Grace Baptist Church, Charlottetown, PEI

God is blessing Christian schools across North America with opportunities for mission-driven education of newcomers from around the world. We at Grace Christian School, a ministry of Grace Baptist Church in Prince Edward Island, are humbled by this calling. Now more than ever, we have the opportunity to reach out to students and their families that have never heard the name of Jesus Christ. We stand in awe of the number of newcomers that not only enter our church, but into our classrooms. PEI is recorded to have the fastest growth in international students in Canada in 2016 [1].  This school year, 40% of the student body at GCS is comprised of English language learners which represent 12 different countries. While the school is renowned for its academic excellence, newcomers craving relationship and community are hungry for opportunities to become part of the family.  This allows us to “welcome the stranger” by creating robust ESL programs, home-stay ministries, parent’s ESL classes, international potluck dinners, partnerships with other area churches that minister in Mandarin, and mentoring opportunities.  Since GBC is already a diverse church community, ministering the Gospel to other families from all nations comes with great joy. Grace Baptist is seeing people come to faith in Jesus from across the globe, and God is molding us together. Please praise God with us, and pray that we would continue to be used by Him to reach those at our doorstep from “every tribe and language and people and nation” (Revelation 5:9-10).

Jeff Eastwood is Lead Pastor at Grace Baptist Church in Charlottetown, PEI. Dr. Suzanne Huizing is ELL Director at Grace Christian School in Charlottetown, PEI.

 

[1] https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/26/world/canada/international-students-canadian-citizenship.html?mcubz=3