• Who will be teaching the classes?
  • The classes are being developed by individual teachers. This fall all the teachers are pastors or scholars from within our local church. We may invite guest teachers/pastors in the future.
• Are these the only Bible studies offered at GCC?
  • Scores of groups within our church have been studying the Bible as they meet in homes and will continue to do so. I suspect many will decide to study in one of the Journey class settings for short-term experiences, using the class as a launching pad for their continued home group.
• Will classes be rotated?   
  • Within the first year of Journey Bible Classes we’ll determine which classes will be offered on an ongoing basis as baseline studies for foundational footing for new and growing Christians.
• Are the classes like a "small" group?   
  • While we’ll encourage conversation among class participants, we’re not treating this class space as a "small group". This space will be highly interactive between the teacher and the participants; participants will have exercises to practice at home; and some discussion will occur between participants. However, we’re not setting people up for levels of vulnerable sharing they didn’t sign up for.
• Will people be told which classes they should take?
  • Our people will have three options to choose from each month. While occasionally a particular class may be recommended to new believers, people may choose based on their "next step".   
• Will these classes be the only place GCC people can get Bible teaching at the church building?
  • No, we’ll still offer impactful, Bible-centered weekend celebration services. This hasn’t changed in over 21 years. Every weekend we preach and teach from the focal point of the Scriptures. We will raise questions and identify common needs, using current music and other media from our culture, but we will do on the weekends what we’ve always done: we will lift up Jesus, we will point to the authority of the Scriptures, and we will invite people to trust their very lives to him.
  • In fact, beginning last weekend we now have more space on the clock to experience Jesus Christ through teaching and the arts.   

Check out my post here for the brochure we recently distributed for the Journey Bible Classes.