Belief in the Local Church

“Everything is possible for one who believes” (Mark 9:23, NIV). “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” (John 9:35, NIV). Several months ago, someone shared with me the idea of a sermon series that would explore the basic beliefs of the Christian faith through the lens of the local congregation. This idea captured my attention and I began planning a way to gather feedback from my local church community concerning core Christian beliefs. We decided that every week of the series, note cards would be passed out in church, written on by the congregation, collected in the offering, and integrated into my sermons. Five minutes of reflection time were provided for each week’s topic before the cards were collected. In each sermon, I made it my goal to use as many of the cards as possible, reading from them directly.

We explored numerous topic including: what we believe about the Trinity (Luke 3:21-22), God’s self-revelation in Christ (Hebrews 1:1-2), God’s creative action (Genesis 1:1-5), God as both loving and just (John 3:13-17; 1 Corinthians 4:1-5), life in light of the Incarnation and Cross (John 1:14-18; Acts 2:22-24, 32-33, 36-39), and hope for the future in the kingdom of heaven (1 Corinthians 15:22-26).

The results of this project were very fruitful. The congregation was able to explore each topic in light of many, insightful and personal affirmations of belief. Through this intentional sharing of our beliefs we recognized one another’s passion and depth of insight into essential elements of our faith. We grew in our ability to identify what inspires us and shapes our view of the world. We were also better able to grasp how vital Christian community is in filling gaps in our knowledge of God.

After the series ended, all of the note cards were organized thematically and collected into a booklet and distributed to the congregation. I encouraged each person in the church to keep a copy of it with there Bible and read through it periodically.

If you are looking to engage your congregation in new ways that both build community and knowledge of the Christian faith please consider doing a belief series. It is can feel daunting at first, but the excitement and growth that result from sharing beliefs as the body of Christ is well worth it. Personally, I am convinced that corporate ways of sharing our beliefs help us make even deeper connections between our faith and witness in serving and reaching out to others.