Fishers Point Church of the Nazarene in Fishers, Indiana, has been using an English Second Language (ESL) program as a community outreach, leading to the eventual discipleship and salvation of some of their students.

In 2010, Pastor Landon DeCrastos planted the church in a suburb of Indianapolis. Because many Fishers residents work for international companies in Indianapolis, the international population has boomed.

The church, with only 50-60 people per Sunday, was looking for ways to invite the community, also desiring to meet community members who needed help.

“We can’t just sit here and say, ‘come to us and then we’ll serve you,’” DeCrastos said. “But we also can’t say you’re not invited to us.”

DeCrastos knew a service-focused ministry would provoke authentic relationships.

“I’m going to talk to them like I want them to be welcome in my home — figuratively and literally,” DeCrastos said.

This time, the Trosens, who have been a church family since day one, approached DeCrastos, offering to help with their passion for the international community and skills to teach ESL "conversations" class. These classes, casual by nature, prepare students to develop English conversation skills, help gain a better understanding of the cultural and linguistic nuances of American English, and allow students to practice speaking English.

The church started conversations classes just prior to the COVID-19 pandemic with about four to five people per class. While the pandemic brought about much chaos, it also provided the perfect scenario for the ministry to flourish.

DeCrastos said that many people found it difficult to join the class due to a long work commute or children’s commitments that took up their evenings. When almost all communication moved online during the pandemic, leaders found the attendance nearly tripled.

“We’ll have anywhere from 12-15 attendees each week, sometimes a different group entirely,” DeCrastos said. 

At the beginning of each class, the leader, often one of the Trosens, invites the students to a Bible study. Letting the students know they’re invited and wanted has brought some interested students closer to the Lord. 

One Ukrainian couple in particular, Nina and Petro Kulish, joined Fishers Point after they started coming to the classes and eventually the Bible study. However, the couple returned to Ukraine just before the Russian invasion. The church is still in contact with the family and has continued to give them prayer support.

With the success of the classes in bringing people to the Lord, Fishers Point is considering offering an ESL-focused church service with more simplified language and a slower pace for ease of understanding.

“It really comes back to the Great Commission,” DeCrastos said. “It really is making disciples of all nations that really interests us [as a church].”