As posted previously, so much of what God is accomplishing in Forest Hills, Queens, has been through classroom teaching. Special event outreaches are great for advertising, and Sunday morning sermons are perfect for consistency and corporate worship, but nothing seems to get to the heart like an intense & formal teaching. As a result, we have developed several means of teaching the bible.Our primary means, "UNplugged," was discussed in the previous post, but it is not our only means. This past fall, our church of 60 attendees became a national Study Center with Global University, and began teaching from their Berean ministerial curriculum. Admittedly, their material is not as culturally relevant as we would like; but as a base, they are unparalleled. Berean has done a fantastic job addressing the fundamentals of the faith and ministry in a way that appeals to both believers and skeptics alike. Plus, when you factor in the cost and the network of advancement, there simply is no better way to teach.
Here at Forest Hills Community Church, we are using the Berean curriculum to launch our own ministry school entitled, "UNashamed." We taught our first course this past September based on the Fundamental Doctrines of the Bible. It was a 12-week program with classes taking place each Tuesday nights at 8pm. Sure enough, approximately 30 students would attend each week's class, and classes sometimes would last well into the wee hours of the night. People were not only hungry for solid, defensible teaching, but for real life application. Each week's class would build off the previous week's, because students were actually applying the teaching in their local environment. Students would consistently say such things as, "This past week I was sharing with my Buddhist friend about the doctrine of justification, and they said..." (Seriously!) As a pastor, teacher, and Christian, you could not ask for better results!!
During the winter months, we have scheduled three other classes, two of which will be taught as 1-day intensives. Our first one took place this past weekend, and brought in 30 individuals (some from other churches, others not even Christian...yet). People need to know the truths of the bible and the basics of Christian life. It is no easy task for myself as the professor, or even the church, to prepare and host these classes, but the results far outweigh the effort.
I would highly encourage all of you in a teaching or pastoral position at your church to consider adopting a ministry school at your church. The majority of those who attend will never go into full-time vocational ministry, but all who are Christians are called to preach the Gospel. I thank God that He has provided a way to not only train His church for ministry, but also bring the skeptic into relationship. Please, please, please consider if the Lord is calling you and your church to a greater "teaching" ministry.
For more information or examples on our classes, please email me.
