Next Steps - No Limits - CityLife Church Melbourne Australia


The process of growing as a follower of Christ is a lifelong journey. Our goal as a church family is to challenge, encourage, and equip each other to take the next steps in our spiritual journey.

Below are some suggestions that may help you in your spiritual growth in each of the areas covered by the health check.

Encounter

We believe that to increase our capacity to carry God’s kingdom, we need to repeatedly encounter Him. As we encounter Him, we are built and transformed in our discipleship journey through faith-filled experiences of His presence, grace and power. Some ways to develop your encounter journey are listed below:
Actions
  • Begin to read the bible and pray daily using a reflection tool such as:
    • S – Scripture
    • O – Observation
    • A – Application
    • P – Pray
  • Journal your thoughts and prayers, keeping track of when and how God speaks and works i your life over the course of the year.
  • Fasting - Remember, the goal is to develop a focus on God. In order to fast you may want to consider the following:
    • What is the purpose of this fast?
    • Begin with something small like one meal or one time slot.
    • During the fast, commit the time you would have spent eating to prayer, bible study, worship, etc. Use it as a time to focus on God.
  • Join in church 21 Days of Prayer and Fasting encounter during March when we will focus on ‘freedom from limits’.
  • Commit to the church-wide 1 Day a Month Prayer and Fasting encounter.
  • Meditation - Make meditation a regular part of your devotions, working through each line of a Psalm, or meditating on a single verse or passage a portion at a time.
  • Practice the Presence of God on daily basis (see book below).
  • Meet with a Prayer Partner on a regular basis.
  • Practice Gratitude - start a daily gratitude blog and make it a practice to express your gratefulness on a daily basis.

Devotional Resources
  • Finding Father - A.J. Jones
  • Rick Warren’s Daily Hope
  • Our Daily Bread
  • Crosswalk
  • My Utmost for His Highest
  • Bible Gateway Devotionals
  • "Jesus Calling" by Sarah Young
  • "My Utmost for His Highest" by Oswald Chambers
  • "Whispers of Hope" by Beth Moore

Other Reading Resources
  • Too busy Not to Pray by Bill Hybels
  • The Life You’ve Always Wanted by John Ortberg
  • The Air I Breathe: Worship as a Way of Life by Louie Giglio
  • I Am Not, But I Know I AM by Louie Giglio
  • Experiencing God by Henry Blackaby
  • Knowing God by J.I. Packer
  • Attributes of God by Arthur W. Pink
  • The Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer
  • Understanding the Purpose and Power of Prayer by Myles Munroe
  • Desiring God by John Piper

Courses
  • Sign up for Alpha (especially if you are new to faith)
  • Sign up for Life Track 1 – Faith Life
  • Sign up for Experience Christ Workshop and go deeper in your devotional life
  • Sign up for Life Track 3 - A Day of Encounter
  • Sign up for the School of Ministry Formation of Self course

Develop

We believe that we need to invest time and energy to develop our spiritual life, gifts and talents, and to invest in others in order to grow and unleash the potential that God has put inside of each one. How can you develop in these areas? We grow in the context of community, and by practising using the gifts, abilities and passions that we have.
Actions
  • Find a mentor, coach or prayer partner
  • Join a Life Group
  • Discover your SHAPE and discuss how you might begin to use and grow your gifts, experience and abilities with your Life Group leader: https://www.freeshapetest.com/
  • Discover your spiritual gifts using a Spiritual Gifts survey and discuss this with your Life Group leader: https://spiritualgiftstest.com/spiritual-gifts-test-adult-version/
  • Join a serving team

Courses
  • Sign up the next Life Tracks course – New courses are being added all the time!
  • Sign up for the School of Ministry individual courses
    • The Biblical Narrative
    • The Formation of Self
    • Authentic Leadership
    • Our Place in God’s Narrative
  • Listen to a previous Life Track course in a particular area of interest https://www.citylife.church/lifetrax/#past-courses
  • Sign up for a CityLife School of Ministry internship (intake twice per year)
  • Sign up for a CityLife School of Ministry module – a weekend course focused on subjects such as the Holy Spirit, Going Deeper with Worship, Missional Outreach, Leadership (times TBA during 2018)
    • The Holy Spirit
    • Worship
    • Missional outreach
    • Leadership

Resources
  • How's Your Soul by Judah Smith
  • Discover your Spiritual Gifts by Peter Wagner
  • The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren (day 29 – 32)
  • How to read the Bible for all its Worth by Gordon Fee & Douglas Stuart
  • What the Bible is All About Bible Handbook by Henrietta Mears
  • Twelve Dynamic Bible Study Methods by Rick Warren
  • Crazy Love by Francis Chan
  • The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel
  • What’s So Amazing About Grace? By Phillip Yancey
  • The BORN identity by Phil Pringle
  • Praying God’s Word by Beth Moore
  • Step out of Stuck by Paul Scanlon https://paulscanlon.com/product/1-step-stuck/
  • Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

Create

We believe that to reach for what is possible, we need to grow our capacity to create and change, to challenge limiting mindsets and push beyond what is comfortable and known.
Actions
Set a goal this year to create an environment of possibility around your life
  • Engage in a self-reflection activity, identifying some of the beliefs or experiences that have limited your faith and bring these to God in prayer
  • Take steps towards healing damaged relationships
  • In your Life Group – talk about what builds your faith, and revamp your gatherings around the thought of “irresistible environments”

Courses
  • Sign up for Experience Christ Workshop and go deeper in your devotional life
  • Sign up for Life Track 3 - A Day of Encounter
  • Sign up for the School of Ministry Formation of Self course

Resources
  • The Power of a Whisper: Hearing God, Having the Guts to Respond by Bill Hybels and Wayne Cordeiro
  • Inside Out – Larry Crabb
  • The Artisan Soul by Erwin McManus
  • The Prodigal God by Timothy Keller
  • Faith by Phil Pringle
  • The Unexpected Adventure by Lee Strobel
  • Vanishing Grace by Phillip Yancey
  • When Heaven Invades Earth by Bill Johnson

Influence

We are a ‘sent’ as well as a ‘gathered’ church, called to influence, demonstrating the gospel with kindness, compassion and grace. We believe in building strong communities both locally and globally.
Actions
  • Join a Life Group
  • Start a ‘Bridge’ Life Group (talk to your Network Pastor about what this might look like)
  • Start a Prayer Focus Life Group to specifically pray over your local area
  • Start using B.L.E.S.S. as a way of intentionally building relationships with people
  • Join a World Impact missions support group or missions trip
  • Serve our local community by volunteering with CityLife Community Care - there are all kinds of opportunities

Courses
  • World Impact Missions Trip Orientation
  • CLCC: Volunteer Induction (People Skills)

Resources
  • Connecting by Larry Crabb
  • Understanding People by Larry Crabb
  • Life Together: The Classic exploration of Faith in Community by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
  • Just Walk Across the Room by Bill Hybels
  • ‘Sentness’ by Kim Hammond and Darren Cronshaw
  • Everyday Mission by Alan Hirsch
  • Sacrilege by Hugh Halter
  • God of the Empty Handed by Dr Jayakumar Christian
  • When Helping Hurts by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert
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We recognise the sovereignty and Lordship of the one true God, revealed through His Son the Lord Jesus Christ, and acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land where we work and live, the Kulin Nation, and pay our respects to Elders past and present.