Overview
The curriculum for the year is split up into four key focuses which are seen in the acronym CARE: caring for our community, advancing God’s kingdom, resourcing our leaders, and engaging our youth. Through weekly training, residents will learn more about how to care for the diverse communities they live and serve in, will engage with foundational doctrines found in the bible, will discover how other organizations are working in the city to provide resources to people, and will be equipped in how to work with youth and how to develop positive and healthy relationships with them. We hope to build a foundational basis for ministry and set residents on a lifelong trajectory of service to God wherever life takes them.
Advancing God's kingdom
We believe that understanding the bible and God’s redemptive plan for humanity is absolutely necessary to carrying out missional work. We encourage every member of our team to be a dedicated member of a church who not only attends church, but serves as well. Through this segment of training, we hope to establish a foundation of beliefs that our residents can live out as they carry out God’s work in the city. We ask for local pastors to teach these lessons, and in doing so, carry out a primary function of the church - to equip the saints and teach scripture. Each lesson will have observation, interpretation, and application along with specific examples that apply to an urban context. Instead of assuming every member of our organizations knows these foundational beliefs, we seek to teach them to ensure we are functioning as the body of Christ.
Foundations of Christianity: Understanding our Statement of Faith
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We believe:
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This lesson is taught first and explains each of the items on our statement of faith. We hope that over time, each of our members becomes familiar with the statements and is able to articulate what each one means.
How to Read the Bible
This lesson focuses on hermeneutics and how to read and apply scripture. Students will do activities in observation, interpretation, and application. We focus on inductive bible study (more about what that is here). We believe that rightly reading and interpreting God’s Word is vital to any ministry we do.
Old Testament This lesson gives an overview of the Old Testament, focusing on how the Old Testament points to the coming of Christ. It looks at God’s relationship with His people over time and discusses some of the main themes of the Old Testament. Students will learn briefly what happens in each of the books.
New Testament This lesson gives an overview of the New Testament, focusing on the coming of Christ and the continual work of Christ. Students will learn about some of the main themes and will briefly look at what happens in each of the books.
Jesus
This lesson gives an overview of Jesus’s life, starting with His birth and ending with His resurrection and Great Commission. Students will learn about who He was, His importance, and His role in establishing the church.
Doing Justice and Loving Mercy
This lesson teaches about what the bible says about doing justice and loving mercy. It looks at specific passages in which God has called His people to serve and give. Students will look at what justice is, what mercy is, how it was carried out in scripture, and how we can carry it out today. This class in understanding God’s heart to love and serve others is important to the work we do in our city.
Theology of the Church
This lesson teaches about the role of the church. Students will learn about the foundation and growth of the early church, some of the characteristics of the church, and some of the key downfalls of the church. It also makes a distinction between churches and parachurch organizations and discusses their specific roles. We believe having an appropriate understanding of the role of a church is essential to carrying out its work.
*Care Fresno understands its role in being a parachurch ministry to help equip church members in serving under-served communities. It does not in any way seek to replace the church, but seeks to partner with the church in seeing the growth of God’s kingdom. Care Fresno encourages its members to attend church and takes an active role in getting students and families connected to churches.
Evangelism
This lesson teaches about the importance of evangelism, specific examples of evangelism in scripture, and how to appropriately evangelize. It also adds in specific cultural considerations and examples that apply to an urban context. Students will not only learn about evangelism but will practice it with each other. Our hope is that each one of our team members know how to accurately articulate God’s message in a way that others understand, and seek to do so on a regular basis.
Foundations for Christian Missions
This lesson teaches about the great commission Jesus gives us at the end of Matthew (Matthew 28:16-20). Students will learn about specific examples of how the early church follows the commission as well as more modern examples. Students will also learn specific considerations when carrying out the mission to an urban context.
How to Read the Bible
This lesson focuses on hermeneutics and how to read and apply scripture. Students will do activities in observation, interpretation, and application. We focus on inductive bible study (more about what that is here). We believe that rightly reading and interpreting God’s Word is vital to any ministry we do.
Old Testament This lesson gives an overview of the Old Testament, focusing on how the Old Testament points to the coming of Christ. It looks at God’s relationship with His people over time and discusses some of the main themes of the Old Testament. Students will learn briefly what happens in each of the books.
New Testament This lesson gives an overview of the New Testament, focusing on the coming of Christ and the continual work of Christ. Students will learn about some of the main themes and will briefly look at what happens in each of the books.
