8 Ways To Find Mature Christians Who Will Help You Grow

This fall I started a series of posts to address a tension many of us feel in leading a group; "How do I grow spiritually if I'm the most mature person in my group?"

I wanted to write one final post to conclude my thoughts and give some potential next steps for you as you wrestle with that question.

The first post defined the end goal of spiritual growth as "looking like Christ."

The second post shared how relationships are 1 of 5 things that God uses to help us grow to "look like Christ".

The point of the second post was to highlight that relationships are part of what grows our faith, but that our spiritual growth is not contingent solely on the people we are surrounded by.

The third post talked about how God uses both more and less mature Christians to help us grow in our faith.

The point of the third post was to highlight that there is no one person we will have in our life that will lead us to full maturity...we grow in our faith in community.

All that being said, you may still be saying, "I've got plenty of spiritually immature people I can learn and grow from, and I need to be more humble about learning from them, but I'd love to also have some more spiritually mature people in my life who can help me grow. How can I find that? If there are not many or any in my group, what do I do?"

Where can we find spiritually mature people to help us grow?

That's what we want to talk about in this final post.

While each Community Group would ideally have a good number of mature Christians in addition to immature, groups are not the only pool for finding mature Christ followers to rub shoulders with.

So, if you find yourself hungering for connection with other Christians who are serious about growing in the faith, here are some ideas.

8 Ways To Find Mature Christians Who Will Help You Grow

1. Develop them in your group.

• You have “potentially mature” Christians already in your group. Don't look past them too quickly.

• Yes, this takes effort, but you may be surprised that some of the people in your group will welcome additional connections to grow their faith: 

  • a weekly accountability breakfast

  • memorizing Scripture together

  • reading a book together

  • discussing theology together

2. Grab a meal or coffee with your Community Group Coach or a Northridge staff member.

• We'd love to share with you what we are learning as we seek to grow in our own faith. We're all in process!

3. Ask for a connection.

• Some of you have requested help to find another mature Christian you can connect with.

• While we are not match-makers, your Group Coach or a staff member may be able to help you make a connection with another mature Christ follower.

• In fact, if you respond to this post it may give us a list of people we can pair together who are seeking mutually beneficial connections.

4. Serve alongside other Christ followers.

• The most mature Christians are already investing their lives in serving others.

• If you want to learn from them, find out what they are doing and serve alongside of them.

• Join the Care Portal Team or find a role to serve at your campus.

5. Attend an Equip class with other Christ followers.

• Those attending a class are taking an intentional step to grow. Get to know them and grow with them by participating in an a class together.

6. Connect with leaders from your former group.

• Just because you are not in a group with them anymore doesn't mean you can't do life with them. 

• Some of my closest friendships are with previous group members and leaders.

7. Take an online class from a Bible college or seminary.

• Not only will you increase your knowledge but you'll be able to build relationships with Godly classmates and professors.

8. meet them through a book.

• I've heard it said that books are like good friends who help guide and counsel us.

• When we read, we get to know the author and hear their thoughts. The more we read, the more their ideas and their lives begin to influence our own.

• This may be a one-sided friendship, but a friendship with a book/author in addition to our other friendships can help.

• Need a recommendation? Check out our staff suggestions: www.northridgeequip.com/books

Our spiritual growth is a process, but He who began a good work in us will complete His perfect work (Philippians 1:6).

I'm looking forward to the day when the process of becoming like Christ will be complete.

What did I miss in these posts? What questions do you still have? How have these posts helped you? I'd love to hear your thoughts. Email me HERE.

Let's keep learning and growing together.

How Do I Grow If I'm The Most Mature Person In My Group?

How Do I Grow If I'm The Most Mature Person In My Group?

Have you ever wrestled with the question, "How do I grow spiritually if I'm the most mature person in my group?"

What do you do if as a Group Leader, you are continually pouring yourself into the people in your group, but you don't have anyone in your group who is ahead of you spiritually?

