Spiritual Formation Resources

We all have a state of spiritual formation. Whether you are stewarding that formation into the image of Christ is another matter. We define proper spiritual formation as the process of allowing God to conform us to the image of Jesus Christ. God wants his children to grow into maturity. With that in mind, we have created this page to equip you with resources in your pursuit of that charge. Within each category you will find documents, articles, videos, book recommendations, and more. We hope that you find use to them.

The Vintage Discipleship Cone

Gatherings

Vintage Church’s tool belt includes 4 important elements. We call these elements the “Discipleship Cone.” If you take a look at the very top of the cone, you’ll see “gatherings.” This is also the widest part of the cone. We place a lot of emphasis on our weekend worship gatherings because they are important. Apart from the reality that the church has been gathering weekly for nearly 2,000 years, in the gathering we experience music worship, the preaching of the Bible, prayer, communion, giving, serving, community, and more. However, we also recognize that not everything can happen in the gathering, and what does happen occurs at a larger, less intimate level.

vGroups

Enter Vintage Church’s vGroups. Here we experience more intimate forms of Bible study, prayer, and community. Instead of a group of 200–300, you have a group of 10–20. They know one another, challenge and encourage one another, and pray for one another. Still, this group is mixed gender and so some more personal issues might not be discussed even in this group.

Formation Groups

Here’s where Formation Groups come in. Formation groups are gender-specific groups of 3–5 individuals who meet regularly for the purpose of intentional and intensive discipleship. Their time is focused on accountability, prayer, and achieving spiritual goals. With this group being only 3–5 individuals there is a greater depth of focused discipleship and spiritual growth.

Self

Finally there is the self. Spiritual growth must be something fulfilled at the individual level. Are you reading your Bible, praying, fighting sin, pursuing holiness, and other important activities? Here is the most intimate level. It’s just you and you have to process your relationship with the Lord for yourself. This happens through practicing the spiritual habits and studying scripture. It can also happen through counseling. We have all been affected by present and past sins or hurts. The goal of counseling is to help people overcome their problems by helping them understand how they can best handle and cope with their struggles. Christian counseling can be used in many different ways and can include: counseling for depression or anxiety, counseling for addiction, marital problems, trauma, and more.

Do you see the importance of each of these tools? Often we try to grow in our faith with only one tool. Imagine building something when you needed nails, a hammer, screwdriver, and tape measure, but you only had nails. You wouldn’t be able to build what you wanted. Our faith is similar. You’re going to limit your spiritual growth if all you do is attend worship gatherings on a Sunday morning. Each level of the discipleship cone is important and builds upon the other. These levels aren’t arbitrary; they’re necessary tools for us to grow in our faith and holiness.

Think about yourself. What level do you participate in on the discipleship cone? What is your next step, and when are you going to take that next step? Let’s pursue Jesus’ holiness together!