I grew up in a traditional household and attended a pretty traditional church. While I never walked away from Christ (or so I had thought), I moved away from the idea of a brick-and-mortar place of worship some time ago. For me, attending a weekly service felt like I was just going through the motions. I felt empty and unfortunately did not receive much guidance or encouragement about my personal spiritual growth. I walked away from church but kept my Bible and my limited understanding of it as my own personal guide.
I tried several other paths, but still couldn’t find the right fit. Years passed and I simply gave up the search. Still, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was missing. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve found you can’t have personal growth if you don’t grow spiritually. You have to fix the inside if you want the outside to work right. That’s what I’d been missing all along.
Then, last year, I found Hoboken Grace. What intrigued me about the church was how eager everyone was to encourage spiritual growth. Hoboken Grace’s approach to bringing people to know Christ and growing closer to Him has blown me away.
My first introduction to how seriously Hoboken Grace takes this mission was Amplify. I had been attending church for just a few weeks when I heard about Hoboken Grace’s one-day growth conference. Amplify, it turns out, is the umbrella name for a series of breakout tracks that you can select from, depending on what areas you want to grow in or “amplify.”
I took the recommended first track, Foundations, and it was amazing! The appropriately named class goes through everything you need to set up good habits and get the most out of your time with Christ. While I had read scriptures in the past, I was given tools and suggestions to help the Word truly come alive in a way that I could apply it to my life.
I walked away with a better understanding of how the Bible is organized and why. I now know that there are countless study tools and resources to help me delve deeper into His word and that different Bible translations provide a variety of opportunities for me to better understand what God’s message is and how it applies to all parts of my life.
I also now understand that it’s a process. There are days when I might have a huge epiphany, and there are days when I don’t understand something or see how it applies to my life. And that’s okay. I don’t have it all figured out and I’m nowhere near having each step and process perfected, but I have the elements to continue strengthening my “foundation.”
I’m looking forward to Amplify again this year. I haven’t decided which track I’ll take, but I know I’ll have to resist the urge to take Foundations again. There are six other tracks, and I want to try each one and continue building on what I’ve learned so far. After all, that’s what growth is all about.
Millie is a member of the Writing Team.
Want to amplify your growth as well? Sign up for Amplify today.
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