Christ Church is forging a community
of passionate lovers of God
immersed in Scripture and
mutually encouraging relationships.
The goal of study,
mentoring and practice
is to create disciples
whose hearts’ desire
is to be fully changed
into the likeness of Jesus Christ.
Adult Learning
Circles
Adult learning communities that meet on Sunday mornings.
The purpose of the adult learning circles (ALC) is to
connect people relationally and provide foundational
teaching that contributes to the formation of a Christian
worldview. There are several levels of involvement in an
Adult Learning Circle.
• The first level is simply to join an ALC and become
part of an adult learning community.
• Entry level involvement - Become part of the class
leadership team (Refreshment coordinators, Prayer
coordinators, Class MC, Social coordinators).
• Leadership involvement:
⁃ Class Leaders: organize the classes and recruit a
team to help build community.
⁃ Teachers: teach specific biblically based topics to
the various adult circles.
Colin Campbell
Sunday Morning Children's Christian
Education
Classes for children ages 3 through the 8th grade meet
EVERY Sunday morning. Our little ones are introduced to
Jesus, their forever friend. As they grow the children
learn the great stories of the Faith, to honor the Bible as
God's special book, and to understand something of the
depth of Jesus' love for each of us. As children enter
their teens their studies in Scripture and the Church and
their experiences within the parish culminate in study for
Confirmation - the recognition of adult commitment and
status within the church family.
⁃ 9:00 Kid's time: Bible stories, crafts and play for
children ages 3-5 years.
⁃ 10:30 Sunday School: Classes for all ages, 3-yrs.
through 8th grade
Every Sunday requires up to 40 volunteers to teach, assist,
and to bring special enriching skills to the programs - in
art, music, puppets, drama, etc. Snacks are a basic part of
every children's group, of course. Specific needs include:
• Clerical help - 2 hours per week - or perhaps every
other week, to track attendance, send out mailings, check
addresses, etc.
• Sunday snack assistants - one hour one Sunday per
month, sign up to set up the snacks for the children's
classes.
• Special events helpers and servers - these are
usually one time events when we all gather - all hands on
deck, please!
• Classroom aids & substitutes - 2 hours one or
two Sundays per month, volunteers who sign up to work
alongside the children's teachers or to substitute for a
teacher as needed.
• Teachers - in teams of 2 or 3 - Sunday mornings on a
schedule to be worked out within the grade level team - 2-4
Sundays per month, September through May. Summer Sundays by
request - on any schedule that is convenient.
Christ Church Policy for Adults Working with
Children
The community of Christ Church takes very seriously our
responsibility for the safety of our children in all our
programs and events.
The following criteria applies to all adult volunteers
working with children:
• Must be in active, regular attendance for at least
six months
• Must attend a one-day seminar, Safeguarding God's
Children, sponsored by the diocese
• Must submit a Volunteer Application Form which
includes permission for a background check.
Kay Harlan
Vacation Bible School
Vacation Bible School (VBS) is designed to provide an
immersion of bible based activities for children ages 4-10
years over a five day period. The program also includes
older children by having them help with the younger kids.
VBS can be an introduction for someone who is hearing the
Word of God for the first time and is also an enriching
experience for children who attend a Sunday school program.
The program runs for one week in the summer, usually in
mid-June. The activities are based on a theme that teaches
stories in the Bible through crafts, songs, games, snacks
and fun! VBS serves our community of children and reaches
out to non-members of Christ Church. Volunteering for this
program is a fun and rewarding experience. Opportunities
exist for all agesā€”from classroom teachers and
assistants to activity coordinators and prayer teams. We
work with volunteers to meet their time commitments and
areas of interest. We encourage you to be part of this fun
ministry!
Tammie Sawicki
Adult Confirmation
To instruct adults who are interested in being confirmed in
the Episcopal Church in the tenets of the faith. Classes
are typically held once a year prior to the Bishop's
visitation. This class is typically 6-8 weeks long, 1-1/2
-2 hrs, weekly. It is lead by clergy or senior staff. Help
with setup and clean up is always appreciated.
Lisa McFarland
Youth Confirmation
Open to 8th graders and high school students who would like
to renew their baptismal covenant and strengthen their
commitment to a developing faith, grounded in service. Our
goals include giving young people the biblical knowledge,
spiritual disciplines and experiences of their Anglican
tradition that they need to grow in faithfulness to Christ.
We also hope to connect each young person with an older
Christian mentor who invites the younger Christian to look
over his/her shoulder as they journey together as
Christians. Adults who are willing to mentor a confirmand.
