Dear friends in Christ,
In some places, schools will be starting up about now. In others, kids have been back in their classrooms for a few weeks now. Either way, it’s the time of year when I think fondly of the “back to school season” of my (much!) younger years. Many congregations have programs planned to coincide with the school year. If your church is one of these, you’ll be seeing announcements about new courses and opportunities to grow in the knowledge and love of the Lord.
As Christians, we are all works in progress. We’re never “done” being formed as followers of Jesus. There’s always more to learn about God, about our faith. We don’t need to grow to earn God’s love, but we may well need to grow into receiving the gift of God’s great love for us.
If your church offers programs or courses or other opportunities for growth, I hope you’ll join them. Perhaps you’ll want to invite a friend from inside or outside the church to grow with you.
If you are a church leader, we at Forward Movement have loads of resources to support your church in growth. We have plenty of free courses, such as our new video-based course on the sacraments or our more extensive course to help people explore the Bible together. And there are more!
If your church doesn’t offer anything for groups, I encourage you to find a way to grow on your own. There are plenty of podcasts to savor and books to read from Forward Movement and other publishers.
Blessings to you on your journey.
Yours faithfully,
Scott Gunn
Executive Director
More from our ministry:
Just announced: AdventWords for 2026! Learn more at adventword.org
Explore spiritual formation with disciples in your family: Little Box of Good News
New from Cedar: The remarkable bravery of church visitors
Start the year by sharing your story: New, FREE video course