Read Acts 2:42-47. What does a baby need to grow? Food? Water? Perhaps what the baby needs most is a family.
When we’re babies, we learn so much of what we need to do in life from those around us. A family’s loving attention is what helps us to feel secure and confident, to be able to make sense of the new ideas and information coming at us at lightning speed and even to grow physically. A baby learns to use their emerging social skills by watching how their family interacts with them and with each other. And babies are natural mimics. They use that innate talent to copy those around them. That’s how they learn facial expressions and how to walk and so on.
Just like babies need a family to help them grow, Christians need a church family to help them grow too. The word we use for this is discipleship. Discipleship describes the journey we take from a new-born Christian to a fully mature one. We grow as a disciple by choosing a church family and devoting ourselves to them. Just like the early church we need to meet together to participate in worship. We need a smaller group to enjoy friendship and fellowship. We learn from the teachers in the church. And we learn from each other.
I see my main priority as a Salvation Army officer as helping the people in my Salvation Army corps (church) grow. My preaching, my leading worship, Bible Study, prayer and these Battle Drill daily devotionals, to name a few, are all geared towards helping you grow as a disciple of Jesus. But it needs your commitment too. Will you commit or recommit to your church family and to growing as disciples of Jesus together?
THINK IT OVER
Think about the following:
oHow could you engage with your church family today?
