(Photo courtesy Cornerstone University)

USA (MNN) — Today in the United States there are millions of people who speak English, but it’s not their first language. They’re college students, immigrants, refugees and business people. The common desire?  Each of them want to learn or improve their English.

Teaching English is quickly becoming an amazing way to sharing Jesus with those who otherwise wouldn’t want to listen. What even more amazing is that this can become an incredible intercultural outreach experience for individuals and the local church.

Cornerstone University understands that and has not only established a program at the University level to teach this, but the university is also providing a conference to help average Christians start a ministry and help it thrive.

On Saturday, April 11, 2015, Cornerstone University in Grand Rapids, Michgian is hosting their 14^th annual English as a second language ministry conference.

Cornerstone University’s Department chair of the humanities division, Michael Pasquale, “We really have a burden reach out to churches to be able to reach those neighbors who come from a variety of languages and cultures to be able to equip a church to say, ‘I want to reach them. How do I do that?’ That’s really the focus of this conference.”

But if every continent already uses English, is there really a need for this conference? The fact is, even in small towns in the Midwest, there are extremely diverse populations with people from various languages and cultures. Knowing how to teach and share English is a way to seem inviting, and it is one way to show hospitality.

According to Pasquale the conference will cover things like, “How to teach, and how to train your volunteer teachers.”

The main speaker is Dr. Joe Knight, who is the President of 4Ethne, “He’s had experience at the local church level of turning his suburban church to an open church to reflect scores of languages and cultures. He’s going speak from his experience and his desire to see the church reflect the diversity of Christ.”

4Ethne is a non-profit that equips Christians and churches to share the hope they have in Jesus Christ with some of the least-reached people groups living among us from our multi-religious world.

In a nutshell, this conference is for people or churches wanting to reach their international neighbors with the Gospel.

The conference is in West Michigan, but people from all over the Midwest are expected to attend this one-day conference. Many do every year. Early registration deadline is March 31, 2015. To find out more information you can visit https://www.cornerstone.edu/esl-conference.

Pasquale says the greatest gift you can give is the story of Christ and what better way to share that story than through the door of education and language. ESL programs are another avenue to sharing the Gospel with people who have never heard the story of Jesus Christ.

Cornerstone University’s Dr. Michael Pasquale is organizing the April 5 event in Grand Rapids, Michigan. What is ESL training? “Very simply, it’s teaching English to those that don’t have English as their first language.”

Join Cornerstone University’s ESL training conference April 5.

This conference, however, is not only for college students or professors. The ESL conference is for everyday people who use ESL as a ministry. “We have a passion at Cornerstone of training teachers to be effective. Whether they’re in a school setting or an informal setting like a church or community center, we want to see effective teaching. These kinds of workshops are geared toward preparing effective teachers,” says Pasquale.

This year’s conference is focused on one topic: fun and interactive pronunciation. ESL attendees have been asking for this, says Pasquale. “It’s something that their students crave. But it’s also one area most intimidating to teachers, especially if they’re not professional teachers.”

The guest speaker, Dr. Bill Acton, is known for teaching pronunciation techniques. Pasquale says, “The way to reach students who can remember [pronunciations] is through engaging their whole being, and that’s kind of the focus of this. How do you get students to have long-term retention and to be more communicative?”

By the time you’re done with the conference, Acton will cover how you can teach pronunciation in any setting.

Many churches and ministries are using ESL as a way to share Christ with internationals in the United States. Pasquale says Cornerstone’s ESL training will give you additional tools to do it better. “It’s more than just a training for me. I see it as a fellowship time–connecting and networking, especially those involved in some small programs. So, to be able to network and connect: I think that’s a great benefit.”

Pasquale says people from all over the Midwest we be attending. If you’d like to be a part of this one-day ESL training conference, click here. Early-bird registration is available through March 14. Then regular rates apply.

Michael Pasquale, the director of TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) at Cornerstone University, said, "We have found that churches are becoming much more diverse, and churches are really looking at how [they can] practically meet the needs of their neighbors."

To aid these churches in this quest, Cornerstone is holding their 9th Annual ESL (English as a Second Language) Ministry Conference. This year's theme is Build A Life That Matters. And to help believers do this and have an impact on those around them, Pasquale said, "We need to be able to speak a language that [will help them] understand the truth of the Gospel, and that could even be through their first language. But English is a way to bring them through the door of the church to help build those relationships."

Pasquale called English a tool to simply connect with these individuals and help them connect with the church community. However, Cornerstone and Pasquale want to do this without the students losing their diversity in their heart language and culture.

For individuals who thinking they cannot teach English, Pasquale said, you don't have to be an expert.

"Some people are a little nervous that they're not grammar experts, but in many ways, church-based programs are conversation classes," he said.

Conference attendees will be trained to lead discussions and converse about spiritual matters. Also, the conference will demonstrate teaching techniques for people who have more experience in that area.

Cornerstone's President, Joe Stowell, is the keynote speaker. There will also be various workshops to help with each step in establishing a church-based TESOL program.

Early registration ends tomorrow. The cost is $50 per person, or $30 for students. After that, the price goes up to $60 and $35, respectively. Pasquale said this is an excellent price, as it includes breakfast, lunch and various ESL resources.

Click here to sign up today.