ESL Classes in Our Community

Written by: The Go Team

Imagine that you’re walking down the street in Findlay. You’re so grateful for the motel room you’re living in. You think about the family members who didn’t make it out of your country where violent gangs have taken over. Walking down the street, you pass people who look at you like you don’t belong there. You’ve encountered many people who feel that way. Sometimes, you can tell by the way they look at you. Other times, it’s because they say, “Go back to where you came from.” You don’t let that discourage you. You desire to do your best to become a part of this community. Your first goal is to learn English. But how? You hear about some people holding English classes at a church and a Christian office. You decide to try it out. So, you go, and to your surprise, everyone there treats you like you belong. You feel welcome. You experience the kindness of strangers and the love of Christ. Also, you connect with more people from your country and discover that they have a church service where you can worship in your own language. You’re grateful to God for the opportunity he has allowed you to be here and for connecting you to this place. 

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This is a real situation that some Haitians and Hispanics living in the Findlay area are experiencing. The Go Team at Gateway Church saw both the need and the opportunity to be the hands and feet of Christ through teaching English. They also jumped at the chance to work together with other churches and ministries who saw the same need. Currently, volunteers from Gateway Church, along with volunteers from at least 5 other churches, are teaching or assisting with 4 English classes weekly. Since January, the 2 classes started by Gateway Church members have each grown to nearly 20 students weekly. Another class run by our partner organization, Mission Possible, also has a similar number of students. The students are learning so much that they are asking for more classes! The volunteers involved feel blessed to serve our community in this way and really enjoy getting to know those students who come every week. This opens the door to building relationships. As class sizes have grown, more volunteers are needed. Contact Ed Grable or Angelina Starkey for information on how you can get involved in making a difference in the lives of those in our community who need to see Christ’s love in action. 

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You don’t need to know how to speak a foreign language, just the desire to help someone learn basic English. We provide the curriculum and the translators. We have ESL classes on Tuesday nights at 6:00pm at The Church of The Living God. The address is 701 N Main St, Findlay, OH 45840. Their building is directly across the road from our North Main Campus. We are using the Read For Life curriculum from the public library. Another ESL class is on Thursday evening at the First United Brethren Church of Christ from 6:00pm-7:00pm. The Haitian ESL classes at Mission Possible are on Wednesday at 10:00am, you can contact them for more information in helping with this class, ask for Rene Gabriel.