We are thrilled to meet you

In our rapidly changing world, with shifting attitudes towards Christianity and evangelism, USA Homestays offers the most dynamic approach to international ministry. No other ministry platform empowers to you mobilize the church, gives you instant credibility when building relationships with students, AND allows you the freedom to build your own programs like USA Homestays does.

Let’s break down the amazing benefits of being part of the USA Homestays team.

Ministry benefits:

STUDENTS COME TO US: Unlike other ministry platforms that rely on recruiting to bring students to events, students contact USA Homestays on their own. Since we provide a service that students want, students connect with us without staff doing much advertising or legwork.

STUDENTS TRUST US: Because we operate as a non-profit business providing a desired service, students don’t question our motives. They recognize USAH employees as representatives of a legitimate business, not a Christian organization out to evangelize.

ORGANIC RELATIONSHIPS: Our ministry model focuses on building bridges to Jesus through organic relationships. We aren’t focused on getting students into Bible studies or religious events. Instead, we encourage host families and local staff to get to know students and share Jesus with them in the natural flow of relationship.

UNPARALLED DEEP RELATIONSHIPS: When a student lives with a host family, a deep relationship grows through daily interaction in the ups and downs of life. Families connect with students in ways that would be impossibly difficult in a more limited setting. That opens the door for meaningful life-on-life ministry.

EFFECTIVELY ENGAGE THE CHURCH: Most international student ministry organizations rely on local staff to do all the relational work. At USA Homestays, we rely on the church to do the work of ministry. By mobilizing the church to host internationals, we multiply the breadth and depth of the outreach we can do.

OPEN MINISTRY PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT: In addition to the homestay platform, staff at USA Homestays is free to develop any program to engage students. Our staff has planned dinners, camping trips, game nights, English clubs, holiday events and more! Whatever your passion is, you can apply it to ministry however you like.

OPEN DOORS TO UNREACHED GROUPS: Many of the students coming to the US are from countries with limited access to the gospel, and most of those are skeptical of Christian groups. Because of our business platform, those students have no issue with USA Homestays. Working with us allows you to work more easily with students other organizations can’t reach.

Employment benefits:

SUPPORT RAISING BONUS: While full-time employees with USA Homestays must raise support, our business model provides supplemental incomet. Of the fee that students pay for a homestay, a portion of that ($200/month) goes to the local staff for every student placed. SO if you had five homestays, that’s an additional $1,000 per month into your account.

LOW ADMIN FEE: Though the business model doesn’t generate enough income to pay a full salary, it does generate enough to offset admin fees. While most ministry orgs have admin fees above 15%, USAH keeps ours below 10%. If we have a high enough volume of active homestays nationally, the admin fee drops to 0%.

NO MICROMANAGING: USAH Homestays staff are given a high degree of independence. You can create your own schedule, set your own objectives, and develop a ministry approach that best suits your interests and gifts. There is some oversight, of course, but it serves primarily to help you reach the goals that you set for yourself.

EXPERTISE AND EXPERIENCE: The management team at USA Homestays has a combined total of 30+ years of experience in Muslim ministry and experience in homestay ministry. We are well-equipped to train new staff and help you launch a homestay ministry in your city!

Homestay stories:

Homestays might sound like a great idea, but what is the actual impact of international students living with Christian families? Here are a few stories to illustrate why this is an important ministry.

ABDULLAH: Abdullah came from a difficult family background. His host family became a second family to him, and in many ways he felt more comfortable with them than with his biological family. They shared all of life in a profound way, and Abdullah not only heard the gospel but saw it lived out. Not only that, but since Abdullah’s major was related to sports and business, he and his host family made a plan to start a business together in Abdullah’s home country!

HATIM: Hatim stayed with his host family for a year and a half. During that time, they did a lot together—camping trips, events, dinners most nights—but the relationship never seemed to go too deep. After Hatim returned to his home country, though, he and his host continued talking, and the conversations got deep quickly and easily. Hatim has said multiple times that he has no one in his life he can talk to like he can to his host family.

NASSER: Nasser was by nature a curious student. He had questions about everything, but especially culture and religion. When he asked if Christians drink alcohol, his host family gave him a Bible. Nasser had probably never seen, let alone read, a Bible in his life, but by the time he left the homestay at the end of the school year, he’d read the whole thing. What a breakthrough for a young man from the Middle East!

HAYATO: Unlike most Japanese, Hayato was a huge fan of rugby and American football. Amazingly, God had a host family prepared that was also involved in both of those sports. Hayato fit in with them seamlessly, and in no time he became their second son. The family did a weekly homeless ministry, and they brought him along to see the grace of God lived out. When the COVID pandemic began, Hayato returned to his home country, but when he came back, their relationship was so strong that he went straight back to his host family.

WAFA: Wafa came to the US from Saudi Arabia. Her parents had died and her oldest brother had become the patriarch of the family. He had refused to allow Wafa to live with a family, but Wafa decided to do it anyway. Her family found out and threatened her repeatedly. But the love and courage she found with her host family showed her what true love is and where it originates.

AHMED: Ahmed lived with a Christian family for six months. He’d always been intrigued with Jesus, even though he grew up Muslim, and he just couldn’t shake the Christian image of Jesus. He got married and then a year later, after realizing he could no longer run from the Truth, he became a follower of Jesus. But he told no one. A few months later, his wife asked him to explain his changed behavior—he hadn’t noticed his transformation! He eventually confessed is faith. She threatened to divorce him unless he recant. He begged her not to leave but also told her he couldn’t turn back. To make a long story short, Ahmed and his wife, along with a couple members of her family, are now Christians living back home in Saudi Arabia.

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