Inviting Community: Ecclesiology from the Foundations Up, with guest Bible study leader Pastor Ted Hopkins. This four-week study begins March 16, 2014. Visit the Inviting Community web page to learn more. 

View/Print the Inviting Community Study Guide (5.3 MB, .pdf file)

Overview:

Questions about the church are particularly pressing today as the church has lost its place of privilege in society. The church is not the only game in town, so to speak. Children play soccer games on Sunday mornings; movie theaters are open on Sundays; Saturday night has become the late party night. All of these things have had a dramatic impact on congregations. In light of these problems, it is imperative that we once again drive toward the center of what the Bible says about the church and how we can be church to our community. Pastor Ted Hopkins will lead a four week study on a new book from Concordia Seminary Press, called Inviting Community. This study will address such questions as: What is the church? What is the church called to be? What role does worship play in our common life together and in our outreach to the community? How do my individual gifts and joys fit into the life of the church? To answer these questions biblically is to see how God calls his church into Christ's own mission and sends the church forth to invite others into the community of God.