I’ve noticed something very important for my own spiritual growth; I need goals and I need a plan to reach those goals. I don’t know who said it, but I know they were right. If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. This is true spiritually as well. Through a tweet from a friend, I came across this Personal Growth Plan for spiritual development. This seems to be an incredible tool to assist in setting goals for essential spiritual disciplines.
I’ll include the entire document below, but if you want to download the PDF for yourself, you can click here – Personal Growth Plan.
Personal Growth Plan for: __________________________________________
The number one command in the canon of the Bible is: “To love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength, and all your mind.” That sounds like a lot of effort. The purpose of this plan is to help you accomplish God’s heart and your desire; to obey the first commandment.
Jude 20-21: “But you beloved, building yourself up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit. Keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life.”
Quantify the spiritual disciplines below so you can measure them. They can be measured by differing amounts of time or pages.
BIBLE READING: ________________ (pages or chapters – daily or annually)
Psalm 19:7-8: “The Law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul; the testimony of the Lord, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.”
My recommendation is to read the entire Bible annually. Options: App____________, read straight through, Bible reading record, Chronological Bible, 1 Year Bible. (Straight-through reading is not recommended for the novice, as it is easy to get bogged down in some of the Older Testament.)
FAITH
BIBLE STUDY: _______________ (amount of time, topics, books to be studied, studies)
2 Timothy 2:15; 3:16-17: “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the Word of truth … All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.”
You may choose topics of interest, character studies, book studies, word studies, Small Group Bible studies, prepared studies, e.g., Beth Moore, Precepts, etc.
SCRIPTURE MEMORY: _______________ (# of verses annually) Psalm 119:11: “Your Word have I treasured in my heart, that I might not sin against you.”
Use areas of growth you need: evangelism verses, prayer promises, faith (I would suggest the “Roman Road” to salvation – Romans 3:10; 3:23; 5:8; 6:23; 10:9-10; 13)
MEDITATION: ___________________ (amount of time)
Psalm 104:34, 119:97-99: “Let my meditation be pleasing to Him; as for me I shall be glad in the Lord.” … “O how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day. Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies, for they are ever mine. I have more insight than all my teachers, for Your testimonies are my meditation.”
Daily in the Scriptures, names of God, doctrines, attributes of God, memory verses, etc.
SILENCE: _______________ (amount of time)
Psalm 46:10, 62:5: “Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in all the earth.”… “My soul waits in silence for God only, for my only hope is in Him.”
Structured listening to God, listening to the Holy Spirit, discerning the Will of God, reflecting on issues, reflecting on events, reflecting on your day, problems, or the future.
SOLITUDE: _______________ (amount of time)
Psalm 27:5; 31:2: “For in the day of trouble He will conceal me in His tabernacle; in the secret place of His tent he will hide me; He will lift me up on a rock.” … “You hide them in the secret place of Your presence from the conspiracies of man; You keep them secretly in a shelter from the strife of tongues.”
When, where, rest, bask in His presence and His glory, receive His power. PRAYER: ______________ (specific amount of time)
I Samuel 12:23; I Thessalonians 5:17: “Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing the pray for you; but I will instruct you in the good and right way.” “Pray without ceasing.”
Create a list of family, friends, co-workers, spiritual leaders, political leaders, church Family, harvest of souls, revival, ministries, missionaries, etc.
FASTING: _______________ (# of meals, days, seasons)
Matthew 6:16: “Whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect their appearance so that they will be noticed by men when they are fasting, Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.”
I would recommend starting with one meal and working your way up to one full day, three days, seven days, and longer. Plan for prayer times during the fast. Study Isaiah 58 in preparation.
EVANGELISM: _______________ (# of people you will share the Gospel with this year)
Acts 1:8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”
Create a list of people to pray for and share with:
FAMILY
_______________ _______________ ______________
FRIENDS
_______________ _______________ _______________
CO-WORKERS
_______________ _______________ _______________
BOOKS READ: _______________ (# of books for the year) Consider topics, areas of interest or growth, areas of strengths or weaknesses. (I recommend one out of
every ten books be a positive attitude book, areas of professional proficiency, areas to stretch you) CDs, DVDs, PODCASTS, BLOGS: _______________ (# listened to)
Proverbs 4:23 “Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life.” Leadership, sermons, worship. (Enroll in U. of A. – University of Automobile by making the best use of
time in the car and travel!) SERVING: _______________ (Amount of Time)
John 13:14-15; I Peter 4:10: “If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you”… “As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.”
Inside the church, out in the community, with the poor, visiting jail or prison, areas to which you feel called.
MISSION TRIPS: _______________ (Annual trips? When do you plan to go?)
Matthew 28:19-20: “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
LIST AREAS IN YOUR SPIRITUAL WALK THAT NEED IMPROVEMENT:
_____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________
Your personal plan should reflect all of the disciplines and the areas in which you want to grow. “Your life is like a vapor, here today and gone tomorrow.” ~GOD