Dr. See Seng Tan is President of International Students Inc. (ISI).  A citizen of Singapore, Seng was an international student in the United States.  He joined ISI staff after graduate school in 1999 and worked with international students at Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona. 

“We believe in the divine inspiration and authority of the Scriptures. By this is meant a miraculous guidance of the Holy Spirit in their original writing, extending to all parts of the Scripture equally, applying even to the choice of the words, so that the result is the very Word of God; the only infallible rule of faith and practice. Moreover, it is our conviction that God has exercised such singular care and providence through the ages in preserving the written Word, that the Scriptures as we now have them are in every essential particular as originally given, and contain all things necessary to salvation.

“We believe in the one God revealed as existing in three equal Persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We believe in the Deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. We believe in the Holy Spirit as a Divine Person, a personality as distinct as the Father and the Son.

“We believe that as through one man sin entered the world and death through sin, so death passed unto all people, for that all have sinned.

“We believe in the death of Jesus Christ, as a true substitute, and that His death was a sufficient expiation for the guilt of all people. We believe in His bodily resurrection from the dead.

“We believe that those who receive Christ by faith have a new life from God given to them.

“We believe that people are justified by faith alone and are counted as righteous before God only by the merit of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ imputed to them.

“We believe in the everlasting conscious blessedness of the saved, and the everlasting conscious punishment of the lost.

“We believe in the personal return of our Lord.

“We believe it to be the supreme responsibility of the disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ to make His Gospel known to all people.”

Guiding Biblical Principles:

Final Authority for Matters of Belief and Conduct:

ISI’s Statement of Faith does not exhaust the extent of our beliefs. The Bible itself, as the inspired and infallible Word of God that speaks with final authority concerning truth, morality, and the proper conduct of mankind, is the sole and final source of all that we believe. For purposes of International Students, Inc.’s faith, doctrine, practice, policy, and discipline, our Executive Team/Board of Trustees is International Students, Inc.’s final interpretive authority on the Bible’s meaning and application.

Statement on Marriage, Gender, and Sexuality:

We believe that God wonderfully and immutably creates each person as male or female. These two distinct, complementary genders together reflect the image and nature of God (Gen 1:26-27). Rejection of one’s biological sex is a rejection of the image of God within that person.

We believe that the term “marriage” means the uniting of one man and one woman in a single, exclusive union, as delineated in Scripture (Gen 2:18-25). We believe that God intends sexual intimacy to occur only between a man and a woman who are married to each other (1 Cor 6:18; 7:2-5; Heb 13:4). We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of a marriage between a man and a woman

We believe that any form of sexual immorality (including adultery, fornication, homosexual behavior, bisexual conduct, bestiality, incest, and the use of pornography) is sinful and offensive to God (Matt 15:18-20; 1 Cor 6:9-10).

We believe that in order to preserve the function and integrity of ISI as the local Body of Christ, and to provide a biblical role model to ISI members and the community, it is imperative that all persons employed by International Students, Inc. in any capacity, or who serve as volunteers, agree to and abide by this Statement on Marriage, Gender, and Sexuality (Matt 5:16; Phil 2:14-16; 1 Thess 5:22).

We believe that God offers redemption and restoration to all who confess and forsake their sin, seeking His mercy and forgiveness through Jesus Christ (Acts 3:19-21; Rom 10:9-10; 1 Cor 6:9-11).

We believe that every person must be afforded compassion, love, kindness, respect, and dignity (Mark 12:28-31; Luke 6:31). Hateful and harassing behavior or attitudes directed toward any individual are to be repudiated and are not in accord with Scripture nor the doctrines of International Students, Inc.

Statement of the Sanctity of Human Life:

We believe that all human life from conception through natural death is sacred and created by God in His image. Human life is of inestimable worth in all its dimensions, including pre-born babies, the aged, the physically or mentally challenged, and every other stage or condition from conception through natural death. We are, therefore, called to defend, protect, and value all human life (Ps 139).

Statement on Racial Injustice

As a ministry dedicated to sharing Christ’s love with international students—many of whom are people of color and all of whom are created in God’s image—ISI unreservedly condemns racism and discrimination in all its forms against all peoples.  We believe and affirm that we are all one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:28), and we repent and confess where we have failed to uphold that truth in thought, word, and deed.  We are wholly committed to fulfilling the biblical injunction to be makers of peace and ministers of reconciliation (Matthew 5:9; 2 Corinthians 5:18-20).

Our Core Values:

In everything we do, we will conduct ourselves in keeping with biblical principles through:

A Christ-centered approach to serving others by applying biblical principles, standards, and practices as an organization and as individuals.

A student-centered ministry by designing our ministry programs in response to the needs of international students and their families, treating every student with dignity, compassion, and sensitivity.

Full-cycle evangelism by ministering to students so they come to a knowledge of salvation in Christ and are equipped to reproduce the life of Christ in others.

A dependence on churches by remaining committed to accomplishing our objectives through the mobilization of the people of God.

A national identity by creating a ministry culture (with local flexibility) with which all ISI constituents can identify on a national basis through the use of common distinctives and operating procedures.