A new week ahead

As wee look at this week in English Corner, be sure to pray for our students. The drop out rate for ELL is on average 50-75%. That is a steep curve to work around, and can be discouraging for all of us. Try to remember a couple of things as we look at this week:

1. Our ultimate goal - One of our ultimate goals is to demonstrate the love of Christ to peoples who do not know him. So long as we are faithful to that ultimate goal, it doesn't matter if there are 100 students or if there are 10.

2. The difficulty of learning language - These people are entering into one of the most difficult studies that you can do. You can study other things and once you have a relative handle on it you can get by, and blow a lot of smoke - leaving people with the assumption that you really are smart. But with language this is not so. You can't fake it for long before you run out of things to say.

3. Remember not to live and die on the numbers - It can be really easy to get excited about the numbers when things look good. But beware: When the numbers go down so will your enthusiasm. We don't do this to grow a big group, we do this so that we can be available for those whom the Lord draws. If we are faithful with the "little" things, he will bless us with much.

4. Why do we do this - We do this because the Lord has called us to this ministry. We are missionaries right here at home tilling a hard and dry ground. It is an act of worship to the Lord for us to minister to these people, and one day the Lord will reward those who have been faithful. Thanks for being faithful!

5. Prayer will make or break our effectiveness - we cannot simply rely on the prayers of others, but we should be in active communion with the Lord so that we are empowered to do what we have been called to do.

Let's look forward to a great week.
James