This includes developing a relationship with the
confirmand, praying for him/her during this time of
instruction, supporting with memorization, sharing faith
experiences from your own life, discussing the confirmation
lessons, and some experiential learning such as visiting
another place of worship or engaging in service together.
Sundays from 10:30-11:45am, January through May 2005.
Lynn Hawthorne
Elijah House Ministry
This training program was designed by John and Paula
Sanford to train lay people to pray with others for inner
healing and personal transformation. There are several
levels of training, all building on each other. Training
involves 3 Saturdays and 10-3 ? hour classes. There is a
fee to cover the cost of the instructor and the manual.
Small groups are formed and members pray with and for each
other.
Dennis & Shirley Ridgley
Family Ministry Team
The vision for this team is to provide a forum for parents
to share the ups and downs of parenting, different styles
of handling youth-related situations and to grow in
community as parents. The team will facilitate meetings on
Youth Group nights. These meetings will include a teaching,
small group, and prayer time and are open to the parents of
children of all ages. Meetings will run congruently with
Youth Groups on Wednesday and Sunday evenings. Hospitality,
organizational, and leadership skills needed.
Amy Parker / Kay Harlan / Tina Wise / Fr. Tom
Danitschek
Marriage Preparation
This is a course on marriage communication, spirituality in
marriage, and other important topics related to marriage.
It is required for all couples getting married in our
church (unless that requirement is waived by the clergy).
However, the class is not limited to those couples. Married
couples are welcome to attend. The class is based on PREP
(Prevention and Relationship Enhancement Program) and the
book A Lasting Promise by Scott Stanley, Daniel Trathen,
Savanna McCain and Milt Bryan. The class meets all day on
one Saturday and then on two evenings. Help setting up, and
cleaning up is always appreciated.
Kevin and Wendy Cowperthwaite
Mid-Week Bible Classes
These are mid-week opportunities to join with a group of
people to study the Bible or a related book. Each class is
led by a gifted teacher/facilitator and meets during the
day at Christ Church. There are occasional classes offered
in the evenings. These classes will have anywhere from 20
to 40 people attending.
• Participation - You may want to join a class when a
new discussion topic is started. These are announced in the
bulletin or newsletter.
• Auxiliary - these classes always offer refreshments
and have prayer as an ingredient. Leaders can use people to
help organize the refreshment lists and even to handle
taking prayer requests.
• Teaching - If you have a teaching gift, you may want
to talk to the Pastor of Discipleship about teaching or
leading a class at some point.
Colin Campbell
Perspectives on the World Christian
Movement
Perspectives on the World Christian Movement is a dynamic
discipleship course, taught by a variety of ministry
experts, pastors and professors. Four dimensions of mission
are examined:
• Biblical - What does God's word reveal about his
plan for all nations?
• Historical - How has God been working throughout
history?
• Cultural - What part does culture play in God's
global plan?
• Strategic - What role could you and your church
play?
In the last 29 years, Perspectives has challenged the lives
of more than 65,000 Christians. Perspectives is endorsed by
almost every major evangelical denomination and mission
agency in the United States.
Planning a Perspectives class takes preparation and
prayer from a leadership team (task force) of committed
individuals at a local church. Task Force roles include:
• Coordinator: Opens and closes class at all sessions,
facilitates the task force and oversees the following roles
and other delegated activities.
• Church Communications Facilitator: Person who
communicates and confirms with the hosting church regarding
calendar, events, facilities, etc.
• Worship Leader: Schedules music and worship for each
night with a variety of gifted song leaders for the first
15 minutes of class.
• Greeter: Helps set-up class (starts coffee, sets out
snacks, signs, tables and chairs) and greets arriving
students.
• Registrar: Handles registration process, class
attendance, and manages financial contracts for needy
students.
• Taping / Sound: Arrives early each night to set up
sound and taping system for class. Records speaker's
lecturer and arranges for cassette tape purchase and
duplication for interested students.
• Prayer Coordinator: Organizes prayer coverage for
class sessions, students, speakers, guests, and host
church. It is vital that a prayer team be actively involved
in regular intercession before, during and after the class.
• Childcare Facilitator: Provides care or even a
program for students' children.
• Promotion: Coordinates the overall promotion by
keeping track of promotion to all segments of the church,
bulletin announcements, etc.
• Class Enrichment: Enhances the class learning
environment and helps the students get to know each other.
• Speaker Hospitality: Ensures speaker has necessary
travel directions, needed supplies, audiovisual equipment,
etc.
