SPIRITUAL FORMATION

The whole topic of spiritual formation is very important to us.  We believe strongly that following Jesus means a life long process in which I not only put my belief in Jesus, but also that I choose to walk that out as a student or apprentice of Jesus in which I give Him permission to mold me to be what He desires me to become.

We believe that this process of discipleship is important for the poor and the non-poor alike.   We all have need, but it just happens to look different.  The poor struggle with not having enough, and the non-poor struggle with having too much.   We have much we can learn from each other about what it means to truly follow Jesus with our lives and to lay down our lives for Him.  We can learn from each other about what it means to fall deeply in love with God and to nurture that relationship for our whole life – experiencing the fullness of life that Jesus promised His followers along the way.

Because of the importance of spiritual formation to us, there are some tools which we believe in.

1. We practice discipleship of local leaders.  We are not trying to win them to some form of American Christianity, but rather we are trying to learn together what it means to follow Jesus with in the local context and then to put it into practice.  The American church is not our example, but rather Jesus’ example as presented in the The Bible becomes our example.
2. We practice spiritual practices.  There have been spiritual practices which have been helping Jesus followers to grow in intimacy with God throughout the generations.   We want to provide invitations to practice along with us through our blog on an ongoing basis.
3. We practice spiritual direction.  Jerry has been trained in spiritual direction and is able to engage with people in a conversational approach who are wishing to see their relationship with God grow.  This can be provided in person for those who are in the Addis Ababa area or via skype for those abroad.  Please email using the form below if you would like more information.

Send an email to The Shannons