5 Ways To Cultivate Spiritual Growth

 

Cultivating Spiritual Formation in the Local Church

Based on a Logos article written by Steve Auld.

Introduction: The Growth That Really Matters

When we talk about church growth, it is natural to think about numbers. We might consider how many people attend our services each Sunday, how many new people have joined the church, how many baptisms have taken place, or how many people are involved in the various ministries and activities of the congregation. These things can certainly be encouraging, and numerical growth can be a genuine blessing from God. However, there is another kind of growth that should matter even more to the local church: spiritual growth.

The deepest desire of a healthy church should not simply be to see more people sitting in its seats, but to see those people becoming increasingly hungry and thirsty for God. We should long to see Christians growing in their knowledge of Christ, walking more closely with Him, becoming increasingly like Him and bearing the fruit of the Spirit in their everyday lives. Paul describes this kind of maturity in Colossians 2:2–3, where he speaks of believers coming to a full assurance of understanding and knowledge of God's mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

This raises an important question for every local church: how do we turn our desire for spiritual maturity into something that is intentionally cultivated within the life of the church? Spiritual formation should not simply be an accidental by-product of church life. It should be part of the church's deliberate ministry and mission. There are several important practices that can help a local church pursue spiritual formation with greater intentionality and depth.

Defining the Ministry of the Church by the Great Commission

When Christians hear the words "Great Commission", we can sometimes immediately think about missionaries travelling to distant countries to proclaim the gospel. That is certainly part of the Great Commission, but Jesus' command is much broader than overseas missions. In Matthew 28:18–20, Jesus commands His followers to go and make disciples, baptising them and teaching them to observe everything He has commanded.

There is an important distinction here. Jesus did not simply tell the church to make converts; He told us to make disciples. Conversion is the beginning of the Christian life, not its conclusion. A person who comes to faith in Christ needs to be taught how to follow Christ. New believers need to grow in their understanding of Scripture, develop Christian character, learn obedience, discover what it means to serve others and increasingly become the kind of person who can help others follow Jesus too.

This gives us a picture of discipleship as a continuing process: we make disciples, those disciples mature, and mature disciples are equipped to help make and mature other disciples. This should shape the ministry of the entire local church. Sunday worship should contribute to making and maturing disciples. Children's ministry, youth ministry, student ministry, small groups, Bible studies, prayer meetings and pastoral care should all have the same underlying direction.

This means that every ministry of the church should be asking a simple but searching question: Is this helping people become more faithful followers of Jesus? The Great Commission gives the local church its mission, and spiritual formation is central to fulfilling that mission.

Calling People to Take Responsibility for Their Spiritual Growth

There is another important truth that churches need to teach clearly: Christians must take responsibility for growing in spiritual maturity. To understand this properly, we need to recognise the difference between justification and sanctification.

Justification concerns God's gracious work of declaring sinners righteous through faith in Christ. We cannot earn our justification. Salvation is God's gift, received through faith. Sanctification, however, is the ongoing work through which God makes us increasingly holy and Christlike. God is at work in sanctification, but He also calls us to participate actively in that work.

Paul expresses this beautifully in Philippians 2:12–13 when he tells believers to work out their salvation with fear and trembling, because it is God who works in them both to will and to work for His good pleasure. There is a wonderful tension in those words. God works in us, and we work. Our spiritual formation is ultimately God's work before it is ours because the Holy Spirit is the one who transforms us. Yet that does not mean Christians can sit back passively and expect maturity simply to happen.

Spiritual maturity requires intentionality. We pray, read Scripture, listen to God's Word, repent, worship, serve, forgive, pursue holiness, cultivate fellowship with other believers, resist sin and seek the Lord. None of these practices earn God's love or purchase our salvation. Instead, they are ways in which we actively respond to God's grace.

Paul demonstrates this same balance in Colossians 1:28–29. He speaks about proclaiming Christ, teaching everyone and seeking to present everyone mature in Christ. He then describes his own toil and struggle, but says that he does so according to Christ's energy, which powerfully works within him. Christian effort and divine power are therefore not enemies. We work because God is working in us.

Pastors and church leaders should consequently not be afraid to challenge Christians to take responsibility for their spiritual growth. We should encourage people to pursue maturity deliberately while continually reminding them that their strength comes from the Holy Spirit.

