Reaching Internationals with ESL

We’ve been called to “go into all the world” and share the gospel—but in today’s world, the nations are coming right to our doorstep. In Westerville, Ohio, members of Grace Polaris Church are stepping into that calling, finding beautiful ways to love, serve, and share Jesus with their multicultural neighbors.

Dan and Nancy Green were former missionaries in Brazil and a former pastor at Grace Polaris Church, but five years ago, they attended a Perspectives study that God used to stir their hearts. Greatly impacted, they and several others from the church who had attended the study started more deeply considering the fact that their church was surrounded by people of many nations. They started prayerfully asking the Lord what he would have them do.

In response, the Holy Spirit laid ESL (English as a Second Language) on their hearts. After much prayer, Dan, Nancy, Gordon, and a handful of volunteers launched an ESL program—not just to teach language skills, but also to share the hope that can only be found in Jesus. “Our whole goal was to love people and win them to Jesus,” says Nancy. So, the group hung posters around various apartment complexes in the area, hoping to reach a few families in need on connection.

Five years later, God has blossomed their small act of compassion into a thriving ministry. The ministry now attracts over 100 new students each year from a number of different nationalities. With 30 volunteers offering English classes at six different levels, internationals are learning English and hearing the gospel.

In their classes, the students are reading the Bible and studying the words and miracles of Jesus. The volunteers pray for their students inside and outside of the classroom, and as a result, hearts are softening, friendships are forming, and God’s love is being poured out.

God is using Grace Polaris to help their immigrant neighbors navigate a new country, a new culture, and a new life. But even more, He’s using them to build relationships, create belonging, and introduce people to the Savior who welcomes all nations to Himself.

Could God be wanting to start a similar ministry through your church? If you want to learn more about Grace Polaris’s ESL program, contact Gordon Moskal.