How God is using the ESL ministry

I received a statistical report from one of our ESL volunteers this morning containing data from that program for 2007. It was great to see how God has used this ministry.

For 40 weeks this last year, ESL volunteers from our church ran free English classes for foreign-born residents of our neighborhood. They taught our neighbors the words, grammar and pronunciation of the (complicated) English language, and spent many hours with them forming meaningful friendships. The seating capacity of our office suite was often completely filled with students eager to learn...

It is fascinating to look at the map of the world that hangs on the wall of our church office. The first day of every semester, the students are asked to write their names on little round stickers and post them on the map over the country from which they come. Bright colored stickers are literally scattered all over the map. This year we had students from: Russia, Bangladesh, Mexico, Bosnia, Colombia, Poland, Dominican Republic, Brazil, Greece, Russia, Japan, Peru, Ecuador, Argentina, India, China, Serbia, Bolivia and Venezuela.

What is truly exciting is to see how God uses ministries like this to point people to the goodness of his Son. This autumn, for the first time in ACC’s brief history, we had people join our church whose first contact with ACC was the ESL program. They are helping us to launch a Spanish-speaking ministry that, I believe, has real potential to grow. At our Spanish Fellowship Group this week I heard some of them praying for one of the ESL students. One of the ESL volunteers had befriended him and introduced him to the Spanish-speaking group. They are now sharing the gospel with him and helping him in various ways. They are hoping to see him come to know the Lord.

Thanks, ESL volunteers, for the great job you have done. I think this is what Jesus had in mind when he said, “Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16)