This Is How We Grow
Part 2 of "How Do I Grow If I'm The Most Mature Person In My Group?"
In my last Group Leader post I raised the question, "How do I grow spiritually if I'm the most mature person in my group?"
Before jumping into an answer, I wanted to first define what spiritual growth looks like. Based on Ephesians 4:13 the conclusion was that, "Looking like Christ is the essence of spiritual growth and the end goal of becoming mature."
So if you are desiring to grow to be more like Christ but there is a lack of spiritually mature people in your group what's the answer?
I'd love to tackle that question in 2 parts.
In this post I'd like to look at, "how we grow." In my next post I'd like to dive more specifically into the how relationships effect our growth.
So, how do we grow? What is it the produces a mature faith?
Over the years at Northridge we have talked about 5 primary things that grow our faith:
Practical Teaching
Providential Relationships
Private Disciplines
Pivotal Circumstances
Personal Ministry
If you can think of something that influences spiritual growth outside of those 5 areas, email me. I'd love to know. What are we missing?
What this tells me is that, relationships are a piece of what helps us grow spiritually, but they are not the only component.
Which means,
"Your spiritual growth is not contingent on having someone who is further in their faith in your group."
If you feel your spiritual growth has stalled due to the lack of spiritually mature people around you, start by considering how you are doing at engaging these 5 areas.
Practical Teaching
What teaching are you learning from?
If Sunday is your only intake, you'll probably struggle.
There are a variety of resources you can dive into: Podcasts, Sermons, Equip Resources, Books, PaulSeries.com, Right Now Media. Need a recommendation? Ask your coach.
What do you need to obey based on what you've been learning?
Providential Relationships
Which relationship do you need to pursue?
They may be in your group or outside of your group. They may be with more mature Christians or less mature.
Private Disciplines
What habits do you need to work on?
Reading the Bible daily
Daily prayer
Scripture memory
Solitude
Pivotal Circumstances
How are you processing your circumstances in light of what is true?
Personal Ministry
How are you serving others?
Our Outreach Director, Josh Horn, replied to my last post by saying, "When we are sacrificing in the style of Jesus, then we can re-ask the question about how we can grow.”
So, how do we grow spiritually if we are the most mature person in our group? We can start by engaging in the 5 areas above.
But what role do relationships play in our growth? And who are the people who help us grow the most? We'll dive into that next time.
What do you think? I heard back from many of you in my last post. What questions, pushback, or ideas do you have? I'd love to learn and share your ideas with others! Just email me HERE.
Additional Resources
How Do I Grow If I'm The Most Mature Person In My Group? - Part 1
The Best Thing I Ever Did To Grow Spiritually
Increasing Your Personal Desire To Pursue Christ
4 Phases of a Healthy Multiplication
Northridge Leaders Facebook Group
Looking For A Service Opportunity For Your Group?
The Monroe County Department of Human Services is launching the CarePortal to partner local churches with hurting families in the community and Northridge Church is one of the official launch churches. Check out the video below to learn more about this exciting opportunity.
Questions?
Contact your Group Coach or search this website. We'd love to be a resource to you!
