consistent time for discipleship and mentorship is a constant struggle. Some students are curious about faith but haven’t yet wrestled deeply with grace. One must be patient in relationship building, keeping a slow and steady flow that organically fits into students’ lives and rhythms, loving them consistently through whatever they are going through personally.

In addition, there’s been a bittersweet change to the Cleveland team, as long-time associate staff, Paul and Debbie Solano, recently retired and the IFI Cleveland team was looking to fill the void they left. Prayers were answered, and God provided Theresa and Rahul, a couple from Asia who were sent specifically to serve international students in northeast Ohio. 

Theresa was an IFI student and ISEEDer when she was in the US for school before she returned to her home country and got married to Rahul. “We prayed with Rich Mendola and other IFI leaders [about the move back to America],” the couple said. “We then applied for our visas, waited, and God graciously opened the door for us. This was definitely something from Him.”

Now settled in Cleveland, Theresa and Rahul are three months into integrating themselves into the work. They’ve hosted their first D&D gathering and are already meeting one-on-one with students. Financially, they’re at just ten percent of their monthly support goal. 

“We are both encouraged and discouraged,” Theresa admitted. “But these are just feelings. We are called to be faithful to what we are called to do, and he will provide the rest.” *

That being said, the summer is full of hope and exciting plans. Weekly backyard D&Ds at different volunteer homes, a nation-wide IFI scavenger hunt in Chicago, camping trips, a visit to Presque Isle… Nearly every weekend holds something. New elements are taking shape across the ministry, too, such as the desire to introduce more live worship music to IFI gatherings and regular team prayer meetings to seek God’s wisdom.

Looking further ahead, the team is asking deeper questions. With international student numbers shifting on both campuses, there’s conversation about more citywide events that bring everyone together. There’s a growing hunger for discipleship and mobilization, and a recognized need for more trained volunteers. And perhaps most compellingly, the team is beginning to think seriously about a returnee ministry, recognizing that most international students will eventually go home. The question is this: What does it look like to begin with the end in mind, preparing students not just for life in Cleveland, but for what they carry back home with them?

That question captures something essential about Cleveland IFI after 15 years. The table has always been the center. But the vision was never just about who sits down; it’s about who they become, and where they go next.

*if you would like to support Theresa and Rahul’s ministry financially, you can give here: https://www.ifipartners.org/team/theresa-liang