Open Classes
All participating in Open Classes will meet in the ROC Downstairs prior to heading to class.
All participating in Open Classes will meet in the ROC Downstairs prior to heading to class.
Sunday Open Classes (Fall 2023)
Meaningful Membership (Sept. 10-Oct. 1)
Teachers: Paul, Charles, Dan
Location: Parlor
New Testament 1
Teachers: Tim Gannon and Joseph Parden
Location: G314
Biblical Theology
Teachers: Don Mills and Tyler Campbell
Location: R300-302
Parenthood
Teachers: David Glover and Charles Uptain
Location: G315
Counseling as Discipleship
Teachers: Reagan Farris and Steven Wilson
Location: G313
Women’s Open Class: Romans
Teachers: Sandra Hunt and Amanda Trammell
Location: G312
Wednesday Open Classes (Fall 2023)
On Wednesdays, adults have the option of meeting with their Life Groups, attending an Open Class or meeting with their D-Groups. There will be no general Midweek Bible Study.
Parenthood
Teachers: Sam Tarwater and Jed Downs
Location: R304
Systematic Theology 1
Teachers: Paul Thompson and Charles Uptain
Location: R306
9.13.23 Notes
How to Grow
Teachers: Dan Tankersley
Location: R308
Women’s Open Class: Romans
Teachers: Lynn Forrester and Jamie Perry
Location: R300-302
Men’s Open Class: Pure Desires
Teachers: Ian Worrell and Chuck Arney
Location: R301
Why are we adding these classes? The elders are responsible for the teaching of the body, so we all grow up into maturity. (Ephesians 4) We believe open classes enhance our teaching ministry by giving us a venue to teach basic Christian subject matters in a systematic way versus just waiting on those subjects to surface in our expositional preaching and sermon based small group curriculum.
Why are we offering these on Sunday mornings at 8:30? We want to offer these classes when the largest number of our membership could participate. We also hope you will see the value in learning and interacting with members whom you might not know well because they are not in your small group.
Do I need to sign up beforehand? No, anyone who wants to participate can meet in the Sanctuary at 8:30 each Sunday. We will introduce the classes and teachers for that week, and all walk together to the classrooms below the Sanctuary.
Do the classes build on one another? The subjects will flow together, but every class meeting will standalone, and anyone could come any week and jump right in.
What is the format for the open classes? A normal class would include prayer, a moment for the class participants to greet one another and meet new people, a teaching time, a time for questions and/or discussion. This request for questions could be interspersed in the teaching time or come at the end depending on the teacher’s preference.
How can I participate and stay connected to my small group (life group)? We would suggest creativity, flexibility, and open discussion with your group. Here are a few suggestions, but this is surely not a complete list:
Bring some, or all, of your group with you to the class
Continue to connect outside of the 8:30 Sunday morning hour through text groups/phone calls/social events/meals together after church/sitting together in worship or midweek/eating at church before midweek together
Participate in the shorter classes (6-7 weeks long) and then go back to your group for a while
See if your group’s members that choose to participate in open classes want to get together some other time of the week to discuss the sermon and pray
When will we know what will be taught next? The elders are working to produce a schedule of classes. We hope to publish this in March. The schedule would lay out our expectations for the remainder of the year.