Faith Formation At Hope What Is Faith Formation? Current Study Topics for Adults, Youth and Children Wednesday Night Studies with Pastor Scott Group Prayer and Spiritual Direction Sessions What Is Faith Formation?
Hope's Faith Formation Ministry, our approach to Christian Education, serves all ages and involves four important areas of learning and maturing in our faith.		Matthew 28:19-20   Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.
What is a Disciple? A disciple is a follower of Christ.  It is more than simply knowing or doing.  It is building a devoted and healthy relationship with our Lord and Savior.   Then what is “Faith Formation?” Faith-formation is the life-long process of making ourselves and others into disciples.   What do we work on in Faith Formation? We develop four areas of our lives: wider knowledge, discipleship habits, maturity in our walk and healthy relationships with Christ and others.  Faith formation is applicable to our entire lives.   Why can’t I do Faith Formation on my own? Thousands of years and hundreds of studies have shown that we learn best when we learn together.  We share ideas.  We support and encourage each other - in relationship Is this really necessary for Hope Community Church? Faith formation is a core responsibility of the church.  A congregation is not truly healthy without an active and engaged discipleship and faith formation ministry.   What is a typical Faith Formation session like? A session will often, but not always, begin in a larger assembly setting, break into smaller discussion groups, then perhaps reform as a larger body for review and conclusion. Many sessions include video or music, and all are designed to be engaging - as well as some combinations of fun,challenging and serious   Why 75minutes? Most Sunday Schools only meet for 35-45 minutes. It takes more than 35-45 minutes to really explore learning as well as consider how God is acting in our lives, and who we are called to be as individual Christians and as a community of faith.  It takes time to think over our own personal situation and commitments, and to nurture each other in our discipleship.  It also takes time to enjoy each other’s company, to pause for thought and refreshment, and to return and share our thoughts and conclusions with each other.

Current Study Topics for Adults, Youth and Children
      
Sunday After Worship (11:00am-12:15pm) Faith Formation

Adults:
    The Nooma study & discussion series, engaging in the variety of topics presented.      
     Click here for more on current & past Adult Faith Formation

High School
     Conflict - How faith helps us through difficult relationships and situations  (Winter-Spring 2011)

Middle School/Jr High
     "Head to the Heart" Life of Jesus (Winter-Spring 2011)

Click here for details on all the Youth Faith Formation topics

Children:
      Faith Weavers, crafts and more  
 

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Wednesday Night Studies with Pastor Scott

Pastor Scott leads studies on various topics of interest to adults and high-school youth.

Wednesday Evenings 7pm-8pm

"The Palestine Problem" (Fall 2010) A Naively Short Introduction and Discussion.  Why is this one little country, and the area around it, so contentious?  What has happened?  What is happening?  Who are the players?  Why Everything?

Lent and Holy Week Wednesdays – We gather for worship @ 7pm

    NO study session on Ash Wed or Holy Week.

    Other Lent Wed we'll gather for our study after worship, about 7:45pm
 

Wed Night Studies - Theodicy and "Why is there Evil?"
Please join Pastor Scott for an exploration into the this ancient question that doesn't have any answers that we really like.   Why is there evil?  Why do bad things happen (to anyone, good or not).  If God is good, and all powerful, why did God create or allow evil?   What are different ways that we understand evil?  How have people answered these questions in the past?

Presentation and discussion of classic and modern theology and philosophy.

Angels in the Bible (Fall/Winter 2010)

What does the Bible say about Angels?  What kinds are there, what do the do/not do, know/not know, what powers do they have, can they sin, etc.

The Modern Palestine Problem (Fall 2010)

The Book of Revelation (Spring 2009 through... Summer 2010)

A book of prophesy, a book of hope, a book of promise.
A book with many interpretations.

We'll explore what it says, and many of the different ways it is understood. 

We'll also say right here that we don't claim that there is only one correct interpretation - but that there is great truth, and it is a great book, that we need to know.

Group Prayer and Spiritual Direction

When and how do you hear that still, quiet voice of God?  Come explore different ways deepening our spiritual life, “keeping silence” and giving ourselves the chance to focus on God.  Many different private prayer practices will be explored  such as Psalms, cloister walking, icons, journaling, icons, Ignatian Meditation, etc.  Discover which might work best for you.

Share the discovery of God - what God is doing, how God is calling, where God is challenging.  Or, ever, perhaps that sense of God's absence.  The loneliness of not hearing, the yearning to feel the presence.  We walk through all this together.