Jesus
This lesson gives an overview of Jesus’s life, starting with His birth and ending with His resurrection and Great Commission. Students will learn about who He was, His importance, and His role in establishing the church.
Doing Justice and Loving Mercy
This lesson teaches about what the bible says about doing justice and loving mercy. It looks at specific passages in which God has called His people to serve and give. Students will look at what justice is, what mercy is, how it was carried out in scripture, and how we can carry it out today. This class in understanding God’s heart to love and serve others is important to the work we do in our city.
Theology of the Church
This lesson teaches about the role of the church. Students will learn about the foundation and growth of the early church, some of the characteristics of the church, and some of the key downfalls of the church. It also makes a distinction between churches and parachurch organizations and discusses their specific roles. We believe having an appropriate understanding of the role of a church is essential to carrying out its work.
*Care Fresno understands its role in being a parachurch ministry to help equip church members in serving under-served communities. It does not in any way seek to replace the church, but seeks to partner with the church in seeing the growth of God’s kingdom. Care Fresno encourages its members to attend church and takes an active role in getting students and families connected to churches.
Evangelism
This lesson teaches about the importance of evangelism, specific examples of evangelism in scripture, and how to appropriately evangelize. It also adds in specific cultural considerations and examples that apply to an urban context. Students will not only learn about evangelism but will practice it with each other. Our hope is that each one of our team members know how to accurately articulate God’s message in a way that others understand, and seek to do so on a regular basis.
Foundations for Christian Missions
This lesson teaches about the great commission Jesus gives us at the end of Matthew (Matthew 28:16-20). Students will learn about specific examples of how the early church follows the commission as well as more modern examples. Students will also learn specific considerations when carrying out the mission to an urban context.
Apply to Teach
We are looking for church pastors who are passionate about our mission and desire to help raise up the next generation of leaders in our community.
We are looking for church pastors who are passionate about our mission and desire to help raise up the next generation of leaders in our community.
Engaging our youth
Care Fresno is youth-focused in our outreach so we felt it was necessary that our team was properly trained to work with youth in the city. In working with youth from under-resourced neighborhoods, we provide extra training to ensure our team is trauma-informed and can properly work with the population. This all serves to help us better relate to and work with youth and carry out God’s mission in the city.
Trauma-Informed Training
This lesson focuses on the role that trauma plays in development. It looks at what causes trauma, the psychological aspects of trauma in youth development, and provides different examples of how to work with youth who have been through trauma. We hope that our team will gain a better understanding as to why kids behave the way they do and will be better equipped to serve.
Mandated Reporter Training
This lesson provides training on how to properly report child abuse. Someone from an outside organization will come in to lead this training. This is important as all of our team members are mandated reporters.
Child Development with Carissa Gomez
Children of all ages and demographics grow and develop differently. It is important to begin to understand why this is and how children function and change emotionally, physically, mentally, spiritually and cognitively. Going deeper and exploring developmental stages will give you a clearer picture of how to handle behaviors, emotions, and other challenges that children may be facing as they are growing.
Restorative Justice Training
This lesson gives an overview on the restorative justice model. Students will learn the reasoning and framework behind the model, will learn how it is being utilized in schools, and will be taught how to use it in their programs.
Mentorship Training
This lesson will teach students how to mentor. It will go through the reason and purpose behind mentorship, how to start a mentoring relationship, and some tips and tricks for building a healthy relationship in mentoring. This class will be taught by Eric. Eric is a member of our staff team and runs the mentorship program.
Camp Planning
Each year we take 80-100 youth to week-long camp in the summer. These three class periods will be dedicated to planning camp. Camp counselors who want to have a leadership role will also be invited to attend these meetings.
This lesson focuses on the role that trauma plays in development. It looks at what causes trauma, the psychological aspects of trauma in youth development, and provides different examples of how to work with youth who have been through trauma. We hope that our team will gain a better understanding as to why kids behave the way they do and will be better equipped to serve.
Mandated Reporter Training
This lesson provides training on how to properly report child abuse. Someone from an outside organization will come in to lead this training. This is important as all of our team members are mandated reporters.
Child Development with Carissa Gomez
Children of all ages and demographics grow and develop differently. It is important to begin to understand why this is and how children function and change emotionally, physically, mentally, spiritually and cognitively. Going deeper and exploring developmental stages will give you a clearer picture of how to handle behaviors, emotions, and other challenges that children may be facing as they are growing.
Restorative Justice Training
This lesson gives an overview on the restorative justice model. Students will learn the reasoning and framework behind the model, will learn how it is being utilized in schools, and will be taught how to use it in their programs.