What do you do if you find your Community Group tends to be community through you, but not community for you?

This is a tension that comes with leadership. Who leads the leader? Who mentors the mentor? Who pastors the pastor?

If you have not experienced this tension yet, you'll likely wrestle with it at some point as you continue to grow in your faith.

So what's the answer?

There is more I'd like to say than you probably have time or would like to read in 1 post.

We've got lives to live, work to be done, and enough emails to get through. So instead of writing 1 long essay for you to read today, I'd like to take a few weeks to wrestle with this tension with you.

Today I just want to raise the tension and define what we are pursuing.

In the next posts we'll talk about practical answers.

Before we answer how we can grow spiritually, we need to define what growing looks like.

Spiritual growth can simply be defined as "becoming more like Christ".

Paul makes this clear in Ephesians 4:13 when he prays that Christians will "become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ."
As a Group Leader and a follower of Christ, this means that the end goal of our spiritual growth must move beyond simply learning more information about God to living like Him.
Some of the signs that we are growing spiritually include:

• Love for God and love for people (Matthew 22:27-39)

• Displaying the fruit of the spirit: love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23)

Looking like Christ is the essence of spiritual growth and the end goal of becoming mature.

So that's the goal, but how do we get there? How do you grow when there are a lack of spiritually mature people in your group? How do you grow when you are the most mature member of your group?

We'll talk about that next time.

What do you think? I'd love to hear how you've wrestled with this tension. What questions or thoughts do you have? Just email me HERE.

Additional Resources

2 Ways To Help Your Group Know God Better

Staying Spiritually Vibrant (3 minute video)

How Do You Know If You Are Succeeding As A Leader?

4 Sure Ways To Burn Out As A Group Leader

Northridge Leaders Facebook Group

Questions?

Contact your Group Coach or search this website. We'd love to be a resource to you!

4 Reminders For The End of Group

Hooray, you did it!!! This is the last week of the Community Group season!

As a Group Leader right now you may be thinking, "The group season is over, bummer, we were just beginning to gain traction and connection with our group, I'm sad to see it end."

For others you may be thinking, "This couldn't have come soon enough! I'm exhausted, no one even texts me when they are not showing up to group, and the people in my group are driving me crazy."

Each group has it seasons. And this group season is at its end.

As we wrap up this group year, as Coaches we want to say thanks for your prayers, sacrifice, investment, diligence, love and care for the people God has brought into your group this year.

We also wanted to leave you with a couple last reminders to finish strong:

1. End with a meal. 

It's a great way to cap off the group year.

2. Get Feedback. 

Print and handout End of Trimester feedback forms or just hand out 3x5 cards so you can hear from your group members what adjustments you might consider making for next season.

3. Share your Summer Plans. 

Share which dates you plan to get together as a group this Summer. You don't have to decide what you'll do on those dates yet, just give them the dates.

4. Enjoy the break. 

You deserve it!

See you at the Redwings Game on May 31st!

Additional Resources

4 Ways to Make the Most of The Summer

10 Simple Ideas To Connect With Your Group This Summer

Why Summer Is Dangerous For You And Your Group

What's Next For Your Group?

Questions?

Contact your Group Coach or search this website. We'd love to be a resource to you!

Jason DeGraaff

Community Groups Pastor

Life is better connected!

Leading Your Community Group Through Gaining Ground

This Sunday, March 24th, we are kicking off both a new Community Group trimester and a new sermon series, "Gaining Ground." 

We've asked all of Community Groups to participate in discussing this sermon series together in their groups. This is a significant series for our us as we look ahead to where God is leading us as a church.

Here are a few details to help you be prepared for a new trimester and discussing this series:

Preparing To Lead Your Group Through Gaining Ground

• Pickup and use the Gaining Ground Booklet (Preview HERE)

All sermon notes and group discussion questions are included in this booklet as well as other content related to our Gaining Ground generosity initiative.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Week 1 and Week 2 Discussion Questions were printed in the wrong order. Please use the discussion questions on page 32 for Week 1 and the discussion questions on page 28 for week 2.

