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MAKE CHECK PAYABLE TO “International Friendships, Inc.” and mail to:
International Friendships, Inc.
PO Box 933319
CLEVELAND OH 44193
Memo line: COL MIN FUND Year End
Donate your gift at every.org
Send an email to informing us of your donation, that you would like your gift to go to “COL MIN FUND Year End.”
Give to IFI Columbus before December 28, 2023 to help us fully fund our Columbus ministry events, activities, and programs for the remainder of the academic year.
A Few More Months
A Few More Months
Help us make the most of these next few months of:
- Seizing opportunities to connect
- Supporting lives to be transformed
- Sharing stories for the glory of God
We believe that God will provide! Will you partner with Him by giving:
- A one-time gift of $365 (or $1 a day)
- A recurring monthly gift starting at $50, $75, or $100
- A gift of $1000+ which can assist in sponsorship of events
1) Host Events, Activities & Programs driven by students’ Discipleship Journey
IFI views discipleship as a journey towards Jesus, and with Jesus. But every journey starts with a first step. By connecting internationals with Christian friends, these international students have the opportunity to see how Jesus lives through the lives of His followers, and to learn more about Him. As international students learn through this experience, and meaningful discussion, they can take clearer of who Jesus is and decide how they will respond to His invitation to follow Him.
We are seeking out and praying for more opportunities to connect students directly with staff and volunteers over the course of the school year. These opportunities could include more events and or hosting activities to establish and develop the connections that facilitate this journey.
IFI also wants to provide support for internationals who have started to follow Jesus as they mature in Christ, with programs like ISEED (International Students as Equipped & Empowered Disciples). By providing resources, training, and mentorship, ISEED helps international believers become more like Jesus, and discover how He wants to work through their lives.
Lastly, IFI Columbus endeavors to provide training, resources, and support for the Christian friends (i.e. IFI volunteers) who will be engaging in this journey with students.
2) Develop an Ethnically Focused & Diverse Ministry via our Ethnic Friendship Teams
In order to partner with Jesus in helping internationals to address and overcome cultural barriers, IFI Columbus endeavors to develop a diverse, and ethnically focused ministry through our Ethnic Friendship Teams. These teams actively build friendships with students from a specific ethnic background, provide cultural events that reach out to students from that background, and establish discipleship opportunities (i.e. Bible Discussion Groups) that contextualize the Bible for the students they serve.
For example, the Loving Indians Friendship team hosts a weekly Yeshu Satsang, a contextualized Bible Discussion Group for Hindus. This group sets an Indian cultural environment with Indian worship music, clothes, instruments and food to show Hindu background friends they can learn and worship Jesus without giving up their culture. This helps to break the stereotype that Christianity is a western religion.
The Columbus ministry also facilitates teams for our Chinese, African, and Muslim friends, with the hope of developing more teams to serve more cultural communities in the future.
3) Build a Community of Supporters to fully fund the Columbus Ministry
We believe that God will provide the resources we need to seize the opportunities, share the stories, and support the transformed lives that He’s leading us to engage with. And we believe that He will do it through the financial gifts of faithful IFI Columbus partners, like you.
Your gift to can make a tremendous impact by helping IFI Columbus:
- Engage with new and returning students attending Columbus campuses through our annual events and activities.
- Supply Bibles and other discipleship resources to international students in Columbus with spiritual interest.
- Equip international student believers to share God’s love globally.
- Mobilize and train more churches and volunteers to join the effort.
Whether you’re hearing about IFI Columbus for the first time, or you’ve been a faithful partner to IFI Columbus for years, don’t let this opportunity to participate in making a world of difference in the lives of international students.
Consider how you will give to help us reach all of our ministry goals for this academic year.
Some gifts to consider include:
- A one-time gift of $365 (or $1 a day)
- A monthly gift starting at $50, $75, or $100
- An annual pledge of $1000+
Will you consider giving a recurring monthly gift starting at $50, $75, or $100 to make a sustainable impact in the lives of our international friends?
Benefits to YOU
- Convenience: Recurring donations are automated, making it easier for you to contribute regularly without the need to remember to make individual payments.
- Budgeting: You can plan your charitable contributions more effectively. You’ll know exactly how much you are giving each month, which helps them budget and manage their finances.
- Impact: Consistent, smaller contributions can add up to a larger total donation over time, enabling you to have a more significant impact in the lives of internationals. It’s a way to contribute more without feeling a substantial financial burden.
Benefits to IFI Columbus
- Predictable Revenue: Recurring donations provide a stable, predictable income stream, making it easier for IFI Columbus to plan and budget for ongoing events, activities, programs and initiatives.
- Sustainability: A consistent flow of funds helps IIF Columbus weather financial ups and downs, emergencies, or unexpected expenses, ensuring they can continue their vital work even in uncertain times.
- Efficiency: Recurring donations reduce the need for repeated fundraising campaigns and events, allowing IFI Columbus to operate more efficiently and direct resources toward our mission to extend life-changing hospitality to internationals out of reverence to Jesus.
