Jesus Christ is central to discipleship. We first become disciples by repenting of our sin and believing in the Lord Jesus for salvation, but discipleship does not end with conversion. Discipleship also involves being trained in the Christian faith with the goal of being like Christ (Luke 6:40). In fact, the Father’s purpose for us in salvation is to make us resemble his Son, Jesus (Romans 8:29).
We are passionate about Christ-centered discipleship at Trinity. We long to see people know Christ as their Savior and Lord, and we want to see disciples increasingly conformed to Christ for the glory of God. To that end, at Trinity, we are devoted to knowing Christ and being trained as his disciples. One of the ways we pursue discipleship is through Trinity’s Adult Sunday School Ministry.
Adult Sunday School at Trinity
The vital work of Christian education is to provide opportunity for spiritual growth and fellowship. We strive to that end by teaching the Bible so our minds are renewed by God’s Word and lives are transformed for the glory of God. We hope to train disciples with solid biblical instruction, providing them with opportunities to grow in their understanding of God’s Word and its implications for all of life.
Through our Sunday School ministry, we hope to accomplish several goals:
1. Disciples devoted to the Lord and a personal relationship with him through saving faith in Jesus Christ.
2. Disciples who love to fellowship with one another by studying Scripture together (Acts 2:42).
3. Disciples committed to knowing and understanding the Bible for personal growth and godliness (1 Timothy 4:7).
4. Disciples equipped through biblical instruction for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ.
"He gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine...Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love" (Ephesians 4:11-16).
Learning, Loving, Living: A Biblical Model for Discipleship
A Christian education program must not only provide thorough instruction in the Christian faith; it must also maintain a comprehensive concern for disciples of Jesus. Therefore, instruction at Trinity is designed to foster disciples who know the Lord, who love the Lord, and who serve the Lord. This threefold model of the Christian life provides a holistic pattern for a biblically balanced Christian education.
In the history of the church this triad has been spoken of in several different ways. Doctrine, duty, and delight. Head, heart, hands. Theology, ethics, worship. We will use the triad: learn, love, live.
Learn: Disciples are called to be students of the Word. Our Father wants us to grow into wise disciples of the Lord Jesus (Proverbs 1:5; 1 Corinthians 14:20). Growth in discipleship comes first, by the Spirit’s help, through a deepening knowledge and understanding of God’s Word (Romans 12:1-2).
Love: Disciples are called to love. Therefore, instruction must also promote a deepening love for God and neighbor. Learning about God and what he requires of us should never be a merely cerebral activity. After all, what good is knowledge without love? It’s worthless; it puffs up (1 Corinthians 8:1). The purpose of knowing more of God’s Word is so that we might fall more deeply in love with the Lord who made us and redeemed us. “Love the Lord, all you his saints!” (Psalm 31:23).
Live: Disciples are called to live for the glory of God. Learning and living are inextricably linked. Paul prayed that Christians may be filled with the knowledge of God’s will so they might walk in a manner worthy of the Lord. In other words, for a Christian to bear fruit in good works, they must first be in Christ and rooted deeply in the soil of biblical truth (Colossians 1:9-10; Psalm 1:2-3). The goal of biblical knowledge is to know the Lord, to do the Lord’s will, and to be like the Lord.
By applying this model at Trinity, we hope to integrate theology and practice. As disciples we want to live based on what we believe as Christians because “theology is for doxology and devotion—that is, the praise of God and the practice of godliness” (J.I. Packer).