The Bible tells us to “grow up.” It tells us maturity is the goal of the Christian life. It tells us we have a part to play in the “building up” and “growth of the body”. Most Christians agree. But, what does maturity look like? How do we “grow up”?

Writing to a young church in Ephesus, the Apostle Paul wrote, “…We are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.” (Ephesians 4:14-16 (NASB95))

Community Bible Church desires to be this kind of “body”. Not childish, but mature. This is why we have labeled spiritual growth as one of our core values. This is how our elder board has communicated this value: “We value spiritual growth. Numerical growth is not necessarily a sign of a successful church. Spiritual growth is. The Bible teaches that maturity is the goal of ministry (Colossians 1:28,29; Hebrews 5:12-14; Ephesians 4:11-16). Therefore, we desire to be a church that encourages Christians to grow in Christlikeness—the very definition of maturity.” (Luke 6:40; Ephesians 5:1, 2, 22-25; Philippians 2:5-8)

Our 2008 Fall Vision Weekend on November 1-2 will be devoted to this important topic. Won’t you join us? The Sunday schedule on November 2 will be normal, but we will focus our service on spiritual growth as a finale to the Fall Vision Weekend. Here is the schedule for Saturday, November 1:

• 9a-12p . . . Spiritual growth workshops with the CBC elders. This will be both theological as well as practical. We’ll define what we believe the Bible emphasizes about spiritual growth and then we’ll tell you about opportunities for you to move a little further down the road. We’ll begin and end with singing praises.
• 12p-2p . . . Pot-luck meal and fellowship time (yes, “fellowship” is a code word for fun together).
• 2p-4p . . . Stories of spiritual growth. This will be a highlight. We will hear some very special stories from those who have come a long way. Whether you consider yourself immature or all “grown up” you will be encouraged and challenged by this session.

So, come at 9 a.m. and stay. No long breaks in the middle this year. We’ll finish up earlier than in the past so you can participate in a full day of spiritual growth training and still have the evening open for family or friends.

No charge. Guests are more than welcome, but please don’t worry about bringing anything for the pot-luck meal except your family and/or friends. Let us serve you an excellent, home-cooked lunch. In other words, be our guest.

Contact us if you have any questions.