Maturity is one of the eleven competencies that Acts 29 considers essential when assessing church planters. You can explore the Competencies further on the Acts 29 Competencies page.
CORE IDEA
Maturity is increasingly finding your identity in Christ and being grounded in the gospel so that your behavior is Christlike and your ministry has gospel priorities whatever is going on around you. Ephesians 4:13 says ‘become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ’, and verse 15 goes on to say ‘speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.’ Nurturing Christlikeness within the heart of a church planter leads to church plants that are built on the right foundation.
SELF-ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS
- Christian maturity is seen not in arrival, but in progress (1 Timothy 4:15). So the mature remain soft to the gospel and open to growth. Reflect on how God has been changing you over the past twelve months.
- List the ways in which you serve Christ unseen. A short list may indicate your primary concern is your glory rather than Christ’s glory.
- Think about the last time you were criticized. How did you react? Does your reaction suggest you find your identity in your performance?
- Who speaks the truth in love to you? This will show whether you are creating a truth-speaking community which is committed to everyone’s maturity, including yours.
- Think about the people you look for when you recruit a team, identify potential leaders or hire staff. Which matters more – skills or character?
