Education Program

Randy Lilley is the deacon in charge of the education department

A vital part of any congregation is the education program.  We are training the church of tomorrow.  The strength of our bible classes is crucial in aiding Christians in their walk, regardless of their age.  Everyone is at such different levels of knowledge about the bible.  "Old Timers" assume that "everybody knows that story", when in fact...how can they learn unless they are taught!  

In September 2002 we began a new series.  We have been very excited by the response to the material.  The material is written by Mary Baker.  It is unique in that it is studied by the whole congregation.  The curriculum is repeated every 4 years.  We start teaching this material in the 3 year old class on a level which is appropriate for them.  The same material is taught in all of our classes including the adult class but the material is taught according to the level of the students.  The lesson that the Sunday school teacher taught will be built on by the midweek teacher which will be built on by the Sunday teacher. The material goes back and forth from the Old Testament to the New Testament because both are so important. 

One of the things which we like about the study is that it is great to encourage bible studies at home, because Mom and Dad learned about the same thing which the kids did in class.  This will spur great conversations to and from church as well as during the week.  We announce what the lesson will be for the next class so the congregation is encouraged to study their bible lesson at home before coming to the classes. 

Another feature to the program is the review questions.  The material has 2 set of questions for each lesson.  One set is the questions about the lesson you just learned about and the other is the review set.  The review set will go back several weeks to remind the students about their former lessons and then a couple from the last 3 weeks.  In this way you are constantly reviewing the bible and keeping the facts fresh!

This curriculum is very good for learning bible geography in the maps that it provides.  There are exercises most weeks which will allow the student to see where all of the action happened.  This adds an additional element to bring this to life.  The timeline helps us put the whole picture in perspective.  By looking at the time line we can understand the different ways that God revealed his plan of redemption to humanity. 

The teachers book has many extra facts, drills, bible games and visual aids to help the teacher bring the material to life in a multitude of ways. 

Everyone is learning more about the bible which goes along with our education goal.  "Christ in me in 2009".  Our goal is to learn more this year about the bible than any other year so far.  This has really helped young and old alike.