What does a healthy Faith Avenue look like?
By Linda Rex, Elder
As GCI moves toward healthy church, one of the areas we seek to grow in is that of faith. We want to grow up in Christ and draw closer to God. We want to draw closer to one another and connect with our neighbors and other community members.
Markers of a healthy Faith Avenue
In a church with a healthy Faith Avenue, people get to know Jesus better. They grow to be more like him and mature in their faith. They are given opportunities to connect with others of all ages, both within and without the walls of the church. There are spaces to encounter Jesus, to learn more about him, and to grow up in him. People are encouraged to build positive and supportive relationships. We find discipleship occurs throughout the congregation, not with just a limited number of people.
Signs of unhealth
In an unhealthy church, people are disconnected from life in the body of Christ. They attend church on occasion, but they do not fully participate in the life of the congregation. Connect groups act like exclusive clubs. Rather than feeling included, safe, and enabled to make entry into the discipleship pathway of the church, people feel separated or isolated. People may attend connect groups in order to be with friends or to enjoy the activity, but not to grow in their relationship with Jesus Christ. When challenges arise or new concepts are heard, those who attend may simply leave, refuse to listen, or may even cause conflict. They are not open to the work of the Spirit. A facilitator may act more like a teacher or preacher or may seek to draw people to follow a particular teaching or person. A mentor may be someone who is controlling, enabling, or does not seek the best of others.
Re-center our ministry in Christ
The apostle Paul dealt with issues of faith in his letter to the church in Colossae. He says that the Ephesians were “knit together in love” by God (Colossians 2:2 ESV), which is a metaphor for growing into a mature unity in Christ. Although they belonged to Christ, and therefore belonged to one another, certain people in the congregation sought to disrupt the unity of the church and to lead the members astray.
Paul reminded the members in Colossae that true knowledge is only found in Jesus Christ, who is “the mystery” of God. God’s plan and salvation are wrapped up in a person, Jesus Christ, the one who is fully God and fully man (Colossians 2:3 ESV). God’s love expressed in Christ’s life, sufferings, death, resurrection, and ascension, and in the gift of his Spirit, is what binds us together with God and one another.
Celebrate our unity in the faith
Because of who Jesus is as Lord of all, the apostle Paul says we are to “walk in him.” We live our everyday lives in the truth of who we are in Christ — the beloved children of God. This is a life of faith, of trust in the finished work of Jesus Christ. It is life in face-to-face relationship with our heavenly Father in the Spirit. We are “firmly rooted” in Christ — this is the truth of who we are in him, and we live in that reality day by day.
Because of who we are in Christ, we are “built up in him”, which means we grow up in Christ. As a church body and as individuals, we begin to look more and more like Christ and not like the evil one or this world. Paul also says that we are to “be established in our faith.” Faith can mean both our subjective trust in Christ, and the objective spiritual basis of our faith: Jesus and his finished work. Finally, our life is to overflow with gratitude. We continually express our thanks and praise to God (Colossians 2:7 ESV).
Since we died with Christ and rose with Christ, we seek what is above where Christ is, not things below. We look forward in hope for when Christ “who is our life” is revealed and we will be revealed with him in glory (Colossians 3:4 ESV).
Christ, our life
Christ is our life, and the life of the body of Christ. We manifest the fruits of the Spirit to the world in which we live, sharing the gospel. We create connection, not division. We point people to Christ, thereby to the triune God, not to ourselves or others. As the body of Christ, we include others and encourage them to experience their belonging in Christ. We disciple and mentor others as we ourselves are discipled and mentored. Joined together in Christ, we grow up in Christ and manifest the love of God in Christ to the world in which we live.
- How do connect groups provide opportunities for people within the church to build relationships with those outside the walls of the church? Why is this important?
- What are some activities or practices of a connect group which will facilitate the process of spiritual development? What might hinder it?
- When the life of the church is not centered on Christ, what impact does this have on the sense of unity among believers? How does this off-centered approach affect the process of spiritual growth in those who attend?
