CORNERSTONE UNIVERSITY ESL Conference: Language, Learning, and Community: A Relational Approach to ESL Ministry

Language, Learning, and Community: A Relational Approach to ESL Ministry

Join us for Cornerstone University’s 24th annual ESL Conference! Educators, ministry leaders, and volunteers are invited to explore how teaching English can be a powerful ministry of welcome, relationship, and gospel witness. This year’s theme highlights the role of language learning in building authentic community, fostering hospitality, and creating space for meaningful conversations that point to Christ. Together, we will consider practical strategies and relational approaches that equip us to serve our students not only as learners, but as neighbors and friends.

Female student taking handwritten notes in an adult business class at Cornerstone University

Registration

Register for the ESL Conference at Cornerstone today! This conference is designed to empower you and equip you with resources for teaching ESL, as well as connect you with other ESL learners, educators and ministry leaders in our community.

What Can You Expect?

At the conference, you can expect to network with other ESL professionals in our community. You’ll also hear from skilled TESOL professionals and learn skills that will strengthen your commitment to lasting transformation through powerful and dynamic relationships.

Network With Other Professionals

West Michigan is home to many ESL learners, teachers and ministry leaders. This conference is an opportunity to meet and connect with other ESL professionals in the area.

Strengthen Your Craft

The ESL Conference is an opportunity for you to be refreshed and reinvigorated in God’s calling for your life. Our hope is that this conference reignites your passion for teaching and learning.

Gain More Resources

All conference attendees will receive additional resources they can bring with them back into their ministry, classroom and everyday life.

Conference Information
and Resources

2026 ESL Conference Schedule

Schedule Coming Soon!

ESL Conference Session Descriptions

Coming Soon!

Campus Map and Parking

The 2026 ESL Conference will be held at Cornerstone Theological Seminary on the campus of Cornerstone University. CTS is building 8 on the campus map.

Download Campus Map (PDF)

ESL Conference Speakers

Tyler Ellis began his missions journey in 1999 as a 19-year-old apprentice missionary and has since visited nearly ten countries. While in South Korea, he led conversational English sessions that inspired English With Friends, which he founded in 2020.

A graduate in Biblical Studies and Missions, Tyler spent nearly 15 years in college ministry, including time with the God’s Not Dead Events Team alongside Every Nation co-founder Dr. Rice Broocks. He later gave a TEDx Talk about Jesus, highlighting interviews with international students and scholars. Tyler cherishes lifelong friendships with international students and the joy of leading some to Christ. https://www.englishwithfriends.org/

Michael Pasquale is a Professor of Linguistics and the Director of the Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) program at Cornerstone University (Grand Rapids, MI). He earned his Ph D. in Linguistics from Michigan State University. He is also the author of An ESL Ministry Handbook: Contexts and Principles. Grand Rapids, MI: Credo House Publishers, 2011.

Monica Pasquale earned her B.A. from Cedarville University in English Education and her MA in TESOL at Cornerstone University. She is currently teaching ESL in ministry based and in business/organizational contexts.

Michael and Monica Pasquale are also directors of ESL Ministry at EveryEthne/ABWE. They are passionate about the local church! From helping the church identify quality resources to equipping teachers, the Pasquales desire to come alongside local churches to help them utilize teaching English as a Second Language as a means to meet needs and build bridges with individuals among their ethnically diverse communities. They have a combined thirty years of experience teaching English, training teachers, and serving as consultants for churches and parachurch organizations in more than twenty countries around the world. https://www.englishoutreachministry.com.

Brian Pickerd is an instructor of languages (German and French) and a teacher trainer at Cornerstone University in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He also teaches German and French at Rockford High School in Rockford, Michigan. Brian earned a master’s degree from Aquinas College in education with a focus on language acquisition and bachelor’s degrees in German, English, French and international studies. Over the course of his career, Brian has transformed groups into communities, in the high school and college classroom, in summer language institutes, and through developing and leading international educational exchanges. Learning from this experience has driven Brian to research the interaction between classroom community and student investment and success.

Academic Programs

Admissions

Tuition & Financial Aid

Student Experience