How To Grow Spiritually
BELONGING
People do not only want to believe, they also want to belong. This is a basic need we all have as human beings. That is why Jesus not only invites you to believe in Him but also to belong to His eternal family. This is the first step on our Spiritual Growth Track. Christianity is not a solo sport like boxing or MMA. No, Christianity is a team sport. You need others and others need you to grow spiritually. When you gave your life to Jesus you automatically became a member of His family. When you go through #101 you are going to meet teammates, family members, new friends who will join you on your journey.
BECOMING
The ultimate goal God has for your life is for you to become just like His Son. That sounds impossible, doesn’t it? That’s because it is! That is why God gives you His Holy Spirit when you give your life to His Son. He supernaturally transforms you from day to day. When you go through #201 you will learn the five basic habits of spiritual growth:
· Prayer – how to develop a lifestyle of relational prayer
· The Bible – how to enjoy and understand the Bible
· Money — how to manage your money
· Community – connecting with a group of Christian friends
· Serving – Jesus said that He came, not be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a sacrifice for many. You are never more like Jesus than when you are serving others!
BUILDING
Jesus said that He is building His Church. He began doing this when He first came to the earth and He is still doing it today, and He is inviting you to join Him. That is why Jesus gives every believer a spiritual gift – to bless others. “God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another.” 1 Peter 4:10 NLT It could be teaching, preaching, giving, serving, healing, etc. There are so many spiritual gifts that we have developed a process whereby you can discover your spiritual gift and learn how to use it to bless others. In our #301 class you will discover your spiritual gift and learn how and where to use it.
BRINGING
The way we like to describe evangelism is that we are bringing Jesus to people, and bringing people to Jesus.
We do this by both sharing and showing the gospel. What we mean by that is we share the Good News by telling others what Jesus did for us on the cross. But we show them, Jesus, through the way we share the Good News with them – not only telling them about the Good News of Gods’ love but showing them God’s love through acts of compassion. Our goal is to be Jesus to those who are far from Him so they will want to know and follow Him. In our #401 class, you will learn the heart of God for those who are far from Him, as well as some very simple and yet effective ways to lead someone to Jesus.
Going Deeper
Going through each step on the Spiritual Growth Track is a great introduction to a changed life, but there is more! Belonging, Becoming, Building, and Bringing never end. That is why some of our steps have a “going deeper” component.
After completing #201 you will have the opportunity to go deeper in all five spiritual habits of growth with courses such as “Contemplative Prayer”, “Enjoying the Bible with the Author”, “Financial Peace University”, as well as joining a Connect Group where you get to walk it all out with a group of friends.
After finishing our #301 course, there are two ways to go deeper. One is to find a place to plug in and begin using your gift. Secondly, if you find you have the gift of leadership, you can apply for our Leadership Track.
After finishing #401 you can take the “7 Commands of Christ” Discovery Bible Study. This course will give you a very simple and easy way to disciple someone as soon as they give their life to Christ. Let’s grow!