School of Discipleship – year around

This coming week students will return to school after the long summer break. Some will move on to the next level – College, University or High School. The most dreaded experience is to be left behind for another year, to repeat a grade because of lack of progress! The principle is the same – to achieve a higher learning.

Here at the church we also shift gears in our schedule for more work and teaching after summer breeze. And how is your personal experience of growth? Are you moving to the “next level”? Are you learning continually?

Much has been said about personal spiritual growth of believers. Here I want to outline a few basic steps that make it obvious how a person progresses on a journey with God:

1) An initial contact with Bible, or with a credible Christian

2) A verbal witness that shared God in a meaningful way, to explain God’s plan of saving people

3) Visiting the church to “check it out,” to see the Body Assembled together, to see if there is evidence of Spirit

4) A decision to return to the church, because of the encounter with God’s spirit at work, because of acceptance experienced

5) A commitment to Christ through baptism, a desire to grow

6) Joining a small group to dig deeper, to learn more

7) Discovering and developing personal spiritual gifts

8) Getting involved in a ministry based on giftedness

9) Maturing as a devoted follower of Christ in all areas of life, including stewardship and evangelism

10) Mentoring others, becoming a spiritual parent to new seekers.

Where are you on this journey? Do we have seniors on “Step 10”? Have you passed “Step 7 “ and learned your spiritual giftedness? Or have you got stuck on “Step 5” and not sure how to advance?

As we move into this fiscal year, the Small Groups is our top priority, top need. We need mature leaders to facilitate house churches, where an experience of growing and maturing would exist. If you need any help – we got “guidance counsellors” – elders.

Make a decision to belong, to grow, to develop, to mature, and to bless others.

Our church is a School of Discipleship!