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Education Ministry

Posted on August 17, 2006 ...

We are in the process of kicking off our Discipleship Training courses for the fall term. I hope that you have an appreciation for the difference between Sunday School and Discipleship Training and the purpose that each program is designed to fulfill in the life of the believer.
Sunday School classes are ?¢‚Ǩ?ìopen?¢‚Ǩ¬ù classes that do not require participants to have knowledge of the previous week?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s material, nor do they need the material from the next week to complete the learning. This is an effective process for Sunday School since it is the evangelistic arm of the church. There should be a level of comfort for those that are visiting our classes with ample time for fellowship. Discipleship training, however, is comprised of ?¢‚Ǩ?ìclosed?¢‚Ǩ¬ù courses where each lesson builds on the preceding week?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s material. The emphasis is spiritual maturity in the context of dialogue with other believers and is obviously where the greatest opportunity for personal spiritual growth exists.
If you have not attended Discipleship Training regularly, I would challenge you to make this a vital part of your Christian life. I assure you that it will be more than worth the time invested. This is especially true if you have found that church does not seem to be ?¢‚Ǩ?ìfeeding?¢‚Ǩ¬ù you or providing the spiritual nourishment that you need. It is possible that you are expecting something from morning classes that they were never intended to provide. God created us as social beings and we need that element in our lives but not to the detriment of our spiritual growth.
Many of the courses that we offer will provide credit through Lifeway?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s Christian Growth Study Plan. This plan is also flexible enough to allow other methods of personal study, therefore, if there is an area of interest that is not specifically addressed in our courses this fall, stop by the education office. I may be able to assist you in designing a combination of self-study and/or online courses to meet your requirements. Additionally, for those who need to fulfill CEU?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s (Continuing Education Unit) requirements, some of these classes qualify. Verlin