A little over ten years ago, over 100,000 Christians in Canada and the United States were surveyed to find out what was most catalytic to helping them grow. Do you know what the survey revealed?  

We often believe that attending a worship service and sitting in rows each week (or in this season, sitting in front of a screen) is all we need to grow to maturity in Christ, but that’s not what this survey discovered. The survey found that no matter where you are in your journey with Jesus, the two most catalytic things to help you grow are reading and studying Scripture and engaging in circles.  Scripture makes it clear that sitting in rows and participating in a worship service is essential, but if you want to grow in intimacy with Jesus, then you need to read and study Scripture consistently, sit across from other believers in a circle, and talk about life and faith together. 

Too often, I think we believe that the Christian life is a solo sport; it’s something we can do on our own–“Jesus and me, that’s all I need.” The truth is, if you want to grow, you have to be deeply committed to someone other than yourself. We need each other to grow in Christ; I need you and you need me.  Who are you deeply committed to and growing in Christ with?

It’s funny how it took a survey to reveal this truth about our need for circles and each other because it’s what Jesus modelled for us in the New Testament.  In the Gospels, Jesus models a way of living that involves being deeply committed to a group of people you are journeying through life with. In the book of Acts, we see the church following Jesus’s way of living. Yet somewhere along the way, we have lost sight of this. Too often, we see making a commitment to a group of people or even a church as optional or at best temporary.

This Sunday, as we gather together, we are going to talk about our need to engage in circles. We are going to discover that Jesus journeyed through life and sat in circles with a group of people to whom he was deeply committed, both for his benefit and to help them grow.  As we look at the life Jesus models for us, we are going to explore why we need to be deeply committed to each other and what happens when we are committed only to ourselves. I hope you’ll join us this weekend and discover the life that Jesus envisions, a life marked by being deeply committed to each other. 

See you Sunday,

Pastor Kirk