Richard Huston (Miltonvale, ’71) has worked with international students from all over the world, from every background and belief system. His ministry has taken him places he’d never have imagined, and he’s seen countless lives changed by the Gospel of Jesus Christ. But it’s all been built on the foundation of simple friendship and grace.
“I think that they really are an overlooked part of missions, because they are right in our midst,” Huston said. “Any believer in America can reach an international student… They may not be believers, or they may be believers, just struggling with the culture and the language and so on. [But] believers can come alongside and encourage them.”
It sounds deceptively easy, but Rich and his wife Inge have made a life of ministry together through this straightforward goal: coming alongside international students with the love of Christ.
Starting Out
Originally from the Kansas City area, Huston attended Miltonvale Wesleyan College—a preceding OKWU institution—and graduated with an associate’s degree in 1971. He later continued his education at Mid-America Nazarene University and at the University of Northern Iowa, where he obtained a master’s degree in teaching English as a foreign language. Still, he credits Miltonvale with laying the foundation of his ministry with international students.
“While I was in college, even at Miltonvale, I was linked up with the international students that were there,” he said. “I felt a clear call to missions, and I was interested in the international students who were on campus already.”
This desire to become involved with missions found an outlet during a trip with the organization Operation Mobilization. Twenty students from campus went on an outreach to Mexico, and the journey had a profound effect on Huston’s life. He’d later continue his travels with OM, visiting Europe, the Middle East, and India, as well as serving on a mission ship off the coast of Lagos. It was during this time that Huston met his wife, Inge. They were married in 1977.
Huston’s ministry included pastoring, as well, as he led congregations in Nebraska and Iowa and became involved in church planting. Though he didn’t know it at the time, this work was preparing him for later opportunities around the world. But still, through all these stateside positions, Huston felt the call towards international students.
“While pastoring, I wanted to still be in contact with internationals and be involved with some kind of focus on missions,” he said. “So that’s when I began to reach out to nearby campuses.”
He started with the Universities of Nebraska and Northern Iowa, connecting his churches to the international student populations on those campuses and creating opportunities to reach out to them. Many of these connections are still in place today at the various churches.
“Refugees need to be reached with the Gospel. Immigrants need to be reached with the Gospel, and international students are often are the ones who will actually return home to their own culture. And if their life has been transformed, it can be a perfect opportunity to bring the Gospel.”
On the Field
In 1981, Rich and Inge began their time as missionaries, traveling to Zambia with Wesleyan World Missions (since renamed Global Partners). They served there for several years, planting churches and teaching at a boarding school. Rich taught English and Bible.
In 1989, they moved to Germany, Inge’s home country. In Kiel, Rich again taught English and developed a new ministry to international students, all the while planting a German-speaking church. Their first term in Germany ended after six years, when they moved back to the Kansas City area. Huston became an area representative for Operation Mobilization and worked in that role until 2014, when the couple moved back to Germany—this time to Hamburg. They remain there to this day.
Their goal for Hamburg is admittedly ambitious. “Our goal, our prayer, and our vision is that one day we’ll have a ministry reaching every campus [here],” Rich said, estimating that there are over 20 university and college campuses in the city and over 10,000 international students living in the area.
In his current role, he focuses on the relational aspect of ministry, meeting with students, encouraging them in their studies and in their everyday lives, and hosting various events. During these meetings, the focus isn’t always evangelical—it’s more about creating a space where students can ask questions openly and hear biblical perspectives on cultural issues.
“We’re seeking to build community,” Huston summarized.
“Be open and honest and friendly. Really show that you care about their culture and their way of life. These students are wondering—is Christianity true, or is it just a religion that’s convenient? And genuine care is the way to make someone hear you.”
Open, Honest, and Friendly
Huston believes that international students represent an often-overlooked demographic for the church, one which is best reached strategically.
Richard and Inge
“First of all, it’s biblical,” he said. He points to the Apostle Paul as a noteworthy international student in Scripture, coming to Jerusalem to continue his rabbinic education. He also mentions the Ethiopian eunuch that Phillip baptized in Acts 8. “You could say that the first convert from Africa was approached as an international student.”
Another level, though, is that international students open gateways to their home countries. “I see the principle in Scripture that people who are foreigners in our midst are often much more open to cultural change and new ideas,” Huston said. “And it’s been found that international students are often very effective in carrying the Gospel—when they have experienced the transforming power of the Gospel—to take that same message with them back to their own country when they return.”
Simply put, ministry to international students fills a great need in the Kingdom of God, he said.
“Refugees need to be reached with the Gospel. Immigrants need to be reached with the Gospel, and international students are often are the ones who will actually return home to their own culture. And if their life has been transformed, it can be a perfect opportunity to bring the Gospel.”
It doesn’t require living in Germany, or traveling all over the world—Huston is quick to point out that there are communities of international students on every college campus in America, and they are hoping to make connections with people there.
“70 plus percent of international students never enter the home of people in their host country,” he said. “They’re never invited.”
Simply reaching out in honest friendship can make a huge difference. “Be open and honest and friendly. Really show that you care about their culture and their way of life,” he said. “These students are wondering—is Christianity true, or is it just a religion that’s convenient? And genuine care is the way to make someone hear you.”
Get more information about OKWU’s School of Ministry and Christian Thought.
