Education

Sunday School and Christian Education…Important Steps Along
Our Journey

As we baptize our children, we are asked to make promises on
their behalf; promises to teach them to pray and teach them to
be faithful servants of our Lord Jesus Christ. We ask our
congregation to renew their own baptismal vows and assist the
parents and families as they begin their life long journey,
welcoming them into the family of faith at Spotswood Reformed
Church.

Our responsibility to our children is to provide them with an
opportunity to learn about the Word of God and what it means to
live a Christian life, and to nurture their faith. We are currently
using an age-appropriate, Bible based curriculum from Spark
House called Spark Activate Faith which tells the scripture stories
and is mindful of the Reformed tradition. In the lower grades,
our goal is to teach the children a few passages, familiarize them
with the Bible, teach them about prayer, and get a taste for God’s
Word. The older students tend to spend more time focused on
Bible Study in preparation for their Confirmation class.

Sunday School runs from Kindergarten through 8 th grade.
Students completing the 8 th grade continue their journey with
Confirmation Class.

All the children join our congregation in the Sanctuary at 10:00
AM for worship. On Sundays without Communion, they are
dismissed to their classrooms after the Children’s Message which
is given by members of the congregation and Pastor Hartmut on
a rotating basis. Classes end at 11:00 AM.

On Communion Sundays (the first and third Sundays of each
month), the children go straight to class for the whole hour.
Classes begin in September after Labor Day and continue through
the Sunday before Memorial Day, however, children are welcome
to join Church School anytime throughout the program year.
Please contact our Church office at 732.251.9277 for further
information.

Our Confirmation Class has approximately 30 weekly sessions and
is typically taught on Sunday mornings from 9:00 AM to 9:45 PM
before worship. It is taught by Pastor Hartmut and on occasion by
Elder Mark Ruckdeschel. The lesson plan is so long because we
use the class to make up for the fact that public schools cannot
teach Religious Instruction. We feel that Religious Instruction is
as important as English, Math, or Chemistry. As you would expect
from a high school curriculum, our confirmation curriculum covers
an array of different subjects. They include Christian Ethics,
Church History, and the Institution of the Church. However, our
curriculum does not exhaust itself with data and knowledge. Our
students are also exploring how their faith matters today and how
they can nurture a faithful relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.

The class typically starts in September after Labor Day and ends
with Confirmation Sunday on Pentecost. For further questions,
please call Pastor Hartmut at 732.251.9277

Anyone interested in becoming a part of our church family is
encouraged to go through a short new-member class. The class
has normally three sessions. They include an introduction to the
Bible, an introduction to our church and the denomination, and
an introduction to the Reformation of the 16 th century as this
event gave birth to the family of Protestant Churches that
includes our denomination. To inquire about the next class,
please call Pastor Hartmut at 732.251.9277.

Continued (adult) education is necessary to develop a more
mature faith. We offer an Adult Education Class taught by Pastor
Hartmut. The Adult Ed class has studied various books of the
Bible, and also books on spirituality and other aspects of the
Christian life. We also have Bible Study groups and Book Clubs
that meet throughout the year. Please contact our Church office
at 732.251.9277 for further information.

How to get involved:
We are always in need of teachers, substitutes and teacher’s
aides.  A curriculum is provided and no experience is
necessary.   If you feel called to become involved with the church
school in any way, please speak to Pastor Hartmut or any
Education Team Member. You can reach Pastor Hartmut at
732.251.9277.