In translation

I had the opportunity recently to read a church program from a Chinese church.

It was one of the best church programs that I'd encountered, after I found its translation into English.

Sundays were the day of both general connection and study. We meet to sing and pray together and share some testimonies of thankfulness or (wise) observation from our week. The pastor or an elder then gives a talk from the scriptures or related to the scriptures.

These follow the general framework of four sessions over the year, with breaks for Easter, Pentecost, Trinity and Christmas when activity is focused on the subject of those seasons.

The four seasons are devoted to: Old Testament, New Testament, Themes (i.e. systematics), and Society. Society is about apologetics and the analysis of ungodly views of life and the world.

The talks are of a general nature: encouraging, informative and practical.

Then one can stay for lunch, or not.

After lunch there is a two hour Bible class. This is optional but it is run by a qualified teacher with the aim of giving a 'theology diploma' level of education in the Bible over a four year cycle. Lent season, running from Candlemas to Easter is always an overview of the Bible, teaching its background and general 'story' of reality. This is run every year, so some may skip it in subsequent years. The following three seasons of the year work through:

Year 1: Pentateuch, History, Minor Prophets 1

Year 2: Wisdom, Major Prophets 1, Major Prophets 2

Year 3: John, Minor Prophets 2, Acts,

Year 4: Synoptics, Paul, General Epistles & Revelation

 The cycle really ends at Advent when seasonal topics are considered.

In the afternoon another option is a Christian Education program. This is about apologetics, gospel conversations, and church history, It runs after Easter and up to Advent in two session each year.

Each week there are Disciple groups. These might be 'home studies' or 'Bible study' groups. They are about prayer, reading through and discussing the Bible in step with the Sunday general teaching program and prayer and personal discussion.

The church has a 're-group' once a year as a weekend away, which includes reflection on church life and learning, and an 'equipping' weekend at their premises, usually around Pentecost for some intensive teaching.

Seems pretty good to me!

The outreach program I'll cover in a future post.