Goals
​for Maturing in Faith for a Lifetime

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Read Chapter Two
"Goals for Maturing in Faith
​for a Lifetime" for the complete presentation. 

What is your vision of maturing in faith? 
What are your church's vision & goals for maturing in faith & discipleship?  
What is your church trying to accomplish in the lives of people at each stage of life from childhood through older adulthood. 

​The first element of lifelong faith formation is foundational to all the others: a vision of lifelong maturing in Christian faith expressed in ten goals. Each of the ten goals incorporates knowing and understanding more fully the Christian faith (informing), developing and deepening a relationship with Jesus Christ and the Christian community (forming), and living the Christian faith in every aspect of our lives (transforming).

1. To develop and sustain a personal relationship and commitment to Jesus Christ.
2. To live as a disciple of Jesus Christ and make the Christian faith a way of life.
3. To read and study the Bible and apply its message and meaning to liv ing as a Christian today.
4. To learn the Christian story and the foundational teachings of one’s particular faith tradition and integrate its meaning into one’s life.
5. To worship God with the community weekly, in ritual celebrations, and through the seasons of the church year.
6. To pray, together and alone, and seek spiritual growth through spiritual practices and disciplines.
7. To live with moral integrity guided by Christian ethics and apply Christian moral values to decision-making.
8. To live the Christian mission in the world by serving those in need, caring for God’s creation, and acting and advocating for justice and peace—locally and globally.
9. To be actively engaged in the life, ministries, and activities of the Christian community.
10. To practice faith in Jesus Christ by using one’s gifts and talents within the Christian community and in the world.

The ten goals are a framework for designing developmentally appropriate experiences, programs, activities, and resources for each stage of life: children, adolescents, young adults (20s–30s), midlife adults (40s–50s), mature adults (60s–70s), and older adults (80+). The goals provide a seamless process of fostering faith growth from birth through older adulthood because everyone shares a common vision of maturing in faith. This is a huge shift in emphasis from the current church-centric focus on providing curriculum, courses, classes, programs, and activities, to a person-centered approach to faith formation with all ages, developed around a lifelong vision of maturing in faith.
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Application: Envisioning Maturing in Faith through the Seasons of Life

Use the process outlined in Chapter Two of the book to develop a vision of maturing in faith for your church. Download the article below with the process so that you can use it with your team. 

Envisioning Lifelong Maturing in Faith.pdf
File Size:	258 kb
File Type:	pdf

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Watch a Video Introduction
Maturing in Christian Faith & Discipleship

Maturing in Christian Faith & Discipleship from Lifelong Faith on Vimeo.

PowerPoint Presentation

maturing_in_christian_faith___discipleship.pdf
File Size:	6216 kb
File Type:	pdf

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