English Teaching as Christian Mission

Book excerpt: Recent decades have seen an ever-increasing number of Western Christians going abroad as English teachers. Many of these teachers are going to countries that are not very receptive to other forms of Western Christian mission. Some Western Christians view English teaching primarily as a means to gain access to "closed" countries for the purpose of evangelistic outreach. Other Western Christians see it mainly as a form of social service. Snow’s well-thought-out details of how to bear witness, engage in ministry, serve the poor, contribute to peace, and build bridges of understanding between churches clearly show the special role of Christian mission that Christian English teachers can have.