Language proficiency leads to more resources, outreach opportunities
The early Christian church had Greek and Latin; today's Seventh-day Adventist community uses English as its common language.
In many parts of Asia and South America, Adventist employees are attending classes in reading, writing and speaking English to aid working relationships with their counterparts around the world.
While no single language is better than another, English is often a common ground in international settings, says Homer Trecartin, associate secretary for the Adventist church.
"If you go to a multi-national meeting in the church or out of the church, it's going to be conducted in English," Trecartin says.
Sally Phoon, director for women's and family ministries in the Northern Asia-Pacific region, says a common language allows people of all nationalities to share their thoughts and opinions.
"Better English skills will open [church] employees to a vast variety of resources available to enhance their work," Phoon says. "[English] increases the opportunities for contributing to the global church through the sharing of experiences."
Adventist administrators in the Northern Asia-Pacific are encouraging regional church leaders to participate in up to 480 hours of English courses. Participants attend in two-week blocks, working on grammar and writing as well as speaking the language.
In South America, many administrators attend one of two Adventist-run institutions, Newbold College in England and Andrews University in the United States, for two-month-long English courses.
"Our pastors working at local church headquarters have to be in [constant] communication with the world church leadership, and they need to read a wide amount of literature in English," says Edson Rosa, communication director for the Adventist church in South America.
Constanza Gonzalez, volunteer services coordinator for South America, says language skills are also important for Adventist college students who want to volunteer outside their country.
"Many of our young people want to serve, but they lack English and we want to provide basic language tools for them," Gonzalez says.
The volunteer services department is also soliciting and placing English teachers throughout various regional offices in South America, as well as in local colleges, Gonzalez says.
For Eduardo Lucas, a fifth year theology student at Adventist-run Peruvian Union University, learning English will allow him to volunteer for several years before settling in Peru.
"English is what the world speaks," Lucas says. "If I want to go and work in any part of the world, English will be really helpful."
Lucas isn't alone: all theology students at Peruvian Union University are required to pass advanced level English courses before receiving their degrees, school administrators say.
"We believe our mission is not just for Peru, but for the whole world, and I think in other countries there are a lot of needs," says Victor Choroco, assistant dean for the school of theology. "We believe the missionary spirit that our students have here can be contagious for the rest of the world."
