This past Sunday we kicked off a new sermon series called Cultivate. The purpose of the series is to introduce the Cultivate formation plan, which we have designed as a tool to strengthen Christian formation in our church family. Cultivate helps you respond to Jesus’ “What do you want?” question in John 1:38 by imagining what it might look like to cultivate shalom in all of life. Shalom, the Hebrew word for peace, conveys wholeness and harmony—the fullness of life that God intends—particularly within four primary relationships:
Relationship with God
Relationship with Self
Relationship with People
Relationship with Places and Things
The formation plan invites you to slow down and reflect on how you want to move toward God’s vision of flourishing in these relationships. It provides an opportunity to identify your desires (longings/goals) for shalom as well as actions (habits/practices) that enable you to fulfill those desires. Cultivate should not be thought of as a checklist for spiritual growth, but rather as a guide for becoming more like Jesus.
The primary place where we envision the formation plan being used for now is in community groups. This isn’t to say it can’t or won’t be used in other contexts, but the ideal context in this season will be community groups. Our prayer is that the use of this tool in the life of our congregation will bear fruit as we follow Jesus together in his work of cultivating shalom in all of life.
If you are not currently connected to a community group, we would love for you to connect with one! Click here for more information.