5 Day Study On Spiritual GrowthSample

In school or on the job, many of us hold mixed feelings toward group projects. On one hand, they are great because everybody contributes to the overall success of the project. Different members of the group possess different skills that advance the project along. Because there are more people in a group, the task gets divvied up among the members so that no one person does all the work alone. On the other hand, sometimes members of the group fall off. They don’t participate or add any value to the group, adding extra burdens and workloads to the other members. When they depart from the group, they no longer receive the benefits from the group.

God didn’t design our spiritual growth to occur apart from other believers. Spiritual growth is a group project, and that group is called the church. The word church means "the called-out ones," and is used over one hundred times in the New Testament, primarily referencing gathered assemblies of believers. It never meant a building. It never meant a program. Instead, church always referred to the body of believers who congregated to celebrate and worship the Lord Jesus Christ.

We receive certain benefits as members of the church and as members of God’s family. God gives every member of His family, every member of the church, a spiritual gift. These gifts are to be used to serve, build up, encourage and strengthen the family as a whole. When believers who are indwelled by the Holy Spirit come together for worship, praise, teachings, encouragement and service, God shows up in a special way, and we grow spiritually as we experience His presence. But this only happens in the context of corporate worship. Meaning, you won’t experience God in this way on your own. Without the church, your spiritual growth will be impeded. You need the church, and the church needs you! 

In what ways have you found your spiritual growth "stirred up" or "stimulated" by the community of the church?