This week we’ve discussed the value of community in helping us to grow in spiritual maturity. Being accountable to one another helps encourage us and guard our hearts against sinful behaviors. Below are a few questions to challenge us to think about ways we can invite more accountability in our lives.
Accountability Challenge
Get Plugged into a Local Church
- Are you currently attending a church?
- If not, what are your reasons for not attending?
- Do any of those reasons include being hurt by people in the church?
- Hurtful experiences inflicted from those in the church can crush our spirits.
- What would it take for you to get involved in a local church again?
- If you do have a church home, how involved are you? In what ways could you build deeper connection?
Accountability Partners
- Who are the people who help you grow? Who lovingly corrects you? Who are your biggest spiritual cheerleaders?
- If you don’t have anyone, reach out to your local church pastor or someone in leadership to help you find someone.
- Get involved in a small group at church.
- What other ways can you invite accountability into your life?
Service to Others
- Who are the people you disciple or serve? Who do you lovingly correct? Whose cheerleader are you?
- If you don’t have anyone, look for ways to get involved in your local church. Is there a mentoring or discipleship program that facilitates one-on-one relationships?
- Is there a small group you can lead?
- What other ways can you think of to be involved in helping others grow spiritually?
Watch Week Four
Build Community
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Comments (11)
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We started looking for a new Church home several years ago…like 5. We were also dealing with my husband’s elderly parents, one was in a nursing home and the other was battling cancer. We lived 4 hours away, and my husband worked 6 days a week, so we get up on Sunday morning and drive to them. It made going to Church regularly very difficult, especially as my mother in law was not attending due to her suppressed immune system. We lost both my inlaws in December 2019 and January 2020. After burying my mother in law we decided to re-visit our old church as well as some of the others we had visited, and then, well Covid. So we’ve been attending church all over the country virtually. We really need a home church, and as the states begins to open, we’re beginning to look at attending in person and finding a new church home. Whew, that’s a long story. I do have virtual Bible studies I attend as well as one I am the leader. I am having intentional conversations with friends and my husband. And I’m having intentional friendships as well as being in a disciple situation. I am gaining accountability and giving accountability more and more. I am not a new Christian, I have known God for decades, however I am just beginning to pursue a real relationship and growth in that relationship with our Lord. So I’m considering myself a new kindergartner. Thank you for reading.
Thank you for sharing! I too have been looking for a new church for years and between Regular weekend travel with family, moving to a new smaller town, and COVID it’s stalled. COVID has allowed me to attend more regularly being that I can stream services. It’s been a blessing really. But I’m ready to find a home church and become involved in community.
Finding that great home church seems to be a challenge for many of us these days. It’s comforting to know I’m not alone, but scary to know I’m not alone at the same time.
We had been hurt in a local church because of a speaker who came in and at the last minute of his talk he slipped in a protransgender comment!!? much to the pastors shock! He had to deal with the aftermath of this for 2 years! We also were ones totally shocked by the comment. But after talking to the pastor about it years later we feel better. Things can get really messy at times with the enemy seeking to destroy so much even with this covid stuff. Seeing Christians with so little faith in their amazing almighty GOD! Being filled with fear for nothing. There’s been much worse in the past. Sad to see people still afraid even after the CDC has posted there’s no more covid.
We need to ban together as Jesus prayed in John 17 :20 for us to have unity not division. We need to be part of a church and unite with other Christians so we can encourage one another all the more as we see the day approaching! Small groups are excellent! ?
We are attending church online right now due to Covid, we are all high risk. We started attending a new church in January, and then Covid hit. We hadn’t really had time to meet people, join any groups or get involved. I’ve since joined a couple of women’s groups online, and we started a couples group this past Sunday. I’m excited about forming some new friendships, and maybe finding an accountability partner.
We sound like we’re so parallel to each other. I’m hoping to visit a Church that may work for us this weekend. I do have a FB group of women and we IF:table together, and just started the Jennie Allen Get Out of Your Head study together. That helps. But I know my husband needs something for him. He’s a Christian, but a men’s group would really help.
Reaching out as you are doing is so wonderful and encouraging
Thank You
It sounds like many of us are in a similar place regarding a local church meeting virtually and wanting more connection. It’s relatively easy for me to "plug & play" almost anywhere. While my husband never meets a stranger – he can talk to almost anyone about almost anything, he isn’t getting spiritual nourishment by meeting other Christian men. We love our pastor’s sermons, however, there are many cliques at church which can sometimes be very opinionated. We started trying other churches before COVID hit and listen to our pastor virtually. My husband and I are in a higher risk group because of our age and my husband has even more risk because he has heart disease and a pace maker. While he has lost about 20 pounds because we are eating the vast majority of our meals at home, he still needs to lose another 20 pounds. Our church buildings and grounds chairman calls him when help is needed but there isn’t an ongoing relationship between the two of them. I am usually the go-fer/assistant, although he has sometimes been able to call another man to help him. It would be great to have a group of Christians that we could gather together as a small group for more intimate community than just Sunday school. I am thankful to have all of you as my accountability partners for this study. May God bless you as we continue this journey of becoming more like Jesus and may the fruit of the Holy Spirit be exhibited as Christians boldly profess Christ and unity versus division.
Are you currently attending a church? Yes and no – I’m not physically attending now, and I haven’t even been watching the videos
If not, what are your reasons for not attending? COVID and letting other things get in the way of watching the videos
Do any of those reasons include being hurt by people in the church? No
What would it take for you to get involved in a local church again? Intentionality and COVID eradication
If you do have a church home, how involved are you? In what ways could you build deeper connection? In a previous season, I volunteered with the preschoolers or on guest services. Now, I’ve taken a step back from that to focus on a job change.
Who are the people who help you grow? Who lovingly corrects you? Who are your biggest spiritual cheerleaders? My Heart Sister, my husband, my son, and my boss and co-workers
What other ways can you invite accountability into your life? Get involved in a small group through my church
Who are the people you disciple or serve? Who do you lovingly correct? Whose cheerleader are you? My son, my husband, my co-workers
I will sign up for the next community group at my church
We have a prayer group every week. Usually it is the same people, has been for about 3 years with a guest or "sit in" person once in a while. These people are my people for correction. As we talk and pray there have been times that it wasn’t a finger point correction but a group think about this correction. "Let us not take this personally or we don’t want to be un Christian about this" comment. I learn from our prayer, our conversation and our nearness with the Lord at times like this. A great time for self reflection.
Oh man accountability and trust those in leadership to give the correct accountability as learning to trust is something I have had a super hard time with