Along the road, Journey Class has become a model for mentoring ministry at Wilshire.

Several years ago, under the leadership of Minister to Adults Carolyn Shapard and the Adult Education Committee, Wilshire developed the idea of mentor couples. These mature couples are placed in young adult classes to help develop leadership teams.

As the congregation prepares to celebration Teacher Appreciation Month in October, Journey Class illustrates that it takes a variety of leadership to make adult classes strong.

Mike and Donna Rosamond serve as the mentor couple in the class. Mike is the primary teacher; Susan Elliott is the director; and Mike and Donna assist with class outreach and other functions as needed.

“For years, Mike and Donna taught first grade with the Jernbergs but felt a calling to work with young adults—their three daughters are young adults—and they realize how critical these formative years are as they marry and begin having their own children,” Carolyn explained. “The parenting role is often relevant to their work in the Journey Class.”

“We searched out Mike and Donna,” added Carolyn Murray, a member of the class and Wilshire’s young adult Sunday School coordinator. “When we were in need of a teacher several years ago, we looked around at families that had kids who we wanted our kids to turn out like. We knew the Rosamonds had done (and were doing) something right, and we wanted a piece! 

“When we learned they were retiring from first grade, I marched right into their classroom one Sunday morning, sat in one of the small chairs and told them straight out that the Journey Class needed a teacher and mentor couple and that they were at the top of the list (well, they were the list). 

“They took a little time to think about it and came in for a ‘trial’ period, and it has been a wonderful relationship ever since.”

The Rosamonds, too, have found joy in the arrangement.

“It has been evident from the moment we joined the Journey Class in 2005 that the couples in this class love each other and support each other in a million different ways,” Mike said. “Simply put, this is the key to Journey’s success. These young couples are doing an incredible job as they grow and care for each other in the Wilshire way.

“Another strength of the class is its intentional efforts to welcome new members and visitors,” he said. “As with any circle of friends, as it draws closer, there is always the danger of shutting others out. I have witnessed the members of Journey reach out to others to pull them into the community on many occasions.” 

“Journey Class is a very diverse group of believers trying to walk this journey and grow in faith together,” said Holly Smith, the class’s immediate past director. “There are so many people in our group that come from different denominational backgrounds. Because of the variety of backgrounds, our discussions are always challenging and thought-provoking for me. 

“I am challenged to search Scripture to know it better, to weigh that with experiential knowledge and to seek the Spirit’s direction to figure out exactly how it is that we flesh out our faith in our daily lives.”

“We try to keep an even mix of Bible study and discussion,” Mike said. “We have been using the Smyth & Helwys Formations literature as our springboard into Scripture the past few years, but we feel a good deal of freedom to roam from that starting point. 

“The class regularly engages in honest and open dialogue filled with differing opinions. They are willing to wrestle with the difficult questions of our day, and they see their diversity as a strength.” 

“Like many classes, we have shared tremendous joys and borne heartbreaking sorrows together,” Holly said. “What we have experienced together the past couple of years, from a change in leadership to the heights and depths of changing families, has knit us together as a class.

“We have benefited from the guidance of teaching leaders who are just a few steps ahead of us to give us perspective on the road ahead and to help us know that it is okay to not have all the answers figured out yet.”