Alpha for ESOL

Ten years ago I was at Bath University studying for an undergraduate degree in Economics. Bath was the quintessential English city. It was a place typically where the white middle class lived and even a Chinese take away shop was hard to come by. So I was completely surprised when I first heard about Bath City Church running an Alpha for ESOL course alongside other multicultural ministries. They told me that the demographics had changed substantially in the last decade and that they meet many people from many different nations. It has now become a city well acquainted with international students and workers.

I currently live and work in London and every time I get on the London Underground, I hear people speaking other languages to each other; or someone asking a ticket officer a question in accented simple English.

And this is the scenario we currently find ourselves in – this is the changing face of countries – and we are effectively acting as hosts of the UK. Our guests? The Nations – the international students, the migrant and sometimes seasonal workers, even the asylum seekers etc. All here for a purpose – in search of a better prospect.

We, at Alpha, want to give everyone the opportunity to hear about the good news of Jesus and we don’t want language to be a barrier to anyone hearing about the good news of Jesus. So we’ve contextualised the English Alpha course for those whose first language isn’t English. The talks are in simplified English and we utilise more visual demonstrations and illustrations to move away from the heavy reliance on words.

Recently, an oriental girl came to the UK for studies and attended an Alpha for ESOL course. She gave her life to Christ on the course and at the end of course, with tears running down her face, she told of how she thought she was here to gain better qualifications, but now she knows that really God brought her here so that she could hear about the love of Jesus!

It is such a unique and exciting time for the Gospel. Jesus told us to go and make disciples of all nations and I have always understood this in the context of overseas missions; but now, the great commission can be fulfilled right at our doorsteps! The nations have come and are still coming to us, so let’s be the best hosts of the UK!