Dublin BC Begins ELL Ministry to Reach the Nations

Members of Dublin Baptist Church’s ELL team participated in peer to peer training with ELL team members from First Baptist Church, Grove City.

By JD Davis, pastor, Dublin BC and Stephanie Heading, managing editor

As immigrants enter Ohio seeking a new life in a new land, two Columbus-area churches are helping them learn their new language. 

Dublin Baptist Church (DBC) recently started a Wednesday night English Language Learners (ELL) ministry, according to Pastor J.D. Davis 

“God has brought the nations to our backyard. He’s allowing us to introduce scripture to internationals without a passport,” said Davis. “One out of five Dublin residents are foreign-born. Dublin City Schools has the fifth largest ELL program in Ohio. They work with 77 different languages from 62 countries. We want to make disciples from all nations and ELL helps us do that.” 

God has brought the nations to our backyard. He’s allowing us to introduce scripture to internationals without a passport

ELL is the educational world’s current term for English as a Second Language (ESL). Most majority-world people speak more than one language so English may be an immigrant’s third or fourth language. 

As the DBC prepared to launch its ELL ministry, information and encouragement was just down the road. 

The ELL program at First Baptist Church, Grove City, began in the heart of Dr. Wesley Vargas, a member of FBC. 

Teaching English was personal for him. God brought him from El Salvador to the United States. Here, this church planter’s son completed his medical training. 

Vargas wanted others to be able to enjoy God’s blessings in his new homeland--hearing the gospel and learning English. God used him as a catalyst from Arizona to Ohio to launch church-based English Language Learners (ELL) ministries. 

God raised up an ELL team at First Baptist Church (FBC), Grove City, which launched shortly before Covid-19. The ministry has since grown to approximately 60 volunteers. Each week FBC ministers to over 140 adults as well as 65 of their children. They represent 9 languages from 20 countries. Immigrants have been saved and baptized, and two church plants have been assisted. 

A team of 6 from FBC presented practical things they learned in a peer-to-peer seminar at DBC. Some of the 30 volunteers are from Dublin Baptist Chinese Church and Christ Love Fellowship—a Tamil-speaking congregation. Both are language ministries at DBC. The Dublin team prepared to launch a Wednesday night ELL ministry. 

God wants us to reach those whom He’s bringing to us. God is doing this work. It’s pure joy to work with Him!

“What a privilege it is to join with our brothers and sisters in the ELL vineyard that God is giving us,” said Debbie Poole, Grove City’s ELL director. “God wants us to reach those whom He’s bringing to us. God is doing this work. It’s pure joy to work with Him!” 

The DBC team launched its ELL ministry on February 14. Currently 95 students are in the program with 55 more individuals on the waiting list. Twenty-eight countries and 14 languages are represented in the group. 

“We can disciple the nations, without crossing borders, and help others to do the same,” said Earl Shaffer, DBC’s ELL director.