The Believer of Jesus Pathway

"I believe in Jesus and I'm working on what it means to get to know Him."



If you sense you are living in this stage of your journey, here are some suggestions and options you might be interested in trying as you seek to make the most of our intentional spiritual journey to Christlikeness.

Let the journey begin!

The call to follow Christ is also a call to be transformed into His image. Thus, kingdom living begins when we accept Jesus’ invitation to keep company with him…that we might become like him (Mark 3:14; Mark 1:17; John 15; John 17:3; Galatians 4:9; Colossians 3:1-17). In other words, we become like Christ by interaction with Christ himself. Taking on the character of Christ then, being spiritually formed, flows from an ongoing interaction with Christ, through the Holy Spirit’s presence in our lives, to receive from God the life we cannot birth in ourselves.

The fact is we can’t change our own hearts. We can’t control, manage, or dictate spiritual reality in our lives. The active agent in the transformation process is the Holy Spirit, who regenerates, enlightens, motivates, and empowers believers in their inner being by his presence to grow us in our likeness to Christ.  On the other hand, it is unlikely that we will deepen our relationship with God in a random or unintentional way.

Although we cannot by direct effort change our heart, we are invited to participate with God in our transformation. We do this by a purposeful pattern of life…of intentionally placing ourselves in environments where we create the conditions in our lives so as to train our hearts to recognize and surrender to the already ongoing, maturing and healing presence of the Holy Spirit, who is shaping us to be like Jesus and bringing about God’s Kingdom purposes and mission. 

For example, if you were asked to list people, places or events that were instrumental in your spiritual development, what are some of those things you would list?  More than likely it would look something like this:  a friend who took you “under wing” as a spiritual mentor, a retreat place or summer camp, a book, a missions trip, Scripture, an altar experience, cancer, fasting, a pastor, serving in a soup kitchen, etc. All of these “environments” provided the opportunity for you to open your heart to the transforming presence and work of the Holy Spirit in your life.

If you would like to know more, you may listen to the sermon called The Intentional Journey.

The good news is there are some natural “places” of transformation already embedded in our lives and our church that become opportunities to encounter Jesus’ transforming presence. All of the people, places, and/or events you listed earlier can be organized into five environments that provide opportunities to encounter Jesus: personal, relational, intellectual, missional, and experiential.  These five environments can be identified by the acrostic P.R.I.M.E. Click on the links below to read more about each environment.

P - Personal Environments:  We create conditions for transformation through intentional spiritual practices (1 Timothy 4:7-8)

The intentional practice of a spiritual discipline such as scripture reading, prayer, solitude, or fasting are environments where we train our hearts to remain open and surrendered to the fresh, ongoing work of the Holy Spirit. They are not “spiritual principles” or “moral guidelines” we perform as a way to go about improving our condition.  They are not a formula we follow so we can harness divine favor or look godly.

They are indispensable to a life of faith, but only to the degree that they allow us to “keep company” or connect with God.  Often it is through a spiritual discipline we make space in our lives for God to birth in us what we can’t do ourselves.  Transformation is entirely by grace (the work of the Spirit), but it requires our active, intentional participation through regular spiritual practices.

For more information on personal discipleship, listen to or read the sermon entitled Personal Discipleship.

Listen to the sermon entitled Keeping in Step with the Spirit.


Watch this video entitled Spiritual Practices - How to Meet God in the Everyday.


To respond appropriately to God’s Word, we must study it but we also have to engage our hearts. This means discovering how to meet God through study, memorization and prayerful engagement with Scripture, and it will take your love for God to a deeper and more intimate level.

We have resources available to help you study the Bible.  Click here to visit our Bible Reading Resource page.  Follow the links on the sidebar to learn how to read the Bible transformationally and study the Bible using the deductive, inductive, and reading an entire book methods.

Follow a daily Bible reading plan and devotional. We have provided a number of resources that provide a chance to pause during your day and re-center your thoughts back on God. There are many different ways to approach a devotion time and the computer may not be the best way for you - maybe a short walk away from your desk while you reflect on a Bible verse would be the most helpful. But for those who are looking for a way to be spiritually refreshed right in the midst of a busy day, we give you these links in the hopes that they will be a redemptive use of technology. Some of them are a brief reflection and some require more time to move through. We hope you find one that brings you back into the presence of God.

Develop conversational prayer practices (link coming soon).


Take a sacred pathways assessment from the LifeQuest website at this link.   


Read Experiencing God Through the Sacred Pathways.


Watch these videos to learn about and practice journaling.
Join in the daily prayer time at Faith at 5:00 AM and 9:00 AM in the multipurpose room.


 

 
R - Relational Environments:  We are transformed by intentional spiritual practices (John 17:20-21)

Jesus’ transformative presence is rooted in relationship with God and one another. Therefore, being formed in Christlikeness for Kingdom purposes is always lived out and made complete in community. Communities of grace define who we are and how we live in trust, love, grace, humility, dignity, and justice. Biblical truths and messages are hammered out on the anvil of faithful community living…in an environment of ongoing nurture through relationships of trust, vulnerability, modeling, and accountability.

We cannot grow fully into Christ’s image apart from regular, sometimes difficult and messy, engagement with other Christ followers in which our jealousies, irritations and resentments are confronted and the virtues of patience, love and forgiveness are given regular opportunities to be practiced.

For more information on how we encounter Jesus in community, listen to or read the sermon entitled Relational Discipleship.


Connect with a life group.  At Faith, we call it "doing life together."  Within the small group structure, believers regularly meet in an atmosphere of authenticity and grace to support each other in their spiritual journey.  Click here to see our groups.