Jeanne Corliss
Purpose Driven Life Groups (PDL)
A six-week process of learning the overview of why God has
put us on this earth. Small groups of people (8 to 14) meet
with a discussion leader to read and discuss and practice
some of the principles and concepts from the book, The
Purpose Driven Life, by Rick Warren.
• Participation - Join a PDL group and have your mind
and worldview transformed.
• Auxiliary - help in making PDL groups available to
others by hosting or helping in a PDL group. PDL leaders
need host homes and welcoming people to make the group a
warm and inviting place. The PDL leadership team needs
those who want to help in an administrative way to organize
groups and get the word out to the parish.
• Leadership - PDL groups require facilitation by
trained leaders. Christ Church provides training and
ongoing supervision for PDL leaders.
Colin Campbell
Puppet People
An opportunity for children (3rd grade and older) and
adults to learn puppet ministry skills and produce
delightful programs for children's classes and other
venues. This is an opportunity to use illusion, story
telling, comedy, clowning, and other performing elements in
a very fun ministry. The Puppet People have performed
approximately every month mostly for Children's Christian
Ed events. We have occasionally performed for church wide
events, for sermons, and as outreach to other
congregations. Ideally, this ministry should have at least
one leader and one or more assistant leaders to make the
experience most fulfilling. Training tapes, sound
equipment, stage, puppets, and more are available.
Currently we are in need of a Director. Rehearsals are
bi-weekly, Sundays from noon to 2pm. Lunch is provided.
Christ Church Policy for Adults Working with
Children
The community of Christ Church takes very seriously our
responsibility for the safety of our children in all our
programs and events.
The following criteria applies to all adult volunteers
working with children:
• Must be in active, regular attendance for at least
six months
• Must attend a one-day seminar, Safeguarding God's
Children, sponsored by the diocese
• Must submit a Volunteer Application Form which
includes permission for a background check.
Debbie Barents / Kay Harlan
Small Groups
A gathering of twelve or fewer adults in a home or at the
church for the purpose of building relationships and
growing in our life with Christ. Small groups form the
vital link from worship and adult learning to practical
application in our lives. Small groups are ideal places to
share the journey with others who are pursuing God and to
set and achieve spiritual goals in our lives.
• Participation - join an appropriate group and
experience the transformation that comes in a small group.
• Auxiliary - help extend small groups to others by
hosting or helping in a small group. Small group leaders
need host homes and welcoming people to make the group a
warm and inviting place. The small group leadership team
needs those who want to help in an administrative way to
organize groups and get the word out to the parish.
• Leadership - Small groups require facilitation by
trained leaders. Christ Church provides training and
ongoing supervision for small group leaders.
Colin Campbell
Youth Ministries
Our goal is to provide a place where young adults can meet
God and be transformed by that encounter. It is hoped that
these students will be grafted into the larger community,
being able to move out in their gifting and in leadership
within the larger church context.
Junior High
A gathering of students, 6th to 9th grade, in a safe place
to explore their thoughts, discover their gifts and
talents, and develop a love of God and their neighbors.
Meets Wed., 7:00 to 8:30pm.
Senior High
A safe and friendly gathering of students, 9th to 12th
grade, where we continue to challenge them to grow in their
faith and become the hands, feet, and voice of Jesus. Meets
Sundays, 6:30 to 9:00pm.
Youth Mission Trips
Mission trips are a unique opportunity for teens to share
God's love and do something tangible with their faith. What
we teach throughout the year culminates in service projects
and mission trips where we put our faith into action.
• Prayer warriors - people who will cover our youth,
their families and leaders in prayer.
• Chaperones - for mission trips, social events,
conferences, retreat, and service projects, usually 1 time
events.
• Fundraisers - help with raising money for mission
trips, such as the Cake Auction, Shrove Tuesday Pancake
Supper, etc.
• Drivers - we'd like a list of potential volunteers
we could draw from for local transport.
• Mentors - people who would walk alongside our youth,
especially during the Confirmation training. (See Youth
Confirmation)
• The use of a mountain cabin/condo where we could
take kids for a retreat, conference, or training.
Amy Parker
* The following are "Dream"
Ministries--ministries Christ Church would like to
implement in the future.
*Bringing Christ to the Workplace
To incarnate Christ in your workplace. Do you ever wish you
were more like Jesus at work? Do you ever wish you could
experience work as a place of ministry rather than an
obstacle to ministry? Gather with fellow pilgrims to
explore this undiscovered frontier for serving Christ. A
2-hour meeting per month to pray and share and support one
another.