Why do we offer English classes?

There are various reasons that led us to begin offering English classes. One simple way to answer the question would be to say that our church has a resource that we wanted to share with the local community. That resource, of course, is a number of native English speakers that are willing to come and teach English on a volunteer basis. And yet on a deeper level it is in response to a verse in the Bible which continues to challenge us. Jeremiah 29:7 says, "But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare." The word welfare is the word "shalom" in Hebrew and it means "peace" in the sense of prosperity and flourishing. Through these classes we are seeking to do something that we believe will contribute, to a small degree, to the prosperity of our "city".