Christian Education
Learning and growing are lifelong parts of the Christian faith. There is always more to know about God, creation and ourselves. Christian Education programs are generally created in three groups- for children, for youth, and for adults. We have Christian Education opportunities for all ages at FRPC.
Christian Education for Children
Sunday School- CE at FRPC for children primarily takes place on Sunday morning. Our children gather in our hall building in two age groups- pre-k through 2nd grade and 3rd through 5th grades. These two classes have dedicated teachers who tell a Bible story, talk about it with the kids in an age appropriate way and then offer activities and crafts to go along with the day's story and message. Generally the children will hear the same story as those who attend worship in the sanctuary.
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The other periodic Christian Education activities at FRPC:
Family gatherings for holidays including craft events, movie times, or outings.
Messy Church- an interactive worship gathering for all ages.
Vacation Bible School- a week long gathering for children with Bible stories, crafts, snacks, music, games and fun.
To register online, click here:
Download a printable Sunday school registration form here:
Confirmation
For the length of the school year, 8th graders participate in Confirmation. This program includes: monthly or biweekly lessons with the pastor that include both youth and their mentors, learning about church and what commitments we make when we join the church; regular meetings with a chosen mentor to discuss faith and life; service projects; and a January pasta dinner fundraiser to pay for Confirmands to attend the Confirmation Retreat at Camp Johnsonburg. Confirmation concludes with a dinner where each student reads the Statements of Faith they prepared in class and talk with the Session who then vote to welcome them into membership in the church. The following day is Confirmation Sunday--usually Pentecost Sunday--when we celebrate and welcome these young people as full members of the church in worship.
Youth Ministry
6th to 12th grade
Weekly Youth gatherings
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Sunday School -- Youth gather on Sunday morning for their own Sunday School class with Ms. Kelly in Fetherman Hall. This includes Bible study and topical discussions with fun activities.
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Youth Group -- Youth gather at 6:00 pm Sundays in Fetherman Hall with Ms. Kelly. This time is focused on conversation about life and faith, games, learning to be a community, outings and service projects.
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Lock Ins -- Overnight gatherings at church. These can be purely for fun and being together, and then once a year we have a Hunger Retreat where we fast for the night, collect food to donate, serve at Fulfill (formerly the Monmouth and Ocean County Food Bank) and learn about hunger in the world and in our community.
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Retreats -- Twice a year we participate in youth retreats at Camp Johnsonburg.
Adult Education
Adult Education at FRPC is a work in progress. In 2020 we have held a couple of book group gatherings on Zoom, and offered an Advent Study. It is a priority when we can gather again to discern what sort of classes, groups or studies might be of interest to our church family.
