7 Habits of Highly Effective Church Members
Christians, Ministers, Elders and Deacons
7 Habits of Highly Effective Christians
Teaching Strategy
The focus of this lesson is on developing an understanding of habits of highly effective Christians. Of special note in this lesson is an understanding of how we can use these habits to increase our effectiveness as servants of Christ.
Student Learning Outcomes
- Know: Understand habits that enhance our effectiveness as faithful Christians.
- Feel: Strive to increase our effectiveness as faithful Christians.
- Do: Change our attitudes and actions to reflect the teachings of Jesus in our lives.
Body of the Lesson
Discussion Questions
Below are suggested questions to use during the guided discussion portion of the lesson. There are also suggested responses to questions to help students grasp the various concepts. These are provided to assist the discussion and are not considered as “right or wrong” responses.
1. As an introduction into the concept of being an effective Christian, discuss the following questions. Answers will vary depending on understanding and spiritual maturity.
As Christians our goal is to become more and more like Christ. A foundational activity in this is to look at ourselves and determine if we are living for self or living for and as our Lord wishes. This is central to much of what Paul teaches.
A habit is something we do about it or even being conscious of what we are doing. It can be good or bad depending on its purpose and benefit.
We do a lot of things. Some things have no value while other things enhance our and other's lives tremendously. Effectiveness helps determine our quality of life. We can perform many roles but are we doing these to achieve the greatest and most positive impact? As someone seeking to grow spiritually, we must remove actions and attitudes that decrease our effectiveness as Christians and strive for those that visibly demonstrate our maturity in Christ.
2. Explain what you understand concerning the following habits of effective Christians.
It is difficult, even impossible to be an effective Christians without understanding God's will. His will is found in scripture. We must learn it, apply it in our lives and teach it to others.
It is difficult, even impossible to be an effective Christian without a prayer life. Our goal should be to increase our prayer life to the point that it becomes a natural (habit) part of our lives. We should have the same idea that Paul encouraged in I Thessalonians 5:17-18 which was "to pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances, knowing that this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."
Secular teachers tell us that to be effective, we need goals. This is true in our spiritual lives. Without spiritual goals we cannot grow as we should nor can we know if we are growing in the right direction. Spiritual goals are specific actions and attitudes we want to achieve as we continue striving to become spiritually mature.
It helