Teaching and preaching are two ways that the Christian message is given to people, two ways that Christ is revealed and made know.   Preaching is spreading the “good news” or “gospel” of Jesus Christ, and is usually offered as a sermon of hope and encouragement during worship in church.

Teaching is different than preaching because it presents the Christian disciple with the opportunity for advanced learning of the content, history, context and reasoning of the Christian faith.  It is dialogical, offering conversation about Christ and how to be Christian.  Historically, teaching is “didache” (also known as the Teaching of the Twelve Apostles) and it is done apart from worship in group classes for the disciple who wants to know more about the faith.

Adult education series at Saint John’s are held throughout the year. Bible Study series are held on Sundays at 9:15. In Lent, there is an evening forum as well as a morning retreat.

Christian Education (Sunday School) is offered for children during our second worship service at 10AM. Children begin in worship with their families then have a lesson based on the lectionary Gospel for the day; kids return during the “Peace.”  During the summer we often have a Vacation Bible School as well. Check our calendar and homepage for the most up to date Christian Formation Events. Please email Pastor Jill with any questions you may have.

Youth Group is open to all older youth in 6th-12th grade and meets on the 2nd and 4th Sunday from 4:00-5:45PM during the school year. YG is a mix of learning about our faith and doing service projects (such as volunteering at SPCA and packing meal bags for Thanksgiving). We also have a lot of fun playing games or going bowling. The Youth Group also holds several fundraisers throughout the year to raise money for summer mission trips. Past mission trips have gone to West Virginia and Guatemala.