Notes from REVEAL Conference (Part Two)

David’s Note: I recently had opportunity to attend the REVEAL conference at Willow Creek Church in Chicago. When the REVEAL study was first released, the focus was on the controversy surrounding the results. However, this conference had solid, clear focus on spiritual formation. These are my reflections from my time at the conference.

The REVEAL conference focused on movement — what factors help people take their next steps toward God?

They discovered the top five catalysts for moving people forward in their spiritual growth:

1. Reading and reflecting on the Bible is the most powerful catalyst for individual spiritual growth.
2. Developing core Christian beliefs is crucial for those in the early stages of growth. These need to be taught early — not later.
3. Personal spiritual practices are the building blocks for a Christ-centered life.
4. Serving is the most catalytic experience offered by churches (as opposed to individuals). As people grow, they move from:
   • Serving inside the church to serving outside the church
   • Serving in corporate service opportunities to serving as an individual lifestyle.
5. Spiritual community is vital at all phases of spiritual growth, but as people grow this moves from organized (e.g., church small groups) to organic (e.g., spiritual friends and mentors).

The Notes from REVEAL Conference (Part Two) by Church Planting Journey, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.