Understanding That Salvation Means Being Conformed to Christ

One of the most important things a church can recover is a biblical understanding of what salvation is ultimately producing in us. Romans 8:28–29 tells us that God works all things together for good for those who love Him, and verse 29 explains what that "good" ultimately means: being conformed to the image of His Son.

God is not merely rescuing people from punishment. He is restoring people into the image of Christ. Human beings were created in God's image, but that image has been horribly marred by sin. Through the gospel we are born again, and then the Spirit begins the lifelong work of transforming us so that the likeness of Christ becomes increasingly evident in our lives.

Paul describes this transformation in 2 Corinthians 3:18, explaining that as we behold the glory of the Lord, we are being transformed into His image from one degree of glory to another. This means the Christian gospel must never be reduced to the idea that Jesus is simply a way of escaping hell. The gospel is wonderfully about rescue from judgement, but it is also about new life. We are saved by Christ and then progressively reshaped by the Spirit into the likeness of Christ.

The goal is therefore not simply that we can say, "I believe in Jesus." The goal is that our lives increasingly demonstrate, "I am becoming like Jesus." John makes this clear in 1 John 2:6 when he says that whoever claims to live in Christ must live as Jesus did.

This has enormous implications for church life. Christlike character should matter in every part of our relationships. It should matter in leadership meetings, elders' meetings, deacons' meetings, planning meetings and every other situation where Christians work together. It should matter when we disagree, when difficult decisions have to be made and when relationships become strained. It should matter in the way we speak to one another and in the way we listen.

Sometimes churches can become so concerned about getting the right answer that they forget the importance of displaying the right character while discussing it. Yet the manner in which Christians speak, listen, disagree, forgive and serve can be just as important as the subject being discussed. We must teach Christlikeness, but we must also model Christlikeness.

Peter reminds us in 2 Peter 1:3 that God has already given His people everything necessary for life and godliness. Christlikeness is therefore both something God is producing in us and something we are called to pursue.

Trusting God to Work Through the Ordinary Means of Grace

There can sometimes be a temptation within church ministry to search continually for something new. We look for the latest programme, strategy, technique, leadership model, technology or innovative way of attracting people's attention. Yet genuine spiritual formation does not depend upon novelty. In fact, one of the most encouraging truths about spiritual formation is that God works through the ordinary means of grace.

The local church is the primary context in which this spiritual formation takes place. Ephesians 4:11–16 describes Christ giving ministers and teachers to the church for the equipping of God's people and the building up of the body of Christ. God ordinarily works through things that may appear remarkably simple: the preaching of God's Word, prayer, baptism and the Lord's Supper.

These are not spectacular techniques, but they are ordinary practices through which God works. When God's Word and God's Spirit work through these means within the community of God's people, genuine spiritual growth takes place. The Word is preached, God's people pray, believers gather together, baptism visibly identifies believers with Christ and the Lord's Supper continually points us towards Christ and His sacrificial death. Over time, God uses these ordinary means to produce extraordinary spiritual fruit.

This does not mean private spiritual disciplines are unimportant. Christians should pray privately, fast, spend time alone with God, read and meditate upon Scripture and cultivate communion with God in the secret place. However, our private spiritual lives should ultimately strengthen our participation in the body of Christ. Christianity is not intended to become an entirely individualised spirituality. We are members of a body, and our growth should enable us to contribute to the health and maturity of the whole church.

This has significant implications for pastoral ministry. We do not necessarily need endless new programmes to produce spiritual maturity. A church committed to faithful preaching, persistent prayer and loving pastoral care is already standing on solid ground. These simple priorities can become powerful instruments of spiritual formation when they are practised faithfully and consistently. The temptation is to underestimate ordinary faithfulness, but God does not.

Teaching the Church to Abide in Christ

Perhaps the most important principle of spiritual formation is found in Jesus' teaching about the vine and the branches in John 15. Jesus says that whoever abides in Him and He in them will bear much fruit. Notice that Jesus does not say that those who abide in Him might bear fruit. He says they will.

This is crucial because spiritual formation is ultimately the fruit of abiding in Christ. Consequently, if we want Christians to grow, our primary emphasis should not simply be on "growth". We should teach people how to remain in Christ. Fruit is the consequence; abiding is the priority.

