Jesus said ‘go and make disciples of all of the nations…’ (Matthew 28:19). But what is the practical application for Christians today? Kathleen Macosko says one way we can answer Jesus’ call is to reach out to the international students in our midst through the gift of hospitality.

“For some of us who are more lazy than others and can’t ‘go’, all you have to do is go from your kitchen to your dining room and then you can obey Jesus, as long as you’ve got an international student there at your table.”

Hospitality should be a priority for us if we want to reach international students with the love of Christ.

Daonna Start and her husband Andy have also hosted many international students over the last eight years in their home. She shares from personal experience,

“One of our favorite things to do is Thanksgiving at our home and we typically have 25-30 Chinese people over. But my favorite part is that we sit around the living room after dinner and I tell everybody that I’m going to ask them what they’re thankful for this year.”

“It is one of the most amazing things to behold because the first year the students are always thankful for their parents and for their opportunities to be studying abroad. But after a couple of years, as you see the students mature and experience American culture, their thankfulness changes to an attitude of thankfulness for being in a place where they can experience the love of people and the Christian love that is shared with them.”

“Many of them have come to Christ just through the experience of being hosted through families, being connected with churches, and being able to experience the love of Jesus Christ through hospitality.”

The holidays are a great time to engage and get connected with international students. Through hospitality, we can show them the love of Christ and answer our call to make disciples of every nation.


Kathleen Macosko currently serves on the board of ConneXions International (or CXI), a nonprofit that helps International students, scholars and families, adjust to American life. She and her husband live at the University of Minnesota in community with 7 International students.

Daonna Start and her husband Andy connected with Hospitality Center for Chinese and began hosting students in 2009. Andy and Daonna look at hosting their Chinese students as an opportunity to be missionaries right in their own home to the smartest and brightest Chinese students who will someday become the future leaders of China.

Hospitality for international students
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