Gather English Playbook
Entry through English
Welcome to Gather English Gather English is a global initiative to bless (mostly) university students through English education while cultivating communities rooted in the virtues of Jesus’ teaching. With a mission to equip (mostly) college students to build meaningful relationships and grow in character, the movement is grounded in five core values: community, virtue, growth, respect, and joy. Chapters create environments to see English learners grow. Each chapter has three objectives: (1) bless students by offering beginner and intermediate English courses, (2) equip interested students through discipleship in Jesus’ teachings, and (3) send committed students to launch new chapters at other universities. The model is simple and reproducible, built around three key roles: Chapter Coordinators who manage events and support facilitators, English Facilitators who lead the language courses, and Community Partners who guide discipleship groups. Chapters operate using two core tools: four calendar events per semester and the Journey of Discipleship semester-long groups, making it easy for any ministry to adopt and multiply the vision.
Blessings, Ben and Lindsey Ward Lead Teachers
Vision, Mission, and Values
Our Vision
Our Mission
Entry through English to bless university students worldwide
Equip college students to create community based on the virtues of Jesus' teaching.
Our Core Values Our Core Values help us align with university campus partners as we seek to bless the city we share. (Jeremiah 29:6)
01 Community
02 Virtue
We seek to equip students with the skills to build lifelong friendships
We believe Jesus’ virtue of servant leadership changes the world.
03 Growth University is a time to experience holistic growth in the “mind, heart, and hands” of life.
05 Joy Joy follows a life of following Jesus’ virtue and teaching. It is a rich alternative to passing distractions.
04 Respect We cultivate an open space where people can talk freely about their doubts and beliefs
Core Objectives, Roles, and Tools
Roles While the classes are online, each chapter needs local leadership to build relationships. We suggest the following structure.
Chapter Coordinator
English Facliitator
Community Partner
The Chapter Coordinator manages events and support facilitators. They communicate ministry reports to the Lead Teachers. English Teacher Assitants manage the English Class groups in Canvas. They facilitate group time 1 per week with minimal prep time and pre made worksheets.. Community Partners equip and host students to faciliate discipleship groups that meet throughout the semester. They are trained in the discipleship materials used by Gather.
Our Curriculum Our English Philosophy is that language is used to build relationships. So instead of focusing on grammar, we focus on facilitation through free curriculum to build relationships.
Beginner Focuses on basic conversations and simple sentence structure
Intermediate
Expands vocabulary and the ability to hold conversations that are more in depth
01 Professional Online Platform
02
3 Online Interactive Exercises - 10 min
Short excercises throughout the week to help students grow and get feedback on their timeschedule.
Group Time Per week. 1.5-2 hrs
Facilitators walk through the pre-made curriculum. They receive a teacher workbook with ideas and lesson plans.
per semester 03 1toInvitation join Discipleship We connect people to one another and Jesus. We offer a Discipleship Training every semester for interested students.
Gather Calendar
04
Events per Semester
The Events focus on getting students together for fun. Its an opportunity to invite students in the journey of discipleship groups.
Discipleship Groups Discipleship Groups are a group of 3-5 same gender students who commit to meeting together 1x per week for the semester to pursue Jesus together. The materials are provided. They can be embedded into online class to help people create spiritual habits.
When you are ready to start, we’ll give you all the resources needed to communicate to students.
Gather English Entry through English