Join an ongoing mid-sized community group such as as adult education class on Sunday mornings.  Click on this link to view a list of small groups offered at Faith.  Enter the word "Sunday" in the search bar to find groups that meet on Sundays.

Join The City - our primary networking tool for keeping connected at Faith and keeping up-to-date on current events.


Attend a mid-sized event such as:
If you are not yet a member at Faith, considering partnering with Faith as an active and committed member of our church family, where it will not only be a place to belong, but where you will grow spiritually, serve others and participate with God in his kingdom.

If you are facing a challenge in your life or need someone to talk to, please give us your contact info and we will connect you with someone at Faith.
I - Intellectual Environments:  We are transformed as we apply Biblical truth to our mind and heart (2 Timothy 3:16-17, Colossians 3:16)

Our interaction with the Word of God must go beyond human intellectualism. Scripture has the capacity to become for us a holy ground on which we actually meet with God. The teaching and preaching of sound doctrine, adhering to the authority and inerrancy of Scripture, is absolutely essential. Yet, believing that the head and heart are to be integrated and not divorced, the goal is never about just obtaining more information. Transformation of mind and heart comes to us through wisdom and revelation. What we discover is that we need both.

To respond appropriately to God’s Word, we must study it, but we also have to engage our hearts.  We must strike a delicate balance between historical-critical engagement with scripture and opening oneself to the Word's life-transforming potential. There should always be room for serious study that does not bypass critical scholarship, yet the goal of scripture reading is to internalize and personalize the Scripture so that its truth can affect how we think, our attitudes, and how we live, our actions.

When we approach scripture as the living word of God it invites us to pay attention to how God may be speaking to us in a fresh way and it becomes a place of encounter with Jesus.

For more information on intellectual discipleship, listen to or read the sermon entitled Intellectual Discipleship.

Attend an eight-week Essentials class on Sundays at 9:00 AM.


Suggested reading (some of these titles are available at the Resource Center at the church):
          • The Life You've Always Wanted by John Ortberg
          • Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis
          • The Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer
          • Invitation to a Journey: A Road Map for Spiritual Formation by Robert Mullholland
          • Extravagant Mercy by M. Craig Barnes (devotional)
          • The Great Omission by Dallas Willard
          • Crazy Love by Francis Chan
          • Knowing God by J.I. Packer
          • Reaching for the Invisible God by Philip Yancey
          • Discipleship Essentials -A Guide to Building Your Life in Christ by Greg Ogden
          • Act Normal by Scott Wilson
          • Off Roads Disciplines by Earl Creps
          • The Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry Bridges
          • Believing God by Beth Moore
          • How to Read the Bible for All It's Worth by Gordon Fee

Watch The Truth Project DVD (available from the church office).
M - Missional Environments:  We are transformed when we give ourselves away for the sake of others (Colossians 3:17; Ephesians 4:11-16)

Many think spiritual formation is about feeding our souls for the sake of our well-being.  On the contrary, it is intensely practical. The fuller life in Christ comes not only as we give attention to our own growth, but largely as we give ourselves away. As we align ourselves with the person and work of Christ - in becoming his disciples - our actions naturally flow out of hearts like his in demonstration of the love that has shaped us. In fact, Christ is not fully formed in us until it finds its greatest expression in love and sacrificial service for others.  Compassionate acts come out of hearts of compassion. Acts of compassion cannot just be programs that come and go, they must become the stuff of our everyday lives as God’s people on mission.

Our faith must become an embodied faith, where our witness to the world is based more on the weight of our actions than the strength of our arguments. We are not elected for privilege, but for service; to live not as exclusive beneficiaries of God’s saving work, but as bearers of this grace to the rest of the world.

For more information on missional discipleship, listen to or read the sermon entitled Missional Discipleship.

Ongoing service. Making a regular commitment to serve is a crucial part of the development of a Christ-like heart and life.  Our many ministries at Faith provide a springboard for involvement at any level.  Whether you want to welcome guests, serve on a missions trip, work with kids, or simply pray for someone, you can find a place to do so here.

Practice tithing  Tithing is giving a portion (10%) of our income and testifies to the reality that all we have comes from God.  It serves as an expression that all our resources, time, talents, and treasures, are at God's disposal. 

Read What the Bible Says About Tithing to learn ten reasons you should tithe and the various ways you can give at Faith.

Listen to a sermon on tithing.


Go on a short-term missions trip.


Participate in ShareFest, a city-wide service day to our community.  Volunteer at one of the many community service agencies in the Tri-Cities.

    E - Experiential Environments:  We are transformed through encounters with Jesus that mark us forever (Colossians 1:27)


    While the process of spiritual formation is life long, there are moments and places of encounter with Jesus that transform us.  Whether it is in corporate worship, on a mountain top, a majestic cathedral, an ongoing personal trial, or unexplained suffering, there are moments of encounter with the divine that defy explanation and yet mark us…and we are never the same again.

    For more information on experiential discipleship, listen to or read the sermon entitled Experiential Discipleship.


    Follow Jesus in baptism. At Faith we believe baptism is an important step of obedience for every person who has accepted Christ as his/her Savior, and that it is one of the first steps in this life-long journey of discipleship.

    Celebrate communion, also called The Lord's Supper.  It is offered once a month in our morning service.

    Complete the online spiritual gifts survey.  In the body of Christ, we each have something to contribute for the common good in doing the work of His kingdom.
     
    Attend a quarterly Awaken Worship Night for an evening of worship, baptism, and communion.

    Pray for the baptism in the Holy Spirit.  Find out more about that here.


    Attend the annual ladies retreat (Sept.) or the men's retreat (May).