Mentorship Training
This lesson will teach students how to mentor. It will go through the reason and purpose behind mentorship, how to start a mentoring relationship, and some tips and tricks for building a healthy relationship in mentoring. This class will be taught by Eric. Eric is a member of our staff team and runs the mentorship program.
Camp Planning
Each year we take 80-100 youth to week-long camp in the summer. These three class periods will be dedicated to planning camp. Camp counselors who want to have a leadership role will also be invited to attend these meetings.
Resourcing our leaders
This section includes nine different organizations who come in to teach us about what they do in the communities. It can be anything from sports programs to juvenile justice ministry to human trafficking to crime to drug abuse and more. We hope to expose our team members to how some of the issues in our communities are being addressed, and by doing so, resource them to better serve their communities.
Apply to Teach
We are looking for organizations to come in to teach us about what they do.
We are looking for organizations to come in to teach us about what they do.
Caring for our community
This section is a variety of lessons that relate to how to care for our community. From specific lessons in serving the poor, to understanding culture, to caring for yourself, to how to have healthy relationships, we hope that students will be able to grow in their understanding of how to invest in communities, we take what they have learned and apply it, and that it will create a culture of care and service to our neighbors.
Bridges Out of Poverty
Three weeks of lessons will be dedicated to going through Bridges out of Poverty. Based on the book by Ruby Payne, the lessons seek to equip professionals in how to better serve the poor. Students will learn about how different socioeconomic classes function and will learn practical ways to serve the poor. There are case studies, detailed analysis, activities, and discussions relating to each of the topics.
Culture
This lesson gives an introduction to understanding how culture plays a role in our ministry. Students will be given examples and activities that involve relating to people from different cultures and how to understand their background. As a ministry, Care Fresno seeks to learn and understand the diverse set of cultures in the city in order to build healthy relationships to create lasting change in our communities.
Soul Care
This lesson teaches students the importance of Sabbath and rest. It is easy to “burn-out” when serving at such a high capacity. Students will learn about God’s commandment of Sabbath in the bible and will be challenged to rest and give a day every week to the Lord. Our hope as an organization is that all of our leaders will be able to sustain the work that the Lord has for us.
Asset-Based Community Development/Community Mapping/Indigenous Leadership
This lesson teaches about what we call asset-based community development. This is a model for sustainable community development that focuses on the strengths of a community. This class also focuses on the importance of developing indigenous leaders. We also believe that there are giftings and leaders in the neighborhood that can bring out positive change.
Love Thy Neighbor (Even when loving seems hard)
This lesson, taught at the end of the course, will focus on the importance of loving your neighbor. It looks at the biblical basis for love, helps to define what love is, and provides examples of how love plays out. Students will reflect on different ways that they have loved their neighbors throughout the year and will be reminded of God’s continual love and grace for us.
Three weeks of lessons will be dedicated to going through Bridges out of Poverty. Based on the book by Ruby Payne, the lessons seek to equip professionals in how to better serve the poor. Students will learn about how different socioeconomic classes function and will learn practical ways to serve the poor. There are case studies, detailed analysis, activities, and discussions relating to each of the topics.
Culture
This lesson gives an introduction to understanding how culture plays a role in our ministry. Students will be given examples and activities that involve relating to people from different cultures and how to understand their background. As a ministry, Care Fresno seeks to learn and understand the diverse set of cultures in the city in order to build healthy relationships to create lasting change in our communities.
Soul Care
This lesson teaches students the importance of Sabbath and rest. It is easy to “burn-out” when serving at such a high capacity. Students will learn about God’s commandment of Sabbath in the bible and will be challenged to rest and give a day every week to the Lord. Our hope as an organization is that all of our leaders will be able to sustain the work that the Lord has for us.
Asset-Based Community Development/Community Mapping/Indigenous Leadership
This lesson teaches about what we call asset-based community development. This is a model for sustainable community development that focuses on the strengths of a community. This class also focuses on the importance of developing indigenous leaders. We also believe that there are giftings and leaders in the neighborhood that can bring out positive change.
Love Thy Neighbor (Even when loving seems hard)
This lesson, taught at the end of the course, will focus on the importance of loving your neighbor. It looks at the biblical basis for love, helps to define what love is, and provides examples of how love plays out. Students will reflect on different ways that they have loved their neighbors throughout the year and will be reminded of God’s continual love and grace for us.
Interested in joining? Email us to apply!