Middle school Bible classes are designed to create a foundation of Biblical truths to secure students as they enter young adult hood and to give life to students’ faith as their understanding of spiritual things, our world, and their role in it deepens.
Sixth grade Bible classes explore the characteristics of God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. Within each unit, these foundations of faith are learned while they explore what these things mean to the world and to them personally, e.g., in one of the units, students are taught the five characteristics of God (He is omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent, eternal, and unchanging). The students then explore that because God is these things, we can trust Him to be and do things in our world, in the Church, and in our personal lives.
Seventh grade Bible classes begin to teach students apologetics, and with that knowledge students become empowered to own their beliefs by studying Jesus and the history of the early Church. A few questions and topics covered include the following: What makes Jesus different from other deities? Was Jesus Lord, a liar, or a lunatic? Is there some other way? The Scientific Method vs. legal/historical proof, reliability of Biblical records, changes in the Apostles’ behavior, Jesus’ resurrection, Paul’s conversion, Jesus Christ and prophecy, persecution of the early Church, and the spreading of Christianity.
Eighth grade expands upon the teaching of apologetics grounding students strongly in their faith. Ten disciplines are studied: Christian theology, Christian philosophy, Christian biology, Christian psychology, Christian ethics, Christian sociology, Christian law, Christian politics, Christian economics, and Christian history. Within each discipline, students explore the key questions, ideas, terms, and verses giving them opportunity to think around and strengthen their beliefs.