Growing

Actively, willingly practicing their faith and experiencing inward heart change

“I am now working on my relationship with Jesus, getting to know him better.”

People in the Growing stage can look back on their life — or at their current relationship with God — and know that growth has taken place, even if they cannot point to one moment when it started. They see their faith as personal and their desire for a closer relationship with God may share priority with things like improved mental health and personal growth.

Three variants of the Growing stage also presented themselves in the data: Growing-Intentional, Growing-Struggling, and Growing-Nurtured. There are a few distinctives to each of these sub-variants that you may find referenced in the insights below.

What people in Growing say

“I’ve always believed, because that is how I grew up. As I got older I was able to identify God’s presence in my life.”

“The biggest moment was the time when I was facing actual difficulty in real life. I had learnt to have faith in God ‘by theory,’ but to actually act it out I had to experience it personally. I must say the process was hard.”

“My relationship with Jesus is very personal to me. Not something that I outwardly share unless asked about, but I know that he is with me always. More recently I have felt closer to him than I have in a very long time, but I think this is because I need guidance in my life.”

“I will set goals, and after that I will pray and ask for guidance. I believe that even if I plan it perfectly, God might plan something else for me.”

“I feel that over the last few years I have had more desire and need for prayer, especially in stressful situations. I wouldn’t say I have the closest relationship and understanding, but I do feel there is a connection.”

“For the most part, I do have everything I need [to grow]. But it would be nice to find more like-minded people who I can share life experiences with and whom I can learn from.”

At-a-glance

Faith is very personal
Might not attend church regularly
Interested in self-improvement and caring for others
Not currently doing evangelism or discipleship

Insights & attributes

Church Involvement

Growing people are most likely to go to church with the motivation to worship God — if they go to church at all. They are more likely to be formerly in community with other Christians than they are to be currently in community.

Pursuing Jesus

Growing people have been trying to improve their relationship with Jesus — even if they would currently describe it as distant.

View on Evangelism

Receptive to some types of relational evangelism, like building a friendship intentionally or having an open conversation. They are almost universally opposed to direct evangelism — especially door-to-door or preaching in public.

Faith is Personal

Growing people have a tendency toward practicing their faith alone and sometimes with other Christians, and the Nurtured subgroup was far less likely to practice their faith outside their family.

Prayer vs. Bible-reading

Growing people are not all reading the Bible, but they are praying on their own.

Faith Community

Growing people are more likely to know Professing Christians than they are to know other Christians who are seeking to grow in their faith.

Where and why people move

Negative Influence

People in the Growing stage can be negatively impacted by the wrong friends or by the failures of their church leaders. They can also lose interest in their faith. This can cause them to move back toward Professing or even Uninterested.

Trials and Hardships

Trials can affect people in the Growing stage more deeply than those in the Grounded stage. This is especially true of the Struggling subgroup and can cause movement prompted by doubt, pain or stepping back from community.

Move toward Grounded

Growing is typically not an end stage. Most people tend to move toward Grounded by being involved in Christian community or by having their faith become stronger through trials.

Move toward Engaged

Some people in the Growing stage move directly to the Engaged stage by trying evangelism, or less commonly, discipleship. This is a more common movement than Growing to Grounded.

People in this stage have a growing relationship with God - thank God for them!
This stage is also one of potentially hard spiritual warfare and a time of many new milestones and forks in the road. Pray that they would continue to grow to maturity and have a resilient faith, trusting in the character and goodness of God even when they may not understand their circumstances.
People in this stage may be exploring the Holy Spirit’s role in their faith. Pray that they grow in their understanding of the Spirit-filled life, with an increasing sensitivity in all areas of their life to follow his leading and rely on his power.
Pray that people in this stage will grow in their ability to experience God’s grace when they mess up and extend forgiveness and grace with others.
People in this stage often hold their faith personally and internally. Pray that God would bring trustworthy and safe community into their life to help them move closer to God and share his love with others.

Consider ways you can give them a solid foundation in the character of God and the basics of the faith so that they have deep roots to weather the storms of life.
Help them understand the Spirit-filled life and the importance of relying on God in all that they do.
Think about how you could spend time talking about their secure identity in Christ that is not dependent on their works. Help them grow in their understanding of God’s great love for them, which will compel them to follow him.
Give them the right challenge at the right time. We typically have a lot of strategies for this group, the question is not what to do next, but rather what is effective in truly helping them.
Grace and truth given in love over time are both essential for spiritual growth. How can you help this person accept loving grace and truth and extend loving grace and truth to others?
Finding solid community at this stage is key and can also be a challenge. Consider how you could help a person in this stage get connected to a healthy community of believers so that they can experience the growth and encouragement that happens when we walk with God in community instead of just on our own. Remember that some people in Growing have had negative experiences with church or community in their past.

People in Growing have great potential - no one knows the limits of their growth.
Sometimes accelerated growth in the beginning can come from wrong motives (e.g., people-pleasing or legalism). So it may be better for them to “slow down.” Consider ways to show how the Christian life is a marathon and not a sprint.
Many people in Growing have moved through different experiences of faith and life struggles. Do not respond defensively when someone in this stage shares their doubts, questions or painful church experiences. Rather, listen empathetically.
Even when you have answers that address their questions and doubts, do not rush them as they work through what they’re experiencing. Offer answers if they want them, reassure them of truth and the trustworthiness of Jesus, but be patient as they process their thoughts and feelings.
Remember that faith is very personal to many of those in the Growing stage. They may be unfamiliar with practicing their faith with other people or outside of their family. Don’t assume that someone who seems to be growing in their faith is already comfortable jumping into community groups and activities.

Experiments, Tactics & Studies

Solutions and resources that have been created or used to understand better or reach this audience.
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