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Teaching English—Gateway to Hearts

By Steve Winget, Hungary

At least six different mission agencies sponsored evangelistic Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) projects in Hungary this summer. In 2006, TEFL ministries have been the catalyst for over 800 “extended and personal opportunities” to discuss the gospel with unbelievers, most of whom have had no previous meaningful exposure to the Good News.

“The most effective way for non-Hungarian speaking short-termers to impact Hungarians with the gospel is through teaching English.” That is the sentiment of many mission veterans who have served in this central European country of 10 million. This newly-appointed European Union nation has a well-educated, heavily secularized population with an eagerness to learn the “world language.” This eagerness leads to a willingness to openly interact—even about the message of Jesus Christ—if that interaction provides a chance to improve English speaking skills.

One mission official put it this way: “The key to evangelism and discipleship in this country is relationship. TEFL ministries and the interaction it provokes is an excellent gateway to building relationships, especially with some of the more well-educated Hungarians.” He goes on to say, “A whole lot of Hungarians desperately want to improve their English—it’s a key skill they need if they are going to advance amid the new economic realities in this country. And we want to share Christ. If TEFL opens the door, we’ll teach them English, but we get to choose the curriculum and the topics of conversation.” With a twinkle in his eye he adds, “Guess what we talk about … a lot.”

ABWE has been using this evangelistic tool since the early 1990s when our first missionaries moved here shortly after the disintegration of the Iron Curtain, but some agencies that preceded us were using similar tactics in a clandestine mode as early as the late 1970s.  ABWE’s special summer TEFL initiatives operate under the acronym BRiDGEs—Building Relationships and Demonstrating the Gospel through English teaching.

TEFL evangelism continues to be one of the most effective tools in the missionary’s arsenal well into the 21st century, so much so that one of ABWE’s veteran staff in Hungary, Ruth Rust, works full time in this field. Ruth’s graduate degree in this discipline coupled with her years of actual teaching experience have enabled her to create several excellent tools for use in this arena. She is often called upon to be a consultant by missionaries from across Central and Eastern Europe.

Rust feels strongly about the ethical obligations of this ministry tool. She is concerned that at times the idea of TEFL evangelism has been used as a “bait and switch” tactic—TEFL courses have been advertised, but the product has been little more than a poorly disguised preaching venue. 

For the most part, missions personnel are alert to their obligation to be clear about their objectives and methods with potential students, and then to actually teach English. For this reason Rust prefers to recruit vocational teachers or aspiring teachers for the BRiDGEs projects—it’s a great way to spend a summer break. Other interested parties are encouraged to inquire about BRiDGEs opportunities. Experience has well demonstrated that even non-vocational teachers can be very effective BRiDGEs gatekeepers, or rather “gate openers,” to Hungarian hearts.