The Sunday School mission statement of Harvest OPC is “To train disciples of Christ to obey all that he has commanded by equipping them with an in-depth knowledge of his word, a thorough understanding of its demands, and practical instruction in applying his word in their daily lives.” We believed that knowledge of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. We need to know the Lord’s kingdom mission and message in order to apply it to our lives and tell it to others. Every member of the church, from the two-year-old toddler to the oldest senior citizen, is encouraged to be engaged in instruction in the knowledge of the Lord. In other words, the purpose of Christian education is to make disciples of Christ—people who love, follow, and obey the Master (John 14:15, James 1:22-25). What a great incentive to find the rich treasures of growing in grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior!
I. Children’s Sunday School
The Children’s Sunday School program at Harvest Church encompasses toddlers through senior high students and is further broken down into three areas of emphasis: toddler through sixth grade (elementary), seventh through tenth grade (juniors), and eleventh and twelfth grade (seniors). Each area of emphasis will have its own particular mission and goals. The program focuses upon three Biblical elements: knowledge, understanding, and wisdom. “By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures.” Proverbs 24:3-4.
- Elementary Mission Statement: To help elementary students acquire a broad body of knowledge of God and his word through emphasis upon Biblical events, people, places, basic doctrines, and catechism memorization.Children in this first stage must develop a broad base of Biblical knowledge. Knowledge is what informs understanding and wisdom. Only knowledge that has been acquired is available for analysis and practical expression. Children in this grammar stage generally lack the ability to understand relationships and reason analytically. Therefore, the focus is upon memorization and acquiring factual data.
- Junior’s Mission Statement: To train junior students in analyzing, understanding, and applying their Biblical knowledge through a systematic study of the Westminster Confession of Faith and Catechisms followed by studies in Biblical interpretation and Church history. In this second stage, the emphasis shifts from simply acquiring knowledge to teaching students to reason and to understand the relationships between the facts they have learned in the previous stage. It is in this dialectic stage that the emphasis in cognitive skills shifts from the concrete to the analytical. Through a study of the Westminster documents, proper Biblical interpretation, and the history of the Church students develop a systematic understanding of God and his word.
- Seniors Mission Statement: To equip senior students to assemble the knowledge and understanding they have gained and through wisdom to apply this to their thought and actions as they interact with the modern world. The emphasis in this wisdom stage is on the expression of what has been learned and understood. This stage is naturally the capstone. Training will focus upon applying the student’s Biblical knowledge and understanding to the many theological, philosophical, and ethical issues of his day.
II. Adult Sunday School Mission Statement:
To provide adults with course offerings in the areas of Biblical and theological studies and Christian living in order to inform their knowledge of God and develop maturity in their relationship with Christ.
Currently at Harvest, we offer a choice of at least two different Adult Sunday School classes on a variety of options. We utilize the gifts of many experienced teachers within our congregation. God has blessed us with wonderfully gifted teachers and we are grateful for each one.