Welcome to the April Update! As God has shown in Christ and His Word, communication is at the center of any relationship. This month, we get to take a peek into a new project that's all about learning new languages.
[Note: as usual, names and locations are changed in our updates for security reasons.]
Update on the "Brakistan" Project
We first mentioned the "Brakistan" English services project in our November 2006 newsletter and much has happened since then.
The apostle Paul was a man gifted in taking advantage of opportunities to advance the gospel, from philosophical debates on the Aereopagus' stone steps to scripture teaching in the Antioch synagogue. Following Paul's lead, one of our teams in Brakistan's cosmopolitan city is taking advantage of another great opportunity: multinationals swarming into this political and economic hub requiring locals to learn English.
Richard Liu, a senior analyst with Access Partners, says the evolving cosmopolitan nature of the city has placed a premium on knowing English since professionals need to be able to conduct business with foreign companies.
"We're hoping to engage young professionals and university students," says Richard, and teaching English is an excellent bridge, particularly since it's more difficult to find ways to interact with this target group. "As these students and young professionals are becoming increasingly absorbed in their work, it's more challenging to find a context through which to build relationships with them," he says.
The team is in the final stages of establishing a language center where people can learn English and improve conversational skills. Richard says the center will be located in one of the city's "trendy" districts, "a place that can provide a lot of good opportunity for interaction with other students and staff in the area." Book clubs, seminars, guest speakers, discussions groups, and other English training resources will offer a variety of venues to develop relationships.
"As we build relationships, our hope is that we can share with them the gospel," says Richard. "We pray that they would come to understand the love of God in Christ for them, that they would repent and believe in Christ, and that they would be established in churches in their own cities."
Get Involved!
One of the exciting aspects of the project is that it provides a platform for churches outside Brakistan to get involved. "We have many opportunities for Christians in other countries to go over there on a short-term basis, teaching seminars and building relationships with the students."
Access Partners is currently helping the team to set up a website, create a database for the business, and provide technology training. They aim to launch officially this summer.
As always your prayers are appreciated. Please pray for the team and for Access Partners as they launch this company. Pray for the spiritual health of the workers there, that they would be able to get the Word out, and that people would sign up for classes at the business. Ultimately, pray that God would use this project for the preaching of his gospel and the building up of His Kingdom.
Soli Deo Gloria