While being a disciple of Jesus involves much more than having knowledge alone, we believe growing in our understanding of God is a necessary component to being a Christian. Our scope & sequences are designed to equip our congregation and help them to grow in three areas that are essential for every follower of Christ:

Biblical Literacy – One of the biggest issues that the American church faces today is a lack of knowledge of the Bible. The Bible is the inerrant Word of God, sharper than any two-edged sword, and is useful for teaching, rebuking, and training in righteousness. It is our final authority. We have made understanding the Bible one of the primary categories because we believe it holds divine truth that is necessary for every believer to have.

Basics of the Faith – Knowing Scripture is important, but our knowledge cannot stop there. Believers must be able to meaningfully reflect on the teachings of the Bible, be able to articulate the essential doctrines of our faith, and understand how all of God’s Word is tied together. Our Basics of the Faith category seeks to give every participant a robust theology and to learn how to interact with theological issues carefully and critically.

Christian Living – Discipleship is not all cerebral. If we study God’s Word for the sake of knowledge alone, then we are missing a huge piece of the puzzle. We must take the information that we learn and let it to shape us to live sacrificially for the Lord. While we know that we are made into a new creation by grace alone through faith alone, we also know that believers are called to a life of obedience where we live as Christ’s representatives in the midst of a fallen world. Our Christian Living category seeks to develop participants spiritual disciplines, grow in their ability to live out their faith, and learn how to interpret the world through a Biblical lens.

While the primary responsibility for making children disciples falls on the parents, we believe the church plays a crucial role in partnering and equipping families to help accomplish this goal. LPMC does this through loving and committed Sunday School teachers, utilizing engaging and biblically solid curriculum, as well as offering helpful resources for parents.

We have 3 different children’s classes during the Sunday School hour:

Pre-K – Kindergarten: This class meets in our Forest room and introduces the Bible through age-appropriate, Christ-centered, chronological studies of Scripture. Our goal is that through songs, storytelling, and crafts, this class will help our students hear an overview of the whole Bible.

1st – 3rd Grade: This class meets in our Desert room and uses the same curriculum and schedule as our Pre-K and Kindergarten class but starts to challenge our students beyond just hearing the stories. Our goal is to have our students become familiar with the major stories of the Bible by the time they finish 3rd grade.

4th – 5th Grade: This class meets in our Ocean room and introduces our students to Christian worldview and catechism. It is increasingly more difficult to know how to live out our faith in a secular society. In this class, we challenge our students to start thinking about the BIG questions and give them tools to see the world around them through a Biblical lens. Over the course of two years, our 4th and 5th graders also memorize the New City Catechism, to give them concise answers to questions about their faith that are rooted in Scripture.

By the time our students reach middle school, they will have covered the Bible from a 20,000 ft. view, memorized the New City Catechism, and started to develop a Christian worldview. We want to challenge our Middle Schoolers to continue learning more about the God’s Word but to start going a little bit deeper. Each year begins with an inductive Bible study of a different genre of Scripture. Inductive Bible studies teach our students how to interact with God’s Word on their own by making observations, interpretations, and applications of the text. Below is an explanation of why we chose these genres:

Genesis & Exodus: The first two books of the Bible are foundational for all Christians. They introduce several essential doctrines, show the fallen nature of humanity, and reveal that God is powerful, compassionate, and more than worthy of our praise. These two books provide a context that is helpful for reading the rest of Scripture.

John’s Gospel & Letters: When new believers are interested in reading the Bible but don’t know where to start, we suggest the Gospel of John. John is both easy to read and yet full of rich theology. Making sure our students have a familiarity with the Gospels is one of our primary goals.

Paul’s Letters: Many of our key doctrines comes from the writings of Paul. By introducing our Middle Schoolers to Paul’s writings, we hope that it will help them become more familiar with the whole Bible, as well as help them start to think theologically.

The second half of each year is comprised of topical studies that provide a strong foundation for our students to grow upon. These classes include Theology, The Gospel, Apologetics, and Biblical Manhood & Womanhood.

6th, 7th, and 8th grade is a huge transition. Our children are exposed to so many new ideas and have questions that they are curious about. The church needs to be a safe and reliable place to wrestle with these questions openly. Our church is committed to our students and wants to see them continue to grow in their relationship with God. We have designed this three-year schedule to include a few open weeks at the end of the year to be an elder-led study covering topics chosen by our students.

The classes in our adult scope and sequence are designed to help our congregation grow in areas that we believe are essential for discipleship. Whether you are brand new to the faith or have been a Christian for your whole life, our hope is that through these courses, you will grow in your knowledge and commitment to Christ.

The adult scope and sequence is based on a four year cycle where we will offer a mix of “core” classes and “elective” classes. “Core” classes are offered twice per four year cycle and will be offered every time we start a new cycle. These classes study topics that every Christian needs to be regularly studying. “Elective” classes might only be offered one time and will focus more on specific issues and topics that become relevant in the church life.

Core Classes:

– Apologetics

– Overviews of the Bible

– Basics

– Biblical Counseling

– Systematic Theology

– Biblical Theology

– Church History

– Hermeneutics

Electives (Examples):

– Biblical Manhood and Womanhood

– Living out your faith in the workplace

– Christian Ethics

– Missions

– Spiritual Disciplines

– Books of the Bible