Dear Cornerstone Family,
As you gather for worship this morning, you might see some faces you’ve missed over the summer. That’s right––
New College Franklin (NCF) is back in session! NCF is a four-year classical Christian liberal arts college that Cornerstone gets the privilege of hosting in our building. Though institutionally separate, Cornerstone sees NCF as a partner in the mission to be and make disciples.
We are grateful that many NCF students and faculty are plugged into Cornerstone. And, boy, do they plug in! From nursery to elementary Sunday School, from Youth ministry to music ministry, the students of NCF are part of the lifeblood of Cornerstone, and for that we’re so very grateful. Take time later to visit NCF’s website. Click through the vision and mission statements, the philosophy of education, and the program of study. I’m certain you’ll be encouraged.
Speaking of school, today is the beginning of our new Sunday School term! Our Children’s Ministry Coordinator, Meredith Suits, has been working with her team to pull together all the necessary preparations for training our covenant kids in Sunday School this fall. I asked Meredith to give us a snapshot of what our kids can expect this semester. Here’s what she wrote:
The children’s ministry kicks off a new semester of Sunday School this morning! We hope your kids are excited to see friends and teachers again. If you haven’t registered yet, we would love to add your children to our rosters. You can email me (meredithsuits@gmail.com) or find the registration form on the Children’s Ministry page of the church website and app.
Our PreK class (led by Joe and Joy Marlo) will spend the fall learning Bible stories, singing songs, and memorizing scripture. The 1st-2nd grade class (led by Alli Faulk and Poppy Driskell) will be studying the prophets and kings of the Old Testament and learning what it means to obey God as they look at the lives of some of these important Bible characters. The 3rd-4th grade class (led by Matt O’Roark and Kent Coughlin) will study the Ten Commandments and how these laws help us learn how God wants us to live. The 5th-6th graders (led by Dave Raymond and Sabrina Brewer) will study the New City Catechism, spending about 2-3 weeks on each question and discussing the core doctrines of the Christian faith.
We are also excited to have enough children registered that we will be adding an additional Sunday School class for our 5 and 6-year-olds! Lisa Fielder has volunteered to help get this new group going, and we will continue to use the “Show Me Jesus” curriculum for this class. If you are interested in helping with this class or with our PreK students, we would love to have you join our children’s ministry team. Please reach out to us soon! (Parents, please also bear with us as we make adjustments to Sunday School classrooms and check in procedures. We have lots of exciting changes.)
We are thankful for the teachers and assistants who are sharing their time and talents with our Cornerstone kids. They are extremely flexible and have been so supportive of many changes we’ve made in the last few weeks. I hope you will join us in encouraging them and our parents as we teach our children to love and follow God.
Your Servant,
