Living the Adventure Ministries guides the way to a growing relationship with Jesus through mission experiences.
Over the years, I have walked with parents whose children were deemed as “failing to thrive.” They were not gaining any weight or hitting important benchmarks as they moved through the maturation process. The doctors would spend time with the parents to discuss food intake, activity, and interaction. They would then take bloodwork, and the child would be put through a battery of tests to determine what might be causing the issues.
In our spiritual life, there are times we are “failing to thrive.” The failure may be because we are not getting enough spiritual and relational nourishment or it may be there is a blockage or barrier in our mind or heart, keeping us from thriving.
In our newly formatted Mission Statement, we place an emphasis on “guides the way to a growing relationship with Jesus.” In Ephesians 4:13-14 Paul writes, “This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth.”
Our desire to see people growing in their relationship with Jesus causes us to continue evangelism leading to a new relationship with Jesus, and a ministry that finds ways to help people grow in their relationship with Jesus through intentional discipleship, active faith, and applicable questions. As we engage congregations through revivals, renewal events, and retreats, we want to provide tools to keep the transformation and growth continuing. We want The Guide to serve as a weekly tool for growth. For those who travel with us to the mission field, we want our daily experiences to provide opportunities for growth. Finally, we want our mission ministry to be a ministry of evangelism (starting the relationship with Jesus) and discipleship (growth toward maturation) in the villages and communities where we work. This means we will provide pastor trainings, layperson training, discipleship training, and evangelistic meetings.
Are you thriving in your relationship with Jesus? What tools are you using to engage in daily growth through the Means of Grace, Spiritual Disciplines, and community times of worship, prayer, and study? How is God calling you to help others grow in their relationship with Christ? As we continue to live the adventure of following Jesus, we want to continue to grow and help other people grow.
Prayer: Lord, I do not want to fail to thrive in my relationship with you. I want to thrive and help other people grow. Remove the barriers that keep me from thriving, so that I can help others to know you more. In Jesus’ name. Amen.