What does it mean to be a lawyer, for instance, or an engineer, or a working artist and a follower of Jesus? How do you live a life of discipleship in that marketplace?

Such are the questions that Daniel and Sandi McDougall help international students explore. As ISMC city directors in Victoria, BC, they connect life with Jesus with life in the marketplace for the students they disciple.

Daniel with University of Victoria Grad Students

They don’t do it alone. In fact, Daniel and Sandi light-heartedly refer to themselves as “God’s appointment secretaries.”

“I connect students who are in different faculties with people who are actually working in the marketplace and are themselves Jesus followers,” explains Daniel, “people in the medical field, legal field, engineering, teaching, whatever.” These connections allow students to ask hard questions of Christians who know the realities and language of the profession. Occasionally, students even spend time with these individuals in their workplace.

While debriefing, Daniel will ask the students, “Is this what you thought practicing law would look like?” or “How do you deal with clients in a courtroom? How do you honor people there and still be a good lawyer?” Such questions make students think deeply about how to echo Christ in the real world. These questions help them realize they can be a Christian professional, not just a Christian at church.

It doesn’t end with workplace connections.

“The student’s whole life isn’t just a profession; it’s relationships and sports and travel and family and even struggles and dysfunctions,” says Daniel. “There are different layers of connection. So there is no one single person that can address all those things in their life.” So they help students develop relationships with Christian mentors who can speak into different areas of their lives.

Daniel cooking with students

“In discipleship, so much comes organically,” explains Sandi. “Sometimes I have the answers, and sometimes I don’t. I’ll say, oh, let’s look at that together.”

Relationships can last long after students leave Victoria. “I keep in touch with them, and share scripture that has encouraged me,” says Sandi, “and often through that, a conversation will spark.”

Please pray for the ISMC staff and volunteers who are walking alongside international students as they learn to live out their faith in their chosen professions and in life as a whole.

Sandi with a Colombian Student that she Mentors

Check out Daniel & Sandi’s ministry profile.

Interested in learning more about becoming a career mentor? Fill out the volunteer form.