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As a church, we have adopted a strategy for spiritual growth that involves five elements: fellowship, discipleship, ministry, missions, and worship. What I want to provide you in this article is a set of questions and some guidelines for how we will implement our spiritual growth strategy together.

First, a series of questions:
1. How would you describe your relationship with God in Jesus Christ? Are you a Christian? A Christ-follower? A disciple of Jesus?

2. What are your relationships with other Christians like? Are you an active member of a local church?

3. In what ways do you attempt to “grow in the grace and knowledge” of Jesus Christ? In what ways do you pursue the grace of God? Are you a part of a small group of Christians who encourage one another’s spiritual growth?

4. What are your spiritual gifts and how do you use them to serve others?

5. How do you share the love of God in Christ with others in both word and deed?

6. How frequently do you worship God with other believers?

These questions are important to ask ourselves at any time, but for many, the new year represents a time when we want to hit the reset button on our lives. This list of questions is not exhaustive, but they can serve as a foundation for asking the most important question of all: How does God want to grow me this year?

Maybe you are not a Christian, so the next step for you is to ask for forgiveness and give your life completely to Jesus. Perhaps you have never been baptized and joined a church; we would love welcome you into the Ocoee Oaks family.

Maybe your attendance at church is somewhat sporadic so that it leaves you with no sense of connection with other people at the church. So, maybe, that means more regular attendance and participation in other church activities.

Perhaps, you have no idea what you need to do to grow spiritually; we can help you with that. Maybe, you need the support of other Christians (since we all do). Your next step is to join a Life Group.

Maybe you have developed some “holy habits” that are helping you grow spiritually, but you have not yet begun to serve others. Your next step is to discover, develop, and deploy your spiritual gifts.

You’ve probably heard of the great commission that Jesus gave His followers to “go, baptize, and make disciples,” but you’re not sure how to follow through on that. One thing that is absolutely true is that only disciples can make disciples.

At the center of all we do at Ocoee Oaks is worship. Worship is not something that we show up for once a week that happens to us. Worship is not passive observation of what happens on the stage on Sunday mornings. Worship is not something that happens to us. In worship we praise God for who He is and thank Him for all He has done. Worship is weekday acts of obedience. Worship flows out of the life of a disciple like so many springs from the ground in Florida. Ultimately, worship is placing God at the center of all we do corporately and individually. So, are you living a life of worship?

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