Colloquialisms like “goodie bag” or “meat-and-three” often baffle the international students who attend Montgomery Baptist Association’s Conversational English (CE) classes, but explanations come naturally to CE volunteers and offer a glimpse into the longevity of the successful language ministry.
“The goal of CE is to help our students practice and improve their English skills, but so much more happens each week,” said Susan West, director of CE and a member of First Baptist Church, Montgomery, where the classes are held each Thursday. For students, the classes offer a time of fellowship and language study. For volunteers, CE offers a weekly opportunity to carry out the directive of Leviticus 19:34 to show God’s love to both short- and long-term international residents in their area.
Montgomery Baptist Association began CE more than 30 years ago as an outreach to the wives of international officers training at Maxwell Air Force Base. Approximately 120 military officers from 80 countries come to Montgomery each year to attend classes at Maxwell and many of the officers bring their spouses and families, according to base spokesperson Phil Berube. Businesses like Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama and the area’s many colleges and universities bring a large number of international visitors to Montgomery as well, so CE attracts a broad audience seeking to improve their English skills.
This year, more than 200 students representing 45 countries attend the free language classes, bringing with them 40–50 infants and preschoolers, West said. More than 70 volunteers, ranging in age from homeschooled teenagers to 90-year-old senior adults and representing 24 churches, help each Thursday. Some drive church vans around the city picking up students who need transportation. Others take care of the children or prepare refreshments. The teachers are volunteers as well, trained in English as a Second Language ministry by the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions in conjunction with the North American Mission Board.
Students come from many countries and various religious backgrounds, and the primary focus has always been language skills. Still, West said, the friendships formed between students and volunteers sometimes open the door for sharing the gospel, and the ministry’s longevity shows what can be accomplished when churches work together toward one goal without worrying about who gets the credit.
“It’s an ecumenical effort,” West said. “The church lines are blurred, and it’s a beautiful example of people being the hands and feet of Jesus.”
Martha Durham, a member of Capitol Heights Baptist Church, Montgomery, has taught CE classes since the school was organized. For her, the joy of teaching is twofold.
“It is a thrill to see students making progress in learning to speak English, but we also see them grow to appreciate each other’s food, customs and beliefs,” she said.
Jessica Bedient, a member of Pike Road Baptist Church, Montgomery, began teaching in 2011, and she, too, recognizes the value of the relationships formed through the program.
“I had no idea there were so many international Montgomery residents until I came to class and saw their smiling, eager faces,” Bedient said. “They are all very grateful to have volunteers take the time to help them experience the American culture and learn English.”
Sujin An, a CE student from South Korea, expressed her gratitude to the volunteers.
“They are all so nice and kind, and I believe God knows all the work that they did (for) us,” she said. “I have made so many good friends (from) all over the world through CE.”
The holiday celebrations have been An’s favorite times, and she especially enjoyed Christmas.
“We learned Christmas carols, we sang together and we learned about the great birth of Jesus Christ,” she said.
Another student, Haryuo Powell, has been a student at CE for more than 10 years. A native of Japan, Powell said she is making gradual progress in her English, but she said she has probably attended for so long because she likes to be around the Christian teachers and volunteers at CE.
“They make me feel so comfortable,” Powell said. “I learned what Christianity is, and I even started going to church because I wanted to know more about (the) Bible.”
West said Powell has even invited other CE students to Sunday School.
“She told them, ‘If you want to study English on Sunday, you can come and bring your family. They teach English, but the Bible is the textbook.’”
As a result, several CE students and their families have started attending the International Sunday School class at First, Montgomery, where West and her husband are teachers. West said the class includes a Mongolian officer and his family, a family from India and students from Korea, China, Peru, Ecuador and Laos. Some, but not all, are CE students, but West said regardless of how they get there, their effort shows they are open to hearing the gospel. One woman told West that her husband was reading the Bible every night. After a Bible study about the birth of Christ on another occasion, a woman closed her Bible and asked: “Why am I 32 years old and have never heard this story?”
West said she encourages those students to keep reading their Bibles and to keep coming to Sunday School and CE, where their relationships, and their knowledge of Jesus, can continue to grow. She knows that many students will pass in and out of the classes over the course of the year, but the time they do spend with CE is never wasted.
“Some students are with us for one year, some less than a year. But what an opportunity to have a relationship with someone from another country for even a year and to show them the love of God while they are here.”
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