Vision Community

VISION STATEMENT:

Spiritual formation is a lifelong journey of discovering God, God’s world, and who God has made you to be.  Each person is called to live a life in God’s presence and Christian community, and to be transformed by God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

We also believe that the church is the body of Christ and each person in church has been called to be at First Reformed.  We believe that God has given each person special gifts to live in this community and that the body functions when all members are using their gifts and talents for the Glory of God.

Goal:

To this end, Spiritual Formation at First Reformed is called to help each individual unlock the Holy in their lives and to discover who God is, who God has made them to be, and the ministry God is calling them to participate in.

The Process:

Spiritual formation is really a living faith in God and a refining of this faith.  Moreover, spiritual formation is a discipleship forming process of enculturation.  “Discipleship cannot just be taught; it has to be lived!”  The process of spiritual formation should happen in all aspects of our life and doesn’t just happen in a classroom or a church sanctuary.

We believe that there are four basic elements of the Spiritual Formation process: Worship, Moral Formation (Study & Serve), Life Together, and Prayer.  For a Christian to grow in their relationship with God and others they must embark on the journey of spiritual formation.

Each component of the spiritual formation process flows into the others and sometimes it is truly hard to separate them out.  When we worship we have life together, we serve God and each other, and we experience moral formation.  All four components of Spiritual Formation flow together to make a spiritual harmony in our lives.