SPIRITUAL VITALITY. Introduction. What is spiritual vitality and why is it important?

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1 SPIRITUAL VITALITY Introduction We know from Scripture that God wants to have a deep and abiding relationship with us. John 15 goes further in explaining that our connection to Christ is essential for our mission in the world and our fruitfulness. This is what we mean by spiritual vitality. This document is a resource to help churches reflect on the spiritual vitality of their congregations. It is designed to stimulate conversation leading to the identification of areas of strength as well as areas of growth. It is not designed as a once off activity, with churches being encouraged to consider making regular opportunities for reflection. It is understood that churches are living organisms that will change as they move through different seasons. Therefore it is important that churches regularly reflect on their spiritual life to hear where God may be inviting them into a deeper relationship with Him. This resource offers Church leadership groups a choice of three questionnaires to reflect on the spiritual vitality of their church. We offer these alternatives because we understand that one size doesn t fit all. Different churches will see spiritual vitality differently. Please use the tool that best suits your particular situation. What is spiritual vitality and why is it important? Spiritual vitality may be described as the possession of a living faith that is transforming a person s life, with the flow on effect of transforming the world around that person; it is commended throughout Scripture. Scripture teaches that faith is a living, developing, growing process that leads us to have lives that reflect our relationship with Christ. 2 Thessalonians 1: 3 We ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love all of you have for one another is increasing. 1 Timothy 4:15 Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. 2 Peter 1: 5-7 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. Scripture states that faith is an active and dynamic process with the ability to develop continuous deeper spiritual growth. This is not just seen as an individual activity but is also a corporate activity of the church. Therefore although spiritual maturity may be observed through individual lives, it is also observed through the corporate worship, community and mission of the church. The ability of a church to grow and impact their local community is founded on the spiritual maturity and vitality within the congregation (Ephesians. 4:11-16).

2 QUESTIONNAIRE 1 This small questionnaire is designed to help leadership teams reflect and consider the spiritual vitality of their congregation. You might also use these questions to survey your congregation to get a broader picture of congregation members assessment of their own spiritual vitality. On a scale of 1 to 10, how true are the following statements about your church culture: 1. Our congregation have an alive and growing faith. 2. Our congregation experiences prayer as drawing near to God. 3. Our congregation reads the Scriptures to meet with God and hear from God. 4. Our congregation regularly read the Scriptures and prays as a part of their usual routines. 5. Our congregation integrate their faith into all areas of life, not just Sundays. 6. Our church leadership makes decisions out of a deep interior life with Christ, not just pragmatics. 7. Our church leaders are determined to seek the Holy Spirit s leading for the direction and priorities for the church. 8. Our church leaders are conscious of the brokenness and the messiness of the human experience. 9. Our congregation s measure for Christian maturity includes love and compassion, faithfulness and servanthood. 10. Our leadership team meets regularly for prayer. 11. Our congregation is enthusiastic about church and reaching our broken world. 12. Our congregation serves Christ out of a deep spirituality, not just duty. 13. Our congregation experience prayer as both speaking to and hearing from God. 14. Our leadership team is regularly looking to learn something new from God. 15. Our church offers teaching and training in developing spiritual vitality. Please add up the scores for each statement. Total =

3 Score Your church is in great spiritual health. You should think about how you can support other churches in your area to develop their church health You are doing well but your church would benefit from developing those areas where you have lower scores You are doing OK but you should start planning to develop the areas of spiritual life in your congregation that were scored lower Spiritual vitality of your church life is not very strong. It may be worthwhile doing more research with the congregation about their spiritual practices and how to improve them. Below 60 Spiritual vitality of your church life needs the attention and should be a matter of priority for the long term health of the church

4 QUESTIONNAIRE 2 You may find it helpful to look at three aspects of your church s spiritual vitality: 1. Relationship with God 2. Relationships within the church community 3. The effectiveness of the church s mission or outreach The questions below can help to stimulate discussion to identify areas of growth in each of these areas. 1. Our Relationship with God: Do we make enough space for prayer? Are we noticing God s strength and power more and more in our church life? Are we living in a state of peace? Are we responsive to God s prompting? Do people s lives point more towards God?

5 Are we clearly discerning God s will for us? What is an example of our church doing the above things well? What is an example where the church has not done well in the above? What is one thing our church could do to improve this area of spiritual vitality?

6 2. Our Relationships with Each Other: Do we show love for each other in our congregation? How easy is it for us to trust each other? Are we discipling each other? Are we effective at resolving conflict? Are we living as a community? Are we sharing our resources with each other? Are we flexible in the ways we do things?

7 What is an example of our church doing the above things well? What is an example where the church has not done well in the above? What is one thing our church could do to improve this area of spiritual vitality?

8 3. Our Mission: Do we have a heart for people who have not encountered the Kingdom of God? Do we regularly share our faith with others? Do we have time in our lives for relationships with non-christians? Are we proud of the Gospel? Are we welcoming of new people in our church community? Can we identify our mission? How are we making God s love, justice and peace a reality around us?

9 What is an example of our church doing the above things well? What is an example where the church has not done well in the above? What is one thing our church could do to improve this area of spiritual vitality?

10 QUESTIONNAIRE 3: DESIGN YOUR OWN You may like to design a set of questions that could be used within a church workshop or questionnaire. The sort of questions you could consider in designing your own questionnaire could be: Do you know anyone who you would say is a spiritually alive person? If yes: - What is it about them that contributes to your opinion that they are spiritual vibrant? - What sort of things do they do? - What sorts of things do they say? - What sort of values do they have? - What sort of things do they prioritise? - What difference do they make to the people around them? If no: - How would you know if a person was spiritual vibrant? - What would they look like, how would they act? - What sorts of things would they say? - What sort of values would they have? - What sort of things would they prioritise? - What difference would they make to the people around them? What about Jesus Christ; what is it about Jesus, the things he says, does, prioritises, etc. that point to a spiritually vital life? What would that look like today in your church and community? Once you have answered those questions, project what it would look like for the whole church to be acting like that; What would the congregational gatherings be like? What sort of things would be prioritised? What would the mood of the corporate meetings be like? What difference would the church be making in the community? Now that you have a corporate picture of what a spiritual vibrant church would look like, you can devise a set of questions you could ask to give you a snap shot of the overall spiritual vitality of the church and use that as your check-up list.