Led by volunteers who have gone through a 16-hour workshop for training, three levels of classes offer beginning, intermediate and advanced tutoring. Anywhere from two to 12 students may be enrolled in a class. Students review handout sheets and other reading material, but the teachers knowledge of the language s nuances offers a greater resource to students. Classes pave an avenue for teachers to discuss their Christian faith. I always pray at the end of classes, Miller said.
Most teachers work an evangelistic lesson into their classes.
Milly Chambers, a member of McKinley Avenue Baptist of Harrisburg, wrote the word Easter on the white board and made an acrostic using each letter to start a word relating to the holiday. Another teacher, Sherrill Evans, a member of First Baptist of Carterville, said many students have a yearning to know God. Teachers build friendships with their students, inviting them to their homes for a potluck meal or sending them cards on their birthdays. They ve provided rides to doctors appointments when students didn t have transportation. If they have financial strains or are sick, teachers help when they re able.