Biblical Perspective

God, as the Holy Spirit, has made Himself known to man from the very beginning. From the calling of Abraham, a special form of ecclesia emerged: God always the leader and lawgiver, sustainer and supplier, humanity always His subjects, and because of the fallen nature, His "insubordinates."

This is the testimony of the Old Testament that in spite of mankind's constant rebellion, God faithfully stayed with them and even prepared a more direct involvement with them.

In a unique sense then, the nation of Israel was the people of God. It was to this nation that God made himself known as One, as Creator, holy, righteous and loving. It was through this nation that he gave new meaning to old works in the very pursuit of revelation.

It was on this nation that God was to rely for His perfect revelatory dwelling among us; Jesus, the Christ. At the time of Jesus, He and His followers constituted the church. After Jesus' departure, His growing group of disciples continued as God's chosen people, as the "the new Israel".

God, the Holy Spirit was summoned and sustained them, inspired and indwelled them until this very day. To the maker of us all, the mission of the church must be to reach out to all without barriers; because he is love and forgiveness, the mission of the church is to live and extend these qualities.

Educational Perspective

The church must teach if it is to survive the next generation. The question is how effectively it will communicate the meaning of the new life in Christ. Christian education will assist us to be equipped to extend the Gospel, and positively impact our generation and beyond.

Christian education provides context in which Jesus Christ, as God's good news, can intersect with the needs of persons in such a way as to be redemptive, to help persons discover new ways of relating to themselves (acceptance) and to each other (unconditional love).

While the discipline is new, the function of a teaching/learning community of faith is as old as the covenant with Israel. The Word commands parents to be responsible for the moral instruction of children in order to extend the blessing of the covenant community to an ever-widening fellowship of believers.

Jesus clearly identified with the teaching role in Israel, and friend and foe as a teacher identified him. Jesus' use of the synagogue as a setting for teaching, and His gathering of a group of disciples for instruction and mission, set a pattern which He instructed his disciples to imitate.