NOTE: In the Fall of 2021, we permanently moved our Sunday Morning Sunday School classes to Wednesday night. We made this decision for many reasons, but the two primary reasons are: (1) It gives us more time to teach and (2) It provided a meaningful opportunity to reconnect with our church family in the middle of the week. We are thankful to the Lord that this has only served to intensify our discipleship efforts as a church.
MID-WEEK DISCIPLESHIP
We believe that every Christian is called and gifted to minister in some capacity (1 Cor 12). Our Mid-Week Discipleship classes meet on Wednesday nights, from 6:00-7:15 PM, and are our attempt to equip our children, teens and adults with the theological grounding, Biblical world-view, and practical skills they need to pursue God, love people, and multiply fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ.
The ironic thing is that while we recognize this need in sports, we don’t always recognize it in our Christian lives. And even worse, sometimes we simply assume everyone already knows the fundamentals (or can pick them up along the way) as we plan ministries in the church.
This is one of the primary reasons that we are devoting our Winter-Spring semester to a single study– First Principles: How to Understand and Apply God’s Word. We want to hold a class that will help every person move one or two steps forward in their ability to faithfully handle God’s Word. To accomplish this, we will:
- Follow a 7-week video series that will teach us the foundational principles of Bible study and proper application.
- Apply the principles we learned from the study in guided study of Jonah.
- Apply the principles we learned from the study in a guided study of a NT Epistle.
- Learn how these principles can help any Christian prepare and share a short devotional from the Bible itself.
And if any of these tasks seems daunting, don’t worry. Our primary goal in this class is to help you move one or two steps forward in your ability to handle God’s Word— even if you have never learned how.
For your ever-increasing Joy in Jesus Christ,
Pastor Mark
Ages 4-7 yrs old (4yrs by Sept.1) Younger class
Ages 8-11 yrs old (8yrs by Sept.1) Middle classOEFC is excited to announce a new curriculum for ages 4-11 years old!The new curriculum is The Great Commission Publication and its mission is to “help the church’s work of nurturing and equipping the people of God … and doing so with a focus on building Christ’s kingdom and preparing believers to “glorify God and enjoy him forever.” (GCP website)
In addition to this new curriculum, we are excited to add Catechism (Theological Questions and Answers) to all youth classes! Using the New City Catechism, it will be a great opportunity to dive into God’s word, allowing truth to dwell in us richly so that we think and ponder on the Bible as an anchor for our lives. Using the Heidelberg and Westminster Catechisms – the New City Catechism will encourage and give concise biblical questions and answers for our youth and adults to focus on.
MIDDLE SCHOOL AND HIGH SCHOOL CLASS:
Ages 12 -18
This year our youth group will embark on a journey through the book of Philippians to discover the joy that God offers in the midst of life’s difficulties. Philippians’ overarching theme is joy and the Christian life. Throughout the book, Paul drills down into three sources of joy that God gives us today: Joy in our partnerships with other Christians. Joy in our purpose of advancing the kingdom of God. And Joy and our promises of future rewards. All the big questions: Who am I? Why am I here? And where is this all going? get solid answers in the study of this incredible book.
This class will also include the New City Catechism questions and answers.