At City Church we consider it so important we have included it on our strap line - Knowing God-Enjoying Life-Building Community. But what does it mean for us to thrive as individuals and have a role to play?
The first disciples (apprentices) were different for a remarkably simple reason, ‘...they had been with Jesus’. We are going to live with Jesus, just as they once did, but we will do it through the inspired portrait we find in Luke’s gospel. By saturating ourselves in Jesus’ teaching and presence we will seek to effect real and permanent change in our lives.
This (and nothing less) is the purpose of one of our apprenticeship courses: Living with Luke. Can you commit yourself to this journey?
Living with Luke meets for ten weeks, one night a week. Each of us will read through the whole of Luke carefully, keeping a journal as we go. We will learn a simple and visual way of remembering the key events in Jesus’ life and their significance. And we will set out to listen to this gospel carefully, humbly meditating on it and allowing it to soak into our hearts, so that we discover more about Jesus for ourselves. If you want to know more about Living with Luke call the church office on 0191 5654000 or Dave Burke on 07968985664.
"I took part in the Living with Luke course about a year ago, along with another 15 people. The series ran for ten sessions, during which we learned an easy way to remember the sequence of key events in the life of Jesus as set out in Luke's gospel. I thoroughly enjoyed the course, particularly as the way it was delivered encouraged us to learn for ourselves, being guided by questions. We split into smaller groups and discussed ideas, then came together again and shared our thoughts. We were also given a study guide to use at home to do in our own time. I think Living with Luke would benefit anyone who took part, whether they have lots of Bible knowledge, or none. Evening has a different way of seeing things and I learned a lot from hearing other people's ideas." Liz Nelson
Central to any thriving church or community is thriving individuals with a role to play. We have completed six Body Building courses which have been geared to asking just this question.
Want to know what gifts God has given you?
Want to know how you can best use them to serve the community of Bethany City Church?
Want to do you best to be in a role at City Church that leaves you feeling confident, motivated, confident and enthusiatic?
If so, the Bodybuilding course is for you. It might even be that you are pretty sure of your strengths, but want to slot into the life of City Church in the most helpful way possible. Great! The Bodybuilding course will help the church to make the most of your gifts too. The course itself is based on the Willow Creek 'Network' course but has been remodelled and adaptedfor a Sunderland audience! It can be completed in two formats - four evenings spread out over a month, or a whole Saturday - which ever fits best with your diary. If you are interested, want to sign up for the next course or just want more information contact the Church Office on 0191 5654000.
Get the 'fruits of the Spirit' fitness assessment by clicking the picture above. You may also find the following tools useful in organising your time and analysing where it goes so you can set some priorities:
Breathe! is a series of workshops where the following things all happen at once:
To learn from one another
To learn to pray as naturally as we breathe
To learn to pray more biblically and purposefully
To develop new habits that will continue for a long time
To learn to pray the scriptures
To grow in our love of God
To enjoy him better
To grow in our confidence and practice praying with others
Breathe! can be followed up by using a tool we call Pray! which will help you - over a period of several months - to develop a settled habit of personal prayer and reflection as part of your daily life. Contact us if you want to see some samples of these materials.