Frequently Asked Questions
What distinguishes Friends International from other Christian
student organisations?
There are many organisations committed to bringing God’s
word to students in the UK and overseas, such as UCCF, IFES, Navigators,
Agape and Fusion. Where Friends International differs is that our
sole focus is on international students in the UK. Our primary method
of working is through UK churches.
Why did you change your name to Friends International?
In August 2002, we changed our name from International Student
Christian Services (ISCS) to Friends International. Within our group
of supporters, the name ISCS had become fairly well-known, albeit
difficult to remember. For students, there was the confusion of
the exact type of ‘services’ we offer: a common request
being for accommodation. To leave these confusions behind, and to
link with our vision statement, the new name was adopted.
How many international students come to study in the UK each
year?
Roughly 1 million! In 2007/8 there were 341,795 international
students in Higher Education, 86,000 in Further Education and around
600,000 students studying in English Language Schools (source: Higher
Education Statistics Agency).
These figures do not account for post doctorate students visiting
academics who come to study here, so a good estimate is over 1 million
international students in the UK at any one time.
Which countries do the students come from?
A recent survey of Friends International Staff revealed that we
have had contact with international students from 85% of the world's
countries since 2000! (source: Nigel Mansfield - An impression of
international student contacts, January 2003).
An exciting fact about our work is that many of these students
come from countries with little or no Christian witness, which makes
their time in the UK a tremendous opportunity for them to hear about
Jesus.
How is Friends International funded?
Friends International has no central base of funding for our staff.
Our aim is for at least 50% of a staff worker’s funding to
come from the churches in the city where they work, or from a sending
church. The remainder usually comes from personal supporters. If
you would like to know more about supporting Friends International,
please look at our page on giving
towards our work.
I have a question…
We’d love to answer your questions. Please send us an email.
Images: www.freeimages.co.uk
|
