Activity no guide to growth

How are people expected to grow as Christians? For most churches, members are encouraged to attend Sunday meetings and be part of a small group. That’s the main game. Turn up regularly on Sunday and Wednesday night and you’ll grow. We might also talk about the place of giving, serving, and witnessing. The more active someone is at church the more they’ll grow, right? If we get someone regularly to church and small group we should take that as a win, right?

Wrong. The National Church Life Survey data shows no correlation between being part of a small group and feelings of spiritual growth. These finding match that of Willow Creek Association Reveal study http://www.revealnow.com/ which showed that church activity is not a blueprint for spiritual growth.

The NCLS data showed a strong correlation between personal bible reading and prayer and spiritual growth. Humanly speaking the thing that makes the biggest difference to spiritual growth is pretty simple. Setting aside a regular time each day to read and think about God’s word, and to spend time in prayer, seems to be the power-house of spiritual life and growth.

So if we want to see spiritual growth in our churches we should really encourage personal quiet times. There are 95 days left in 2011. How could you help raise the number of people committed to regular quiet times in 2012? Here are some ideas.... To read more, click here.

Related article: REVEAL Reveals

Do these findings mean that we should disband our small group ministry? No. But they do mean that we should do what we can to help folks to devote more time to reading and studying the Bible and to prayer. As Jesus pointed to the attention of the disciples, the measure of an individual's spiritual growth is not his subjective feelings but the "fruit" that he bears. Spiritual growth has many dimensions. The key is not to neglect any of the spiritual disciplines. Participation in a small group has a place as does Bible reading and study and prayer. What this research shows is that we do not grow spiritually simply by going to a Sunday worship gathering and a small group meeting. Spiritual growth requires learning Biblical principles and truths and living them. One way that we live them is as a part of a small group.