Global Voices
A learning community for the crews who welcome, teach, and walk alongside our neighbors.
Ben Davis Christian Church · Indianapolis, Indiana
A learning community where language opens the door to thriving.
“Equipping the 99 to reach the one.”
To establish a Christ-centered learning community in Wayne Township where programs are open to all, equipping people to overcome barriers and grow socially, linguistically, and spiritually.
Provide quality language instruction and childcare within a Christ-centered community, building confidence and equipping learners to thrive.
Language · Childcare · Isolation
Tuesday & Thursday evenings
Every gift has a place
What we hold to, and the Scripture behind each one.
“Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn't he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?”
“Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.”
“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.”
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”
How to use these values. Before each session, pick one value and ask a single question of your crew: “What would it look like tonight if we did this exceptionally well?”
Six people carrying the vision, and a wider circle who sharpen it.
Leadership sets direction, cares for crews, and keeps the program aligned to the mission. Leadership serves the crews — not the other way around.
Our consultants coach our teachers, review curriculum, and keep instruction at a professional standard.
Every volunteer belongs to a crew with a clear purpose.
Crews keep the evening running without confusion. Find yours, know its purpose, and meet the lead who is your first point of contact on a class night.
To foster meaningful and conversational language practice in a safe, encouraging and Christ-like manner, helping learners grow in confidence, vocabulary, and a sense of belonging to a caring community.
To ensure parents can participate fully in language learning by providing attentive, intentional, and Christ-like care for their children, removing barriers and reflecting God's love to the next generation.
To create an atmosphere of belonging from the very first moment a learner arrives, reducing anxiety and establishing a foundation of Christ-like welcome and trust that supports language, social, and spiritual growth.
To cover the entire program in consistent, faith-filled prayer, interceding for learners, volunteers, and leadership so that every session is marked by the Spirit's presence and open to a move of God.
To maintain a safe, secure, and Christ-like environment throughout the program so that learners can arrive with confidence, participate without fear, and leave knowing they were protected and cared for.
Humbly and excellently serve by being prepared, present, and passionate.
Names, not numbers.
Our pilot cohort brings together neighbors from Latin America, Haiti, and East Africa — parents, workers, students, and grandparents who came looking for English and found a table. We learn a name each week.
Pilot cohort
Latin America · Caribbean · East Africa
Tuesday & Thursday
Many origins
Spanish, Haitian Creole, and Somali are the most common first languages in our classrooms.
Mixed levels
Learners are grouped by conversational confidence, not by age or background.
Whole families
Childcare lets parents attend fully — several households enroll together.
One evening, from first coffee to last chair stacked.
Doors open at 6:00 PM and the room is reset by 8:45 PM. Each block belongs to a crew, so no one has to guess who owns the moment.
Two rooms, four levels
Levels 3 & 4 meet in the Gathering Room, Levels 1 & 2 in the Student Center — two tables per facilitator pair.
Arrive by 6:00 PM
Volunteers arrive thirty minutes early so rooms are ready the moment learners walk in.
Two short breaks
Breaks run back-to-back so every level has time to socialize, stretch, and grab a snack.
Sixteen weeks, one two-week pause, one celebration.
Classes meet Tuesday and Thursday evenings. Volunteers commit to at least one night per week.
Tuesday — week 1 of the pilot cohort
No classes for two weeks
Thursday — celebration & rest
One night a week, for one semester.
From first question to first class night.
Five steps stand between curiosity and confidence. Most volunteers move through them in under a month.
Inquire
Scan the volunteer code or talk to a leader after service.
Apply & screen
Complete the application and background check before serving.
Choose a crew
Meet with a Foreperson to find where your gifts fit best.
Shadow a night
Observe a full session alongside an experienced volunteer.
Serve the term
Commit to one night a week for the full sixteen weeks.
Four habits of a great facilitator.
Speak slowly, not loudly
Simplify vocabulary and allow room and time for processing.
Guide on the side
You are here to make learning easier, not to be a sage on a stage.
Have a learner's posture
Ask: how would I feel in their shoes? What can I learn from them?
Lead with patience
Create a space where failure is an opportunity to learn and grow.
Non-negotiables that protect our learners.
Safety is not a crew's private task — it is everyone's baseline. These three rules apply to every volunteer, every night.
Background checks
Required for every volunteer in contact with children.
Two-adult rule
No volunteer is ever alone with a child in a closed room.
Check-in and check-out
Children are released only to the adult who checked them in.
If something feels wrong
Tell your crew lead immediately. You never need to be certain before speaking up — that judgment belongs to leadership, not to you.
Confidentiality
Immigration status, family circumstances, and personal stories shared in class stay in class.
Scan, step in, stay.
Whether you want to learn English or pray for the nations, there is a place for you in Global Voices.
Register as a learner
Join the next cohort. Classes are free aside from textbook expenses, and affordable childcare is provided.
RegisterEvery gift removes a barrier for a specific neighbor.
Classes are free to learners. Sponsorship covers the two real costs behind an open door.
Full curriculum set
Fourteen weeks of care