This also has implications for how Christians deal with sin. John teaches that abiding in Christ is intimately connected with resisting sin. Our holiness does not come from simply trying harder in isolation. It flows from our relationship with Christ.

Jesus gives His followers several ways in which this abiding relationship is expressed. We abide in Him by feeding upon the spiritual significance of His death, by abiding in His Word and by abiding in His love. Our entire Christian life is centred upon union and communion with Christ.

This is why our church gatherings must continually centre upon Jesus. That does not mean ignoring the Father or the Holy Spirit. Rather, it means recognising that Christ is the one through whom we come to the Father and that Christ gives His Spirit to indwell His people. Apart from Christ, we have nothing of lasting spiritual value and can accomplish nothing of lasting spiritual value.

That truth should shape our preaching, worship, discipleship and pastoral ministry. The church must continually bring people back to Jesus, because spiritual maturity is not ultimately about mastering a programme or collecting Christian knowledge. It is about knowing Christ, abiding in Christ and becoming increasingly like Christ.

What Spiritual Formation Looks Like in the Local Church

If we take these principles seriously, spiritual formation should become visible throughout the entire life of the church. Small groups can become genuine centres of spiritual formation as believers study Scripture together, pray together and learn to see how the whole Bible points towards Christ.

Children's ministries should not merely entertain children or keep them occupied. They should help children understand who Jesus is, what He has done and what it means to follow Him. Youth ministries should help young people develop a genuine relationship with Christ rather than simply providing Christian activities. Adult ministries should help believers continue growing rather than assuming that spiritual maturity automatically arrives with age.

Preaching should continually bring people back to Christ. Pastoral care should help people apply the gospel to the realities of suffering, temptation, relationships, work and everyday life. Church leadership should demonstrate the character we are asking the congregation to develop. Our gatherings should continually draw attention to the extraordinary reality of Christ dwelling within His people.

The goal is not simply to have people who attend church. The goal is to have people who abide in Christ, grow in Christ, become like Christ and increasingly reflect Christ to the world around them.

Spiritual Formation Is God's Work—and Our Calling

Ultimately, spiritual formation cannot be manufactured by a church. We can organise programmes, teach classes, preach sermons, establish small groups, encourage prayer and provide opportunities for service, but only God can transform the human heart.

That is why spiritual formation must never become another church growth technique. It is the work of God in His people. Yet that does not excuse us from responsibility. God has given the church a mission. He has given us His Word. He has given us the ordinary means of grace. He has given us His Spirit. He has placed believers within the community of the local church. He calls His people to respond faithfully.

The church should therefore pursue spiritual formation with confidence, not because we have discovered the perfect programme, but because we trust the God who transforms His people. The answer is not necessarily something spectacular. It may look remarkably ordinary: faithful preaching, persistent prayer, loving pastoral care, Scripture-shaped discipleship, faithful participation in baptism and the Lord's Supper, Christ-centred gatherings and believers intentionally abiding in Jesus.

Over time, the Word and Spirit bear fruit. People change. Character develops. Sin is confronted. Love grows. Faith deepens. Christ becomes increasingly precious, and the church becomes increasingly mature.

Conclusion: What Kind of Growth Are We Seeking?

The question for every church is therefore bigger than, "How many people are coming?" We should also ask, "Are the people who are coming becoming more like Jesus?"

Are we seeing a greater hunger for God? Are believers growing in their knowledge of Scripture? Are they becoming more prayerful, more loving, more willing to forgive and more humble? Are they increasingly resisting sin and serving others? Are they growing in Christlike character? Are mature disciples helping younger believers grow? Are our ministries intentionally making and maturing disciples? And, above everything else, are we teaching people to abide in Christ?

The church does not need to manufacture spiritual growth. It needs to faithfully create the environment in which God's appointed means are practised, God's Word is proclaimed, God's people are discipled and God's Spirit is trusted.

Our calling is to make disciples. Our responsibility is to pursue holiness. Our goal is Christlikeness. Our means are the ordinary gifts God has given His church. And our confidence rests in Christ Himself.

For when God's people abide in Christ, Jesus promises that they will bear fruit.

That is the growth worth pursuing.