Education

The Education Core Team Ministry at Feast of Victory Lutheran Church encompasses the following areas. As we highlight each of the areas, we emphasize that the Bible is the primary source used for all teachings.

 

Teaching the Faith

Sunday School

Our Sunday morning education offerings, which begin in September and end in mid-June, take place between our worship services from 9:45 to 10:45 a.m.. Classes are offered for pre-kindergarten youth through adult. Age appropriate curricula are used and are carefully chosen to encourage faith formation in the Lutheran tradition. Volunteers serve as teachers and leaders of faith. Classes gather to learn basic Christian truths through Bible stories and a variety of learning activities.

Our Pastor is personally involved in teaching the following:

Baptismal Instruction

Baptismal instruction is usually the first instance of faith formation. It is given to a child or adult who expresses a desire for baptism, who has not previously been baptized. (If a person does not know whether they have been baptized, an effort to find any record of a previous baptism would be made. If a record is found, then the instruction would take the form of preparation for affirmation of baptism.) Instruction is given age-appropriately and with sensitivity toward previous experiences and/or instruction. Parents who may not have attended church for some time, and have returned to regular worship with the intention of having their child/ren baptized, are asked to participate in a period of instruction, as are parents/grandparents/guardians who are not members of the congregation, but who have ties to the congregation in some way, who have requested that their child be baptized in our congregation.

First Communion Training

Our congregation’s children are instructed before receiving their First Communion. Pastor leads a three-week class for children whom parents/pastor deem ready to receive the instruction.

Confirmation Instruction

Feast of Victory’s 7th and 8th graders are involved in a two-year period of instruction on the Christian faith. Topics studied include the Ten Commandments, the Lord’s Prayer, The Apostles’ Creed, The Sacraments of Baptism and Holy Communion, the life and thought of Martin Luther, and How to Study the Bible. Following successful completion of the material, the children are welcomed into formal membership of the congregation with the celebration of the Rite of Affirmation of Baptism at Sunday morning worship services.

New Member Classes

New Member Classes are held whenever anyone expresses a desire to become a member of the congregation, and when this is cannot be accomplished by transferal of membership from another Lutheran church. The pastor notices when visitors become regular attenders and puts out an invitation for a New Member Class. Classes may be done in a group, or individual basis, and all members of the congregation are welcome to attend to refresh or continue their faith formation.

The pastor ascertains what level of knowledge of scripture and Lutheran teachings the participants bring to the class, and structures it accordingly, so that in some cases a class may study the subjects covered in Confirmation classes (see above) for the purpose of welcoming new members by Affirmation of Faith. In other cases, the class offers a less heavy review of the same subjects to give those who are welcomed as new members confidence and an invitation to continue regularly in existing opportunities for adult education and faith formation.

Bibles for our 3rd Graders

When our children reach 3rd grade,. they are presented with a bible during Sunday morning worship and are recognized and encouraged by the congregation as they continue to the next step of maturing in their faith. Members of the congregation are invited to sign the Bibles, leave a personal message or perhaps cite their favorite Bible verse prior to the day of presentation.

Other Education Opportunities

Periodically, a series of classes are offered. These may be formal Bible studies, informal studies organized by one or more of our members, or workshops which emphasize interesting Christian topics. In conjunction with the Fellowship, Outreach & Hospitality, and other Core Teams, there may be inter-generational Sunday School projects during the year. These include God’s Work, Our Hands Sunday, projects for Lutheran World Relief or Lutheran Disaster Response, God’s Global Barnyard, presentations by speakers and guests from our mission partners, or other topics that are appropriate for children and adults. Intergenerational Sunday School is something we hope to be more intentional about, since it provides opportunities for the adults and children in the congregation to learn together, forge stronger bonds of Christian love and fellowship, and encourages us as a congregation to fulfill our baptismal promise to support one another as we grow in faith.

Church Library

We have a church library at Feast of Victory. We seek to offer not only the best in Christian authors and topics, but we also desire to have videos, periodicals, and devotionals available for those who desire to grow in their Christian walk.