• Pray Daily

Both ask God, "What would you have me to do?" and be praying that God may use this series to help each person in your group refocus their lives on their part to play in making more and better followers of Jesus.

• Worship Together at Night of Worship (3/24) and the Salt Road Rally (4/7)

Set your calendars and invite your group members to sit with you for our Night of Worship services this Sunday 3/24 at 4:30pm or 6:30pm and to join you for our Salt Road Rally in Webster on April 7th at 5pm.

• Plan A Party For Week 4 (April 14th-20th)

The final week of the series ends with a celebration Sunday as we make commitments together as a church toward our Gaining Ground generosity initiative. Instead of doing sermon discussion for the final week, we are encouraging all groups to throw a party together to celebrate what God is doing in the life of our church and in the lives of our group members. 

Preparing to Lead Your Group Through the Spring Trimester

• Review the Beginning of Trimester Agreement (Download HERE)

The beginning of each new trimester provides a great opportunity to remind your group of why we meet (To Apply the Bible, Build Relationships, & Care for Each Other) and review how we can make the most of our group experience.

• Share your Group Volunteer Schedule (Download Template HERE)

Bring a preassigned volunteer schedule week 1, give people a chance to review it, and revise as necessary. The healthiest community groups share all of responsibilities of leading group each week.

• Set Growth Goals (See examples HERE)

One of the best ways to encourage spiritual growth is to commit together with your group members 1 specific area you need to grow, and then encouraging each other throughout the trimester to follow through.

Questions?

Contact your Group Coach or search this website. We'd love to be a resource to you!

Jason DeGraaff

Community Groups Pastor

Life Is Better Connected

4 Group Reminders As We Wrap Up the Winter Trimester

Here are 4 quick reminders as we wrap up the Winter Community Group Trimester.

1. Group Trimester Dates

• Winter Trimester Wrap-Up: March 9

• Spring Trimester Dates: March 24 - May 25 (9 Weeks)

2. Celebrate Communion In Group

• We are encouraging all Community Groups to take some time in group the last few weeks of the trimester to celebrate Communion with their group.

• This is a great way to celebrate the Gospel together just like the early church, breaking bread and remembering Christ's sacrifice together as we meet in each other's homes.

• Find communion instructions HERE 

3. Growth Goals Accountability

• Forget about your growth goals? Help keep each other accountable for the goals you talked about by asking each other about your progress in the last few weeks of the trimester.

4. Sermon Discussion All-Play

• Beginning Week 1 of the Spring Group Trimester (March 24th), we are asking all Community Groups to discuss our sermon series "Gaining Ground." 

• This will be an important series to unify our church together in our mission to make more and better disciples in Rochester.

• All Northridge attendees will be receiving a booklet for this series that includes our sermon discussion questions; similar to our "Portraits of a King" series from this fall.

Additional Resources

Do You Have A Plan For That?

When it come to applying the Bible in group, how do you help you and your group members to not just identify Bible application, but actually apply it?

4 Sure Ways To Burn Out As A Group Leader

Are any of these true of you? How you lead now may end up in you not leading later. How can you avoid burn out as a Group Leader?

The Top 2 Things Group Members Wish Were Different About Your Group

What do your group members wish was different about your group? What can you do to address these concerns? 

Past Re:Group Training Talks and Breakouts

Northridge Discipleship & Counseling Training (March 2 - May 18)This ten week training will teach you how to compassionately and skillfully use God's word to help people grow and change for God's glory, whether through casual conversations, mentoring, leading a group, discipleship, or counseling.

Questions?

Contact your Group Coach or check out our Leaders website to find answers to your questions.

Jason DeGraaff

Community Groups Pastor

Life is better connected!