On this Wednesday evening, 10 university students have gathered for English Club in Poltava, Ukraine. They come from five local universities where three young Baptist women from Alabama teach between 14 and 16 English as a Second Language (ESL) sessions in local universities each week.
Erin Brassart, of Madison; Rachel Kinard, of Spanish Fort; and Hannah Davis, of Gadsden, lead this outreach effort that is the result of five years of work by Baptist representatives living in Ukraine and the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions’ (SBOM) Baptist Campus Ministries. But this Wednesday night is special. It is the middle of Holy Week, and that means the women have a special opportunity to share the story of Jesus.
“It is important that we give people what they expect when they come to English Club,” said Brassart, who serves in Poltava as a journeyman. “If they think we are here under false pretenses, they will not come back.”
So each Wednesday, she, Kinard and Davis lead games focusing on spelling, grammar and more. And they share a Bible story. Tonight it is the Easter story.
It begins with a scavenger hunt. In balloons hidden inside and outside the meeting area are strips of paper with part of the story. The three teams have to find the six parts of the story and then put them in order. Once that is done, team members take turns reading parts of the story. They talk about the meaning of words, sentence structure and other English-related questions.
Then they are asked to talk about why the Easter story is important. One question leads to another, and before long, each of the women has been able to share the importance of Easter with each of the students at her table. The students are invited to Easter services before activities are concluded. “Because it is Easter, we can tell that story,” Kinard said. “It is expected.”
The women lead two English Clubs each week. The Wednesday club is for intermediate English speakers, and Friday night is for beginners. Although the target is university students, there is also a high school English Club called SMS. It is related to Salvation Church, where the three attend services.
The outreach effort was conceived by Baptist representative Mike Ray, a 13-year resident of Ukraine. Ray wanted to find some way to reach university students by using university students from the United States. So he partnered with Scotty Goldman, then an associate in the SBOM’s office of collegiate and student ministries, which works with Baptist Campus Ministries, to organize groups to do English-language outreach during spring break. Both Kinard and Davis were members of the 2008 team. Goldman now serves as an associate in the SBOM’s office of global missions.
After a few years, sufficient relationships had been established to allow the program to expand. And while the original program of university students coming during spring break continues, Ray also requested an International Mission Board journeyman — a two-year assignment — supported by Hands On volunteers — a five-month assignment — to live in Poltava and teach ESL classes in area universities.
Brassart arrived in October 2008. Hands On volunteers Kinard and Davis joined her in January. Together they lead classes at schools specializing in business, agriculture, technical training and teacher training. Brassart, a certified English teacher, leads the team. Brassart said all three team members have had “spiritual conversations” with students. “We may not be able to make a complete gospel presentation very often, but we are able to tell Bible stories and have times of witness,” she said.
Ray pointed out that relationship building is the key to people coming to faith in Jesus Christ in Ukraine. “Every time we can share a positive word about the Lord with someone, that is a step forward. We never know how God will use that witness,” he declared.
Davis and Kinard will return to Alabama this summer. Brassart, a graduate of Union University in Jackson, Tenn., will stay and be joined by others to carry on. “This is hard work,” she said. “The winter months are cold and dark, and students do not get out much. But our program is sharing the story of Jesus with dozens of students, and that means it is a good thing.”
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