What does spiritual health and maturity look like? How do I gauge where I’m at and where I need to grow?
When I think of discipleship — a life of following Jesus — I see it broken down into four basic areas: Community — the web of my relationships with others. Worship — my relationship with God. Life — myself, body and soul. Mission — my engagement with the world, including my work, service, and faith-sharing.
Dividing life into four chunks like that looks pretty simple and formulaic, but it’s not. Those same four pieces — community, worship, life, mission — look a little different for each of us, since God made us similarly but with important differences.
The purpose of this survey is for you to share it with a friend, mentor, pastor, spiritual director, or other “spiritual trainer” to help you find out what it would look like to be fully engaged in each of the four areas of this life of meeting and following Jesus. So, you might want to print it out or copy the text from it so that you can mark it up and share it. It is also available for church leaders to use and tailor for their congregations.
Real community — This doesn’t evaluate your community, but your experience of community.
1. What is your current experience of community? (circle all that apply)
- My community is at work.
- My community is at school.
- My church is my community.
- I have lots of close friends and don’t need any more.
- I have few friends either inside or outside of my church.
- I have been let down by too many people (especially church people) to trust church as a place for real community.
- I don’t know if I really know what real community is or if I’ve ever experienced it.
- There has got to be more to community than I’ve experienced and I want it!
- Other:
Note: Family is intentionally not on this list, since many use family as an excuse to hide from community.
2. Describe what real community would look like for you:
3. When in your life have you experienced real community? What made it that way?
4. Which aspects of church community life do you engage in? (circle all that apply)
- Sunday worship
- Small groups
- Committee work
- Mission work
- Informal gatherings of people from church
- Facebook, e-mail, phone, text, or other forms of communication throughout the week
- Other:
5. What would draw you in and deepen your experience of community?
Real worship — This doesn’t evaluate your church’s worship services, but your own worship of God.
6. I could get more out of my pastor’s sermons if: (circle all that apply)
- I had a worksheet to fill in during the sermon.
- I could ask questions during the sermon.
- I used a study guide after the sermon.
- I could read the Bible passage before the sermon.
- I took notes.
- Other:
7. I feel most reverent in worship when …
8. My passion for God is increased in worship when …
9. I attend worship services: (circle all that apply)
- Every Sunday that I’m able to.
- When I’m in town.
- On special occasions.
- When I feel like it.
- When I have a job to do at church.
10. If I had a magic wand and could change anything about myself, these are the following changes that would make worship deeper for me:
11. The purpose of worship is:
Real life — This doesn’t evaluate your church’s programs, but the depth of your life before God.
12. Jesus said that he came that we might have life and have it to the full. How full (in a good way!) is your life?
(Empty) 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 (Full)
13. Which of the following spiritual disciplines do you engage in
- Prayer Daily Occasionally Never
- Bible reading Daily Occasionally Never
- Spiritual reading Daily Occasionally Never
- Journaling Daily Occasionally Never
- Confession Daily Occasionally Never
- Small group Weekly Occasionally Never
- Sunday school Weekly Occasionally Never
- Sabbath-keeping Weekly Occasionally Never
- Fasting Regularly Occasionally Never
- Retreats Regularly Occasionally Never
- Tithing Weekly/Monthly Occasionally Never
- Meeting with a mentor Regularly Occasionally Never
Anything else you do on a regular basis:
14. Which of the disciplines above would fit well into your life?
15. How close to God do you feel?
(Far) 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 (Close)
16. I am closer to God now than I was six months ago: True False
Why or why not?
17. What am I currently not doing that, if I were doing it, would help me open myself up more to God’s work of grace in my life?
18. What am I currently doing that, if I eliminated it, would help me open myself up more to God’s work of grace in my life?
19. The best thing about my prayer life is …
20. Where my prayer life could use the most improvement is …
Real mission — This doesn’t evaluate your church’s mission opportunities, but your own call to mission.
21. The mission of the church is:
22. I prefer (choose one answer per line):
- Making financial donations OR Volunteering time OR Both
- Local mission OR Global mission OR Both
- Service OR Evangelism OR Both
- Working on the front line OR Helping behind the scenes OR Both
- Focusing on one person OR Helping lots of people OR Both
- Short-term projects OR Long-term relationships OR Both
23. I am a “missionary” (i.e. someone who participates in what God is doing in the world) in my occupation (job, school, etc.) because I …
24. Beyond my occupation, I believe God has called me into mission by doing …
Overall evaluation
25. How much time each week do you spend in each of the four areas:
- Community
- Worship
- Life
- Mission
26. What would be an ideal amount of time, considering your other commitments?
- Community
- Worship
- Life
- Mission
27. Knowing that this is a long-term process, not an overnight program, what areas would you like to work on improving and enhancing first?