Discovery Class Descriptions

God wants you to take your next step spiritually. That could mean getting baptized, committing to take time to dig into the Bible on a daily basis, or maybe God wants you to see what His Word has to say about why you exist. SouthWinds' Discovery Class system is all about those next steps.

How Does it Work?

Imagine a baseball diamond. At first base, our membership class, you’ll get the foundation of our Discovery Class series. Then head to second base, where you’ll find the tools to develop a closer relationship with God. Then third base, you’ll begin to see how God specifically SHAPE’d you for ministry (Spiritual gifts, Heart, Abilities, Personality and Experience). As you head for home plate, Discovery 401, will help you discover your life’s mission of sharing God with the world.

The following describes each of these classes. If you would like to check for upcoming classes or to register for a class click here.

101 - Discovering Church Membership

You were designed to be a part of a church family. And that's exactly what SouthWinds is intended to be - your family. A healthy family has common beliefs, purposes and commitment. That's why at SouthWinds we want to share with you what we believe and where we're going.

God wants all of us to grow in fellowship, discipleship, ministry, evangelism and worship. It's by balancing those five purposes that we truly live out God's plan for our life. More than anything else, the SouthWinds family wants to come beside you and watch you grow in all five of these areas.

Discovery 101 is our basic introduction to our church family and is designed to clearly explain who and what our church is. The class is broken into four sessions covering: Our Salvation, Our Statements, Our Strategy and Our Structure. At the end of the class there will be an opportunity for you to decide whether to complete the process by filling in your information on the Membership Covenant or to wait and decide at another time. No pressure whatsoever, we want you to be comfortable with whichever you choose.

All Christians eventually ask the same questions: How can I get closer to God? How can I live more and more like Jesus? How can I grow in my faith? Where do I start? Discovery Class 201 is designed to answer these and many other questions.

201 - Discovering Spiritual Maturity

During Discovery 201, you will learn four habits that will energize or renew your spiritual life. First, you will learn practical steps to making time with God a powerful part of every day. You will also receive helpful tips on overcoming the largest obstacles you'll face as you get started.

Second, every growing Christian needs to talk with God. This is called prayer. For some, talking to God is intimidating, but it doesn't have to be. In Discovery 201, you'll discover that God desires conversation with you and He's much more interested in you authentically talking with him than He is in critiquing your prayers. So, to get you started, you'll learn a pattern for prayer taken right out of the life of Jesus.

A third area that is covered is financial giving. Admittedly, this is a sensitive subject because few things give a more piercing look into our spiritual lives than how we choose to handle our financial resources. This section will help you take a healthy look at priorities and what really matters in life.

Finally, you'll clearly see the value of Christian relationships. At SouthWinds, there are major many opportunities to gather with other Christians. First, there's the larger group worship experience at the weekend services. Second, there are smaller groups, where you can connect with other believers in a deeper, more personal way. As part of Discovery 201 you will learn how thousands of people at SouthWinds have grown by becoming part of a spiritual family called a Small Group.

301 - Discovering My SHAPE for Ministry

When you became a Christian, God gave you salvation and the hope of eternity in heaven. He also gave you purpose and significance in your life now. He has given each of us the opportunity to serve others and make a real difference in someone's life. When you serve others in Jesus' name, that's called ministry.

God didn't design ministry for just a few with seminary degrees. At SouthWinds, we believe that every member of our church is a minister. This is what Discovery 301 is all about. During this class, you will learn how God can use your Spiritual Gifts, your Heart (passions), your Abilities, Personality and Experiences to minister to others in need. This is discovering your SHAPE for ministry.

First, God gave you a special ability when you started following Him. We call this a Spiritual gift. God gave this gift to build up your church family and reach out to the world with Christ's love.

God also gave you unique passions and heart for particular activities, subjects and circumstances. God uses the things we feel deeply about to show us where we can serve. This is how people learn to serve with joy and not get burned out.

Third, in Discovery 301, you'll be given time to assess your Abilities which have been with you even before you became a Christian and you'll see how these will help you in your ministry.

God also gives us a Personality to share our SHAPE through. Everyone's personality is not the same, which makes the expression of our SHAPE that much more special.

Finally, you'll be able to reflect on the multitude of experiences in your life which have been used by God to mold you for ministry. The experiences of life help us know how to heal hurts of people in our church and in our community. All this combined, will let you discover your SHAPE for ministry.

401 - Discovering My Life Mission

God created you with a purpose. That personal, yet church-wide purpose, means connecting flawed human beings with our perfect and eternal God.

Your own story of how God has worked in your life is one of the most effective tools you have for connecting people to God. In Discovery 401, you'll learn to communicate that story to your neighborhood, workplace and around the world.

By using your own gifts, personality and story, you'll touch people only you can touch. Your life experiences can be a bridge to a friend or family member who is seeking Christ.

God's global plan includes reaching people from every nation with the good news of Jesus. In Discovery 401, you'll get a picture of what God is doing throughout the world to bring His people to Himself. You'll also find out how you can be part of His global plan.

Finally, we'll share with you 15 opportunities for you to get started in sharing your faith immediately. At the end of Discovery 401, you can pray about joining SouthWinds on the greatest adventure of your life.