The Growth Pathway
at Highland Park Pres

We want to see every person at Highland Park Pres growing as a transformed follower of Jesus. It’s the reason we exist as a church.

What is the Growth Pathway?

Spiritual growth is a journey not a destination. It’s not about mastering a set of information or just completing a spiritual checklist. It’s about growing in our love of God and our love of others. This is a journey that we are on together to be more like Jesus as individuals and as a church.

The Growth Pathway is a way to describe where you are right now in your journey with Jesus (and it’s ok to be anywhere on the Pathway!) and to identify what might be a next step you can take to grow.

 

The Four Stages

There are four stages along the Growth Pathway, defined by how one would describe their own spiritual growth and current relationship with Jesus.

  • Exploring Jesus. People in this stage might say: “I'm still exploring who Jesus is and what it means to trust in him.”
  • Following Jesus. People in this stage might say: “I believe in Jesus and am working on what it means to follow him.”
  • Maturing in Jesus. People in this stage might say: “I feel close to Jesus and depend on him for guidance”
  • Surrendering to Jesus. People in this stage might say: “My relationship with Jesus is the most important relationship in my life. It shapes everything I do.”

Which of the above quotes do you most identify with?

 

The Catalysts

We’ve learned that there are a few specific catalysts that have been proven to help move individuals along in their growth journey.

  • Beliefs Help Us Move from Exploring Jesus to Following Jesus. Early spiritual growth is about building trust in the person of Jesus. Building a firm foundation of core Christian beliefs is essential to the life of a disciple of Jesus.
  • Personal Spiritual Practices Help Us Move from Following Jesus to Maturing in Jesus. We grow further when we move from head knowledge about Jesus to heart knowledge of Jesus. This catalyst is particularly significant in early stages of the Growth Pathway, but it also continues to shape and refine us no matter where we are. Key personal spiritual practices include: reflection on scripture, prayer, and giving money to Jesus (tithing).
  • Faith-in-Action Helps Us Move from Maturing in Jesus to Surrendering to Jesus. Putting Jesus as number one is about surrendering everything to God and dedicating significant time and energy to serve His purposes. The key elements of faith-in-action are: giving every area of your life to Jesus, sharing Jesus with others, serving those in need, and helping others grow with Jesus.

We have benefited greatly from the Reveal survey and related books and research for these catalysts and as we’ve developed the Growth Pathway.

 

So what's next?

It is our church’s job to provide you opportunities to ignite your spiritual growth. For those of you that feel stalled in your faith, we’d love to come alongside you to help. For those of you that feel like you’ve gotten complacent, we’re here to encourage you to take steps of faith. We are in this journey together and we’re excited for how we will experience more of Jesus together.

A great place to start is by taking one of our short-term Growth Courses. They are designed to help you, wherever you are in your spiritual journey, take steps toward Jesus in a life-transforming way.

We also have some specific next steps we’ve selected depending where you are on the Growth Pathway too:

Or if you need help in determining where you are on the Growth Pathway, we have a short spiritual life survey that will help guide you and then point you to some specific next steps for each Growth Pathway stage.

Questions About The Growth Pathway?

We affirm that disciples of Jesus are handmade, not mass produced. If you’d like a conversation with one of our pastors, we’d love to help you find the right next step for you in your journey with Jesus.