What Do These Terms Mean (P2)

I continue our journey through common terms that we use at Hermitage Hills but the average person doesn’t know what they mean ….

Hobby Lobby Parking – We have a parking challenge at Hermitage Hills. A few years ago the Lord opened up a great answer to our challenge by providing over 200 parking spaces at the local Hobby Lobby store on Old Hickory Blvd.  Hobby Lobby is only 1 – 2 miles from Hermitage Hills and we provide a continuous shuttle service from Hobby Lobby to the front doors of Hermitage Hills. The shuttle runs from 7:30 am until 12:10 pm every Sunday.  Many have found that it’s easier and quicker to park at Hobby Lobby than it is on our own campus.  This off site parking opportunity opens us spaces for our guests, senior adults, and mothers with babies.  These special groups in our fellowship need close parking as it assists them with their specific needs and helps make attending church a little bit easier.  So if you are able, please park at Hobby Lobby – at the corner of Old Hickory Blvd. and Lebanon Pike and take advantage of our shuttle service.

FaithRiders — this is our bikers ministry.  Over two years ago our fellowship joined efforts with the Lakeland, FL chapter and became the first FaithRiders Bikers Ministry in Tennessee.  This great group of people love to ride but more important they love to tell people about Jesus.  Their Small Group Bible Study meets every Sunday at 10:45 am at the Hermitage Fitness Center (across Lebanon Pike NorthEast of Hermitage campus).  If you love riding … if you love Jesus … if you want your life to count for something … if you believe in leaving No One Behind — then the FaithRiders Ministry is for you … click here and check it out today.

Month of Missions — every November we dedicate all of our efforts to communicating and promoting the next years missions efforts.  The Missions Ministry Team calls upon every believer to Pray- Give - Go … it is our belief that God’s church should be a church on mission.  We partner with the Holy Spirit as we partner with missioniaries and their ministries locally and around the world.  Presently we have 5 foreign partnerships … Germany … Prince Edward Island … Newfoundland … Sub-Shahara … Uganda.  Don’t miss a Sunday or Wednesday in November because we will take you on a journey that will challenge you to partner with God as we partner with His mission for the church.  Click Here for more information.

Hope the defining of terms and ministries assist you as you become a fully devoted follower of Christ.

What do these terms mean and how do I connect to them?

Dr. Poly Rouse

The other day I was in a meeting with our architects concerning the new preschool/student building that we are in middle of designing.  This meeting was very technical and the people around the conference room started using all kinds of abbreviations that the average contractor or architect understands … like HVAC, or CD drawings, or other terms.  I sat there and the more they talked the more lost I became in the conversation.

I began to think about the average “church” terms we use at Hermitage Hills and how many times we are speaking in a language that the average person doesn’t understand. So let me take this opportunity to define some of the important “abbreviations” that we use:

Lifeline Core Classes … 101, 201, 301, and 401.  Three or four times a year we offer classes that teach the core values of our fellowship.  101 — Exploring Membership is a class that covers the basic truths from scripture that every believer needs to understand.  Topics like what does it take to become a Christian?  What is water baptism all about? What is Hermitage Hills all about and how can I fit in?  These are just a few basic topics that are clearly defined and discovered.  201 — Exploring Maturity assists believers in the basics of spiritual growth.  How do I study my Bible?  How do I pray?  What does it mean to tithe? Many other important maturity topics are taught.  301 — Exploring Ministry will take believers to the spiritual level of discovering their Spiritual Gift(s) and finding a place of service in God’s church.  401 — Exploring Missions allows the believer to take those first steps to understanding the mission that God has called them to. Connect with Christ in such a way that they are drawn into a life of missions commitment.   401 is a prerequisite before any member goes on a mission trip.  This class prepares our members for the Who, What, When, Where and Why of missions.

Lifeline Classic Classes– this is our deeper discipleship process at Hermitage Hills.  There are two semesters per year that are dedicated to taking our people to new levels of spiritual growth and understanding.  Every semester we offer a variety of discipleship classes that coincide with our Core Classes of 101, 201, 301 and 401.  So, after you have completed 101, 201, 301 and 401 you will find in Lifelines a couple classes offered in the 100, 200, 300 and 400 levels of spiritual growth.  If a person was committed to attending every basic and deeper discipleship class in Lifelines, we estimate that this process would take up to 8 to 9 years to complete.  At that time we feel you would be well on your way to becoming a fully developed follower of Christ.

Small Groups or Sunday School … we hope that these two terms do not confuse anyone.  For years Baptist have called the Sunday Morning Bible Study opportunity Sunday School … and may still use that term today.  But, many who have grown up in other denominations associate Sunday School as something only for children.  Because of this we have begun to transition our terminology to Small Groups. These small groups are for everyone no matter what age or background.  In fact, we tell our people that if you only attend worship you will only experience 50% of what God has for you that day … the other 50% is found only is a small group.  To get more information about our small groups feel free to go by the information counter in the Grand Foyer and the people there will be more that happy to assist you.

ETC … Extended Teaching Care (I had to text Chad Smith our Preschool Minister to get this info) During all of our worship services we provide teaching child care for birth to 4 years old. Therefore, there must be adults who are willing to serve by teaching, loving and caring for these precious preschoolers so their parents can attend worship.  This seems to be a challenge in every church.  If everyone would pitch in, then it would not be a burden on anyone.  In fact, now the rotation is once a month but if more would volunteer then the rotation could be even further apart. Why don’t you volunteer today if you have not already by emailing Audre’Sizemore at asizemore@hermitagehillsbaptist.com.

FLC … Family Life Center – when we moved into our new worship center at the Hermitage campus the church voted to renovate our old worship center into a Family Life Center.  This is a multi -purpose room for sports, students, banquets, and more.  It has become a great place to gather and with the recent additional renovations the new Mount Juliet Campus is meeting there until Easter of 2009 when we’ll move off campus into the Mount Juliet community.

These are just a few everyday abbreviations or words that we use all the time but many do not know what they mean. I hope you find this helpful and now you can join the rest of the team as we find our way around the HHBC campuses and ministry opportunities.