That's why

English as a Second Language programs for adults are popular first destinations

for new immigrants as they try and get acclimated in their new home.

Many areas

of metro Atlanta, including nearby Clayton County, have seen big leaps

in the number of immigrants relocating to Georgia in recent years, but

Fayette County's immigrant influx is less dramatic. Still, there are plenty

of adults in Fayette and nearby communities who desire to know the language

better; until recently, they had to go out of the county to find ESL programs.

That changed

when Fayetteville First Baptist Church began offering ESL classes for

adults, the first program of its kind in Fayette County, say church members.

A need for

the classes was realized as First Baptist's outreach to the South Metro

Korean community began to take off. Working through the Southern Baptist

Convention, First Baptist established the first full-time ministry to

Koreans on the southside four years ago. Each Sunday, Koreans worship

in their native tongue in the Overton Chapel while the larger church body

celebrates in English in the worship center next door.

While the separation

isn't ideal, it's necessary because many American Koreans don't speak

any English, often despite having lived in this country for years.

So what started

out as an effort to teach English to a handful of Korean members has turned

into a full-fledged ESL academy for First Baptist, which offers a new

semester of courses starting next week, said school director Grace Fincher.

At the end

of the last semester in the spring, 80 students representing 18 countries

were registered in the program, attending one of eight weekly classes:

Four basic, and four intermediate. This year, a third advanced level will

be added.

First Baptist

members fill most of the teaching ranks, Fincher said, but some instructors

are members of other churches.

Bo Mullins

teaches the basic class, in which the students often have just arrived

in this country and don't know a lick of English.

"We're

providing an environment where you must speak English," he said.

"You're not allowed to speak your native tongue in class. This is

like bringing children up from Day 1."

Many students

can read English, but they can't speak it.

Mullins related

the tale of a Vietnamese man who has been in the U.S. for 26 years and

never learned English because he lived entirely within the Korean community,

where he owned his own business and paid to send two sons through college.

"Mr. Hyung

had been reading from a Bible written in his own language, but had problems

grasping the meaning behind many of Jesus' miracles and parables,"

Mullins told.

"Often,

something is lost in the translation. But explained in English, when they

can understand it well enough, it opens up the gospel in a whole new way."

The church

uses curriculum from the Southern Baptist Convention. And though learning

the language is why students come to the classes, Mullins and Fincher

say they hope the new neighbors leave with much more.

Clayton College

and State University offers an ESL program, at their main campus and at

the new Peachtree City satellite campus, but for a fee. Fayetteville First

Baptist's program is free of charge.

"We minister

to physical needs," said Fincher. "Like when a family rst comes

and needs furniture, etc. They also ask us to help them get jobs. Sometimes

they get in trouble with the law and they ask for help and prayer."

"Our number-one

priority is to be witnesses for Christ and share the gospel by offering

this service and helping these folks learn the language," Mullins

said. "We want them to make better lives for themselves."

More on ESL

The next semester of ESL classes

will be offered starting Sept. 1 at Fayetteville First Baptist Church,

205 E. Stonewall Ave. one block past the courthouse square (Ga. Highway

54 East). Class Times: Monday and Tuesday evenings 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. and

Tuesday and Thursday mornings 9 -11 a.m. For more information, call the

church at 770-461-6378. Anyone wishing to help with this Ministry, contact

Grace Fincher, Director, at 770-461-7983.