Whether you’re a mature Christian or a new believer, these steps to spiritual growth will help revive the Holy Spirit. These tips worked for me, and they just might work for you.

Spiritual growth happens for different people in different ways. For instance, I recently wrote an article about burning incense in prayer and meditation. Incense isn’t a step in my spiritual growth, but it is for others.

The key to spiritual growth is to find what works for you. And the way to find what works for you is to learn what works for others! These tips for spiritual growth in Christ changed my life, and I hope they give you something to think about…

My Steps Towards Spiritual Growth

I don’t believe there are only six steps to spiritual growth, nor do I believe everyone follows the same path. This is a journey, and the steps are different for everyone.

Went to a family camp through my church. Bruce and I have been attending Capilano Christian Community Church in North Vancouver for two years. They organize an annual “cowboy camp” for families every spring, and Bruce and I went for the first time. The funny thing is that the camp itself wasn’t a step to spiritual growth … but I got a tip that changed my spiritual life.

Listened to Timothy Keller’s sermons. I asked one of the speakers at the family camp for suggestions on Christian podcasts or preacher sermons to listen to online. He said he really likes listening to Timothy Keller’s sermons. Timothy is the founding pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City, and his sermons are saturated in the Holy Spirit. One of the most important steps to spiritual growth in Christ is to surround yourself with influences dipped in God’s Spirit.

Timothy Keller’s most recent book is Encounters with Jesus: Unexpected Answers to Life’s Biggest Questions.

Left my old church. Recently, Capilano Christian Community moved to Mulgrave School in West Vancouver, BC. The church used to meet at a school in North Vancouver, and I had no problem with it. But I feel very uncomfortable in this new setting – Mulgrave is a wealthy private school in the hills of West Van, is surrounded by private gated communities that you can’t walk through, and isn’t on a bus route. Even when the church met in a more accessible location, I never cared if I missed the opening worship service. I often left early, to get my dogs out of my car. I realized I needed to find a new church – and that was a significant step to spiritual growth in Christ.

Started attending Lynn Valley Full Gospel Church. I fell in love with the worship and sermons at “Valley Church” the first time I attended. It’s a very dynamic, spiritual, open-hearted church with lots of worship. I couldn’t explain to my Bruce why I felt so comfortable and spiritually refreshed at Valley Church, until I realized that I felt connected to the God in a whole new way. It was (and is) the Holy Spirit’s presence and anointing – that’s probably the most significant step to spiritual growth in Christ.

Trying to be more attentive to the Holy Spirit. The worship bands at other churches in North Vancouver were excellent – and so were the sermons, people, and general feel. But I really believe the Holy Spirit is at Valley Church in a very different, real way. I don’t want to be late when I go to that church, and I don’t want to leave early. This turned out to be a huge step to spiritual growth in Christ, and I didn’t even know I was taking it!

If you’re looking for steps to spiritual growth for you and your partner, read Christian Prayers for Couples – 5 Ways to Approach God Together.

Here’s a specific step you can take to grow spiritually:

When searching for spiritual growth in Christ on Google, I found a wonderful post and resource on Debra’s blog. She says,

“In order to assess where you and I are on the growth process, to make sure that we aren’t in a complacent place, I found a resource from LifeWay that will be helpful. It’s a 12 page discipleship resource with charts to prayerfully reflect upon where you are and where you’re going. Check it out – Spiritual Growth Assessment Process. I guarantee you that if you (and I) are willing to spend some intentional time on the assessment process and make plans for our next steps, there will be no complacency taking over our growth.” – from The Journey is an Adventure; I am an Alien.

The Spiritual Growth Assessment Process lists six Spiritual Disciplines, and encourages you to fill out a Discipleship Wheel. It includes a Spiritual Growth Observation Action Plan, which will help you grow in Christ. It also has a Recommended Actions for Spiritual Growth Guide, which contains specific steps that are practical and applicable.

What step will you take first? How is your spiritual walk? Are you steadily climbing, or faltering? As I wrote this article on spiritual growth, I realized how important it is for us to take action. In her blog post, Debra mentioned how complacency kills spiritual growth. God will bless you and meet you wherever you are at…but you have to take action.

Two quotes on spiritual growth:

“Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men, but as wise.” – Ephesians 5:15.
“Religion is for people who are scared to go to hell. Spirituality is for people who have already been there.” ~ Bonnie Raitt.

spiritual growth