By EMILY SPARACINO / Staff Writer

CHELSEA – The Connection church has a full schedule of classes and events to carry members and non-members alike through the rest of the summer.

The Connection will start a new class called “What is My Next Step in Walking with Christ?” on July 12.

The class will meet for about an hour each Sunday at 10 a.m. for four weeks.

“It’s just a class for new Christians,” Pastor Greg Davis said, adding that attendees will go through the basic steps of discipleship as they are “beginning their journey with the Lord.”

Davis said sessions are geared toward teenagers at least 13 years old and adults. Sessions will include Bible study and discussion of topics such as baptism.

The class is open to members of The Connection, as well as non-members.

“It’s open to anybody who wants to come,” Davis said. “It’s wide open.”

Those interested in attending do not need to register before the class, which will be repeated once each quarter, Davis said.

The Connection will hold a cookout on July 1 at 5:30 p.m. at the church’s Pelham campus.

Burgers and hotdogs will be provided, but attendees are asked to bring a side dish to share.

The church will not hold on-campus worship services on July 5; instead, all services will be streamed online.

Davis said the services are available online every week anyway, but the reason behind the change July 5 is “to honor our volunteers that work so hard every week.”

“We work them pretty hard (with) three services every Sunday,” Davis said. “A lot of effort goes into Sundays for us, so we decided we would honor our volunteers.”

The services can be viewed online at Theconnection.cc at 8:30 a.m., 10 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 2:30 p.m., 4:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.

Both campuses of The Connection will start a new Sunday sermon series on spiritual warfare and the armor of God in the next few weeks, Davis said.

The Chelsea campus is located at 4176 Shelby County 39. The Pelham location is at 3135 Oak Mountain State Park Road.

For more information about the church, visit Theconnection.cc.