God wants you to take your next step spiritually. That could mean accepting Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, getting baptized, committing to digging into the Bible each day, discovering how God wants to use you to help others, or learning more about God’s plan for your life. Western Hills’ classes are all about those next steps.
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CLASS 101: Introduction to Our Church Family
You were designed to be a part of a church family. And that’s exactly what Western Hills is intended to be – your church family. A healthy family has common beliefs, purposes and commitment. That’s why at Western Hills we want to share with you what we believe and where we’re going.
God wants all of us to grow in fellowship, discipleship, ministry, evangelism and worship. It’s by balancing those five purposes that we truly live out God’s plan for our life. More than anything else, the Western Hills family wants to come beside you and help you grow in all five of these areas.
CLASS 101 is our basic introduction to our church family and is designed to clearly explain who and what our church is. The CLASS is broken into four sessions covering: Our Salvation, Our Statements, Our Strategy and Our Structure. At the end of the CLASS there is an opportunity for you to decide whether to complete the process by filling in your information on the Membership Covenant or to wait and decide at another time. No pressure whatsoever, we want you to be comfortable with whichever you choose. If you decide that Western Hills is not where God is leading you, we’ll be happy to help you find another church.
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CLASS 201: Introduction To Spiritual Maturity
All Christians eventually ask the same questions: How can I get closer to God? How can I live more and more like Jesus? How can I grow in my faith? Where do I start? CLASS 201 is designed to answer these and many other questions.
During CLASS 201, you will learn four habits that will energize or renew your spiritual life. First, through CLASS 201, you will learn practical steps to making time with God a powerful part of every day through Bible reading and study. You will also receive helpful tips on overcoming the largest obstacles you’ll face as you get started.
Second, every growing Christian needs to talk with God. This is called prayer. For some, talking to God is intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be. In CLASS 201, you’ll discover that God desires conversation with you and He’s much more interested in you authentically talking with him than He is in critiquing your prayers. So, to get you started, you’ll learn a pattern for prayer taken right out of the life of Jesus.
A third area that is covered is financial giving. Admittedly, this is a sensitive subject because few things give a more piercing look into our spiritual lives than how we choose to handle our financial resources. This section will help you take a healthy look at priorities and what really matters in life.
Finally, you’ll clearly see the value of Christian relationships. At Western Hills, there are many opportunities to gather with other Christians. First, there’s the larger group worship experience at the Sunday services. Second, there are smaller groups, where you can connect with other believers in a deeper, more personal way.
As part of CLASS 201 you will learn how many people at Western Hills have grown by becoming part of a spiritual family called a LifeGroup.
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CLASS 301: Discovering My SHAPE For Ministry
When you became a Christian, God gave you salvation and the certainty of eternity in heaven. He also gave you purpose and significance in your life here and now. He has given each of us the opportunity to serve others and make a real difference in someone’s life. When you serve others in Jesus’ name, that’s called ministry.
God didn’t design ministry for just a few with seminary degrees. At Western Hills, we believe that every member of our church is a minister. This is what CLASS 301 is all about. During this class, you will learn how God can use your Spiritual Gifts, your Heart (passions), your Abilities, Personality and Experiences to minister to others in need. This is discovering your SHAPE for ministry.
First, God gave you a special ability when you started following Him. We call this a Spiritual gift. God gave this gift to build up your church family and reach out to the world with Christ’s love.
Second, God also gave you unique passions and heart for particular activities, subjects and circumstances. God uses the things we feel deeply about to show us where we can serve. This is how people learn to serve with joy and not get burned out.
Third, in CLASS 301, you’ll be given time to assess your Abilities which have been with you even before you became a Christian and you’ll see how these will help you in your ministry.
Fourth, God also gives us a Personality to share our SHAPE through. Everyone’s personality is not the same, which makes the expression of our SHAPE that much more special.
Finally, you’ll be able to reflect on the multitude of experiences in your life which have been used by God to mold you for ministry. The experiences of life help us know how to heal hurts of people in our church and in our community. All this combined, will let you discover your SHAPE for ministry.
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CLASS 401: Discovering My Life Mission
God created you with a purpose. That personal, yet church-wide purpose, means connecting flawed human beings with our perfect and eternal God.
Your own story of how God has worked in your life is one of the most effective tools you have for connecting people to God. In CLASS 401, you’ll learn to communicate that story to your neighborhood, workplace and around the world.
By using your own gifts, personality and story, you’ll touch people only you can touch. Your life experiences can be a bridge to a friend or family member who is seeking Christ.
God’s global plan includes reaching people from every nation with the good news of Jesus. In CLASS 401, you’ll get a picture of what God is doing throughout the world to bring His people to Himself. You’ll also find out how you can be part of His global plan.
Finally, we’ll share with you 15 opportunities for you to get started in sharing your faith immediately. At the end of CLASS 401, you can pray about joining Western Hills on the greatest adventure of your life.
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