Spiritual Formation and Education | Adult Education and Spiritual Formation
Community Care and Benevolence | Worship | Counseling | Life Group

Spiritual Formation and Education

Children’s Ministry: We are deeply committed to the spiritual development of our children. In order to better aid the development of our little ones, we have developed age appropriate classes: First Steps (ages 0-2 years old), Toddlers (2-4 years old), Early Elementary (Pre-K, Kindergarten and First Grade), and Elementary (Second through Fifth Grade) age classes.

• First Steps Ministry (0-2 years old): our Nursery is staffed every time we meet for worship or class at the building. The curriculum is hands on and interactive. We teach one lesson every quarter and recent topics include: “Baby Jesus,” “God Made Me and My Family,” and “Noah’s Ark.” Graduation is every March 1st and September 1st.
• Toddlers (2-4 years old): Each month our Toddlers are taken through two sets of curriculum: one set is taught during Sunday am class and Wednesday night class, and the other during Bible Hour during Sunday morning worship and Sunday night. Our curriculum is designed for children between the ages of 2 and 4 years old and is hands-on and interactive by design.
• Early Elementary: Our Early Elementary age group consists of children between the Pre-K and First Grades (the appropriate age ranges). Lessons are designed to cohere between Sunday am and pm class times, while on Wednesday evenings, this class is invited to participate in service activities such as making cards of concern and encouragement to bless individuals and families within as well as beyond our church family and the making of “Knots of Love” quilts on behalf of grieving local children.
• Elementary Class (2nd-5th Graders): Our Elementary age children are invited to participate in our age appropriate class on Sunday morning and night. On Wednesday night, these students are invited to participate along with our Early Elementary children, making cards and blankets to comfort and encourage appropriate individuals and families within and beyond our local church family.

Youth Ministry: The South 14th Street Church of Christ Student Ministry seeks to disciple middle and high school students and to equip them with healthy passions and practices to enhance their individual and communal faith journeys. In order to achieve this aim, our student ministry keeps an active schedule of events with area wide youth ministry gatherings as well as our time together during Sunday morning, night and Wednesday night discipleship classes. Our youth ministry is guided by a committee of parents and is led by Chet Clayton, one of our congregation’s deacons.

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Adult Education and Spiritual Formation

We offer two Sunday morning classes for adults:

• Senior Class - our senior class is currently dwelling in The Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5-7). This study engages the Word of God inviting participants to prayerfully reflect on Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount and to critically engage these texts by asking questions of the text that are relevant to our lives of faith today. In the past we have dwelled in the parables of Luke. The parable of the “Two Lost Sons” was especially meaningful for us (Lk. 15:11-31). We were surprised that both sons had been lost in particular ways. It was stirring for us to consider God’s love and transforming acceptance of the lost people “out there,” as well as those right here who have lost sight of the Father out of self-righteousness and a misplaced sense of entitlement.
• Young Adult and Families - our young adults and families’ class has recently used materials developed by both Max Lucado and Joyce Meyer in dialogue with scripture, paying attention to the diverse voices and perspectives suggesting who we ought to be and how we ought to live. Presently this class is exploring “The 10 Prayers God Always Says Yes To.” The purpose of this class is to form participants into Christ’s image as we talk about blessings and challenges to faith today using Scripture and contemporary Christian authors as formative guiding voices.

Our Sunday worship gatherings offer Bible study and a relaxed community-building group designed to enhance our relationships with one another.

Bible Study: The Bible study class is taught by one of our elders, Ray Jones, who holds an undergraduate Biblical Studies degree from Faulkner University. Recently, Ray has been leading the group through the Old Testament. Currently, Ray is working with us through the book of Nehemiah.

Life Group: Our life group fellowships with a desire to grow more Christ-like. For a fuller description, please click on the tab titled, “Life Group.”

Wednesday Evening: On Wednesday evening, after our fellowship meal, we offer two classes for your continued spiritual development:

Revelation: One of our elders, Ray Jones, has been teaching a class on Revelation. Though some use Revelation as a means to interpret our times, Ray is exploring the rich historical and textual background in a way that bolsters and encourages our faith today.

Relationships 101: Benny Hunton, one of our elders and certified counselor, facilitates this class so as to improve the health and quality of our marriages. Recently, Benny has adapted material from Prepare/Enrich marriage enrichment materials to improve the dynamics between our husbands and wives and parenting practices.

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Community Care and Benevolence

Flower Power - Going 26 years strong, Flower Power is a ministry of comfort and encouragement for patients at Leesburg Regional Medical Center. Each Wednesday morning a group of congregational volunteers, usually numbering between 18 & 30 people, make fragrant and colorful pillow corsages, which we take to the hospital later in the morning to distribute to LRMC patients. Flower Power is a ministry that connects our congregation to particularly vulnerable and distressed friends and neighbors in Lake County. Our hearts are blessed each week as this subtle form of mercy never seems to go without blessing all those involved as recipients of God’s greater care for us all.

Care Bears - along with “Flower Power,” the Care Bear ministry delivers small, cuddly, cotton stuffed bears with painted faces to LRMC as we welcome newborn babies and comfort distressed people in the Emergency Room.
Nursing Home Birthday Party- On the fourth Friday of each month folks from church take home-made cakes and ice cream, along with punch and presents to Avante Nursing Home and celebrate that month’s birthdays with these friends and neighbors.

Thanksgiving Dinner - just before Thanksgiving, several volunteers deliver complete Thanksgiving dinners to the homes of local friends and neighbors in need in Leesburg and surrounding neighborhoods.

Christmas Tree Angels - each year as Christmas approaches we are reminded of our needs as well as those of the people to our left and right. In past years our church has partnered with friends and neighbors in our community to enable families among us to share in the blessing of our land and to ensure that our little angels among us find that Santa had come on Christmas Eve. We are blessed and humbled by the way God demonstrates his blessing upon us all in the Leesburg area through this passion and practice.

Food Pantry - all year long our food pantry is stocked in order to provide nurture and nutrition to friends and neighbors free of charge.

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Worship

Worship is a natural response to God’s amazing mercy and redeeming grace. We praise God for his wonderful and faithful action as Creator and Covenant Maker most perfectly revealed in the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Though we struggle to realize and live out the full implications of our salvation in Christ, we gather during worship as a community of “wounded healers” seeking more of Christ in our lives, in our church and in our community.

Our worship committee meets regularly to prayerfully develop themes and methods that are relevant to our worshiping body and that provide the continuity needed for sustained integrity and continued transformation.

Our congregation’s historical roots contribute to our sense of meaning in worship, and because of the value we place on our faith heritage, we choose to worship A Cappella (congregational singing without instruments). Yet you will also notice that we use a mix of traditional hymns and contemporary praise music mediated through electronic media and projection equipment. Just as we value our heritage, we take seriously our task to remain incarnated and relevant to our particular time and place in God’s creation. We seek to be meaningful and expressive in the way we praise our gracious, faithful Father.

(Our Nursery is staffed and equipped to receive newborns and children up to 4 years old)

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Counseling

One of our congregational Shepherds, Benny Hunton is a gifted counselor. Benny has a Masters Degree in Mental Health from the University of Central Florida and is licensed by the state of Florida to counsel and is available on a part-time basis, depending on his caseload. Please contact the church office or Benny directly for further information.

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Life Group

Life Group is the outgrowth of our Young Adults and Families desire for a deeper sense of relationship with one another and mutual spiritual growth through community building. The mood is relaxed, the food is delicious and our attitudes are hopeful in regards to our future together. What we value and envision for our future is to become more Christ-like. We have a playful acronym to show you what we mean:

• Compassionate
• Humble
• Respectful
• Inclusive
• Serving
• Trusting
• Loyal
  Invitational
• Kind
• Encouraging