The Place of Faith in Spiritual Maturity and It’s Impact on Church Growth
CHAPTER ONE
Objective of the study
The objectives of the study are;
- To ascertain the factors that hinder continual spiritual growth
- To find out the role of relationships in the church that contributes to spiritual growth
- To find out the place of faith in spiritual maturity
- To find out the important of spiritual maturity in church growth
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
SPIRITUAL MATURITY
When thinking about the Christian life, the Bible speaks of spiritual maturity in a similar way. For example, Paul describes the church in Corinth as “infants in Christ,” who could not be given “solid food” because “[they were] not able to receive it.” In his book Stages of Faith: The Psychology of Human Development and the Quest for Meaning, James Fowler notes that “we all begin the pilgrimage of faith as infants. However, we are not intended to remain “infants in Christ” or even children for that matter. In the letter to the Ephesians, Paul writes, “As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ.” Clearly, Paul’s desire is for the Church to have a grown up or mature faith.
When speaking of spiritual maturity, Paul often uses the word teleios (which can be translated as “mature,” “perfect,” or “complete”). In Ephesians 4:13, Paul longs for, “all [to] attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature person, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.” However, in the letter to the Ephesians, spiritual maturity is not just an individual goal but the goal for the entire body of Christ. Stephen Rankin, in his book Aiming at Maturity: The Goal of the Christian Life, defines “a spiritually mature Christian [as] one whose whole character dispositions, words, and actions emulates the character of Jesus Christ himself.” In Ephesians 5:1-2, Paul calls on the church in Ephesus to “be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved [us] and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.” Spiritual maturity is a goal that all Christians should be striving after as they seek to imitate God and live out Christ’s love.
Many people claim to be Christians, but there is a difference between being a fan of Jesus and a follower of Jesus.
Our spiritual maturity can define what side of the fence we are on. To be a follower of Jesus is to deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow him. “Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: ‘Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me’” (Mark 8:34).
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research design
The researcher used descriptive research survey design in building up this project work the choice of this research design was considered appropriate because of its advantages of identifying attributes of a large population from a group of individuals. The design was suitable for the study as the study sought to examine the Place of Faith in Spiritual Maturity and it’s impact on Church Growth.
Sources of data collection
Data were collected from two main sources namely:
- Primary source and
- Secondary source
Primary source:
These are materials of statistical investigation which were collected by the research for a particular purpose. They can be obtained through a survey, observation questionnaire or as experiment; the researcher has adopted the questionnaire method for this study.
Secondary source:
These are data from textbook Journal handset etc. they arise as byproducts of the same other purposes. Example administration, various other unpublished works and write ups were also used.
Population of the study
Population of a study is a group of persons or aggregate items, things the researcher is interested in gathering information relevant to the Place of Faith in Spiritual Maturity and it’s impact on Church Growth. Two hundred (200) members of Mountain of Fire Ministry in Lagos were selected randomly by the researcher as the population of the study.
CHAPTER FOUR
ANALYSIS AND PRESENTATION OF DATA
One hundred and sixty (160) questionnaires were distributed and one hundred and forty (133) were returned. This figure was the sample size. Out of the one hundred and thirty-three, only one hundred and twenty (120) were properly responded to. As a result, the researcher used one hundred and twenty for this study when more than 50% of the respondents agree to the questions, the answer is taken as valid for the purpose of this study. In analyzing the data, the approach that will be adopted is to find out the percentage and positive and negative answers to the question posed.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
Introduction
It is important to ascertain that the objective of this study was to ascertain the Place of Faith in Spiritual Maturity and it’s impact on Church Growth
In the preceding chapter, the relevant data collected for this study were presented, critically analyzed and appropriate interpretation given. In this chapter, certain recommendations made which in the opinion of the researcher will be of benefits in addressing the challenges of the Place of Faith in Spiritual Maturity and it’s impact on Church Growth
Summary
This study was on the Place of Faith in Spiritual Maturity and it’s impact on Church Growth. Using Mountain of Fire as a case study. Four objectives were raised which included: To ascertain the factors that hinder continual spiritual growth, to find out the role of relationships in the church that contributes to spiritual growth, to find out the place of faith in spiritual maturity and to find out the important of spiritual maturity in church growth. The researcher used questionnaires as the instrument for the data collection. Descriptive Survey research design was adopted for this study. A total of 133 respondents made up of pastors, elders, deacons and members were used for the study. The data collected were presented in tables and analyzed using simple percentages and frequencies
Conclusion
The result of the study implied that most of the respondents are mature spiritually but should watch some elements of exaggeration in their spirituality so that they do not overate themselves as this does not reflect spiritual maturity.
Recommendation
The study recommends that there is need for the churches to enhance their teaching ministries. This is because the teaching ministries were found to have a significant impact on the members’ spiritual transformation. Given that Christian education is education in its own right with spiritual transformation as the learning outcome, mechanisms for assessing spiritual transformation need to be implemented
References
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- Brown, D.R., Johnson, E.P. & Parish, M.S. (2007). Spirituality Assessments: Limitations and Recommendations. http\\counsellingoutfitters/vistasvista07/Brownhtm.
- Downs, P. G. (1994). Teaching for Spiritual Growth: Introduction to Christian Education. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House.
- Eldridge, D. (1995). The Teaching Ministry of the Church: Integrating Biblical Truth with Contemporary Application. Nashville, Tennessee: Broadman and Halman publishers.
- Ford, L. (1991). A Curriculum Design Manual for Theological Education: A Learning Outcomes Focus. Nashville: Broadman press.
- Geiger, E., Kelly, M., & Philip, N. (2011). Lifeway research. http/www.lifeway.discipleples.
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- Hall, T.W., Reise, S.P., & Haviland, M. G. (2007). An Item Response Theory Analysis of the Spiritual Assessment Inventory. The International Journal for the psychology of Religion. 17(2):157-178. DOI: 10. 1080//10508610701244197.
