Imagine for a moment the impact on your church if for 40 days every person in your congregation lived in alignment with God’s will in the pattern of Jesus’ call to pick up our cross and follow him. What if your people lived in powerful community with their small groups to discuss and pray over lives sacrificed to God? What if, as groups and individual people began to experience the power of God in their lives as they surrendered all to Jesus Christ?
By intentionally coordinating and aligning the elements of your Lenten season using The Crucified Life materials, you will make an environment for spiritual growth that will move your congregation from self to surrender.
By aligning the following three elements of participation, you will see the power of God working in your church because of the intentional focus on the heart of the Gospel and the grace offered in the cross of Jesus Christ:
Individual Participation:
This is the real heart of The Crucified Life study, and it is the element that will produce the greatest spiritual growth among the members of your congregation. The goal is to encourage individuals to read and reflect on God’s Word through the daily devotions and to prayerfully consider His will for their lives daily throughout the study. By participating in this campaign, each person will be challenged to grow spiritually and experience God’s plan for living a transformed life.
Group Participation:
A powerful element of The Crucified Life is getting people to explore and experience God’s will in true biblical community. We provide you with curriculum to be used in small groups or classes for adults and children. Individuals bond through prayer and authentic discussion in a smaller community within your congregation. They will enjoy the benefits of sharing life, spiritual growth, and accountability for that growth. These small group experiences are vital to ensuring the greatest personal spiritual growth, as well as a commitment to ongoing growth as a community within your congregation.
Sunday Worship Participation:
The services that take place during the Christian Life Trilogy campaign include Forgiveness Sunday, Ash Wednesday, Holy Week, Easter, and Pentecost. These services offer opportunities for the Senior Pastor and worship planning team to call the entire congregation to a depth of worship. The drama of Lent and Holy week become intense, real, and personal, as the entire congregation has been focusing on the cross and following the way of Christ together.
By creating a singular Lenten focus on what it means to “pick up our cross” and follow Jesus in the way of the Crucified Life, the entire congregation is called to a Holy Lent together. This unified focus will burst forth in new life with the announcement of Jesus’ resurrection on Easter Sunday!
