We believe the Gospel offers a relationship with God that is received by grace through faith in Christ’s work.
The same Gospel includes the promise that the Holy Spirit changes us from the inside out as we walk with God. Our sanctification is a gift from God. It is a particular work of God’s grace. It also requires response, desire, and discipline.
UWM believes that authentic ministry flows out of being, meaning that what we do flows from who we are in the depths of our beings. Religion made of externals is hollow, empty and doomed. And it has nothing to offer the world. Therefore, the core and foundation of biblical equipping is spiritual formation and discipleship that forms the heart to be more like Christ in every aspect of life and ministry.
We seek intentional pathways for growing in authentic relationship with God as we serve on mission with Christ, and we nurture this spirituality in the leaders we equip.
“This life therefore, is not righteousness but growth in righteousness, not health but healing, not being but becoming, not rest but exercise. We are not yet what we shall be, but we are growing toward it; the process is not yet finished but it is going on. This is not the end but it is the road; all does not gleam in glory but all is being purified.”
Martin Luther
The desired outcomes of Spiritual Formation include:
- A transformed life in Christ bearing the fruit of the Spirit (i.e. love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness and self-control)
- A single-minded devotion to God and a life of loving obedience to His will and ways
- A deep love for God and others that is self-sacrificing, humble and generous
- An increasing depth of self-awareness and awareness of sin
- An increasing depth of awareness of God’s presence, the capacity to “find God in all things”
- Deeper faith and capacity to trust in God (even in the midst of trials)
- A life of growing holiness, wisdom and intimacy in Christ
- A generous life offering compassion, grace, and forgiveness to others
- An attitude of gratitude and joy in all things
- A servant posture
- A growth in sacrificial giving in various forms
- A faithful steward of relationships, roles and responsibilities
- A rich “regular” (pattern) of spiritual practices–daily and weekly rhythms of spiritual disciplines that foster deep heart connection with God
- A life involved in mission for God’s glory and service to others