New Day Learning Center opened its doors in 2004, but the story of New Day began years before.

We started in 1993 with a little manufacturing company called Beijing New Day Arts & Crafts Company (New Day Creations). In a small factory about the size of a one-car garage, we created a simple poly resin magnet in the shape of China. We founded New Day to exhibit honesty and integrity in a business setting and to make a difference in the lives of our employees. The business started to grow, and we began teaching classes in finance, marriage and parenting to our local staff.

In 1997, we moved the factory to the farming village of Qingyundian, located on the southeastern outskirts of Beijing. A couple years later, we purchased an empty plot of land in the village, with plans to continue expansion.

With a heart to touch the lives of orphans with medical needs, New Day Foster Home began in 2000. We began simply, caring for six children who needed cleft lip surgeries. After completing treatment, we cared for the children at our Foster Home until they were adopted.

Now, our Foster Home cares for children with a variety of medical needs, many of them very serious. We also manage outreach projects to orphanages throughout China and provide meaningful volunteer opportunities to anyone with a heart for orphans. Over 100 of our children have been adopted to loving families throughout the world, and we remain committed to bringing hope and restoration to the lives of orphaned children throughout China.

In 2004, we founded New Day Learning Center with 109 students in our first semester. We taught in a neighboring city and provided night and evening classes for children, teens and adults. In the spring of 2005 we started our full-time program and ran both programs for a year and a half. In the summer of 2006 we decided to stop the night and evening program and just focus on the full-time program. There were several reasons for doing this from financial to personnel to spiritual, but primarily it was because we felt the full-time program directly fulfilled the vision we originally had for the school. We wanted to provide a place for students to come and receive the very best English education possible. We also wanted to have daily contact with our students and have greater opportunities to build and develop relationships with them in order to have the greatest impact in their lives. We are five years into this and we’re seeing many of the results we had hoped for.

So, today we teach English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in a full-time residential program. We focus primarily on helping our students improve their speaking and comprehension skills, introduce them to American and other cultures, develop life-giving relationships which lead to positive life-change and prepare students for advanced educational and occupational opportunities.

Millions of people are studying English in China. Most of them do not enjoy it and are not successful because they just memorize words and study grammar. They never get to speak the language. At New Day, we require our students to speak English throughout the school day in an environment where they are “immersed” in English for at least 8 hours. We feel this is the best way for students to improve their communication skills, and they make progress each week. They get excited with their progress, and their English study becomes enjoyable and successful. We focus on four basic tenants at our school. Communication, Fluency, Accuracy, Discipline

We are currently in the process of starting a new program. We have partnered with a local elementary school and we will start offering American English classes in a Chinese elementary school in the fall of 2009. To our knowledge this is the first program of it’s kind in Beijing and we’re excited at the opportunity to help children from 1st through 6th grades.

We also do outreach to the elderly and poor in our village. Our staff has grown to nearly 200 Chinese employees, and in all departments, we remain committed to paying a fair wage and providing safe working conditions.

New Day is a vibrant community, full of life and activity. We are thankful for each person who comes to China to be a part of our work. Our department of Volunteer Services helps to coordinate all the teams and individuals that come here to serve.

When we first started making that simple magnet in 1993, we never imagined that New Day would expand in so many ways. We remain committed to obediently walking in the ways set before us – it is a humbling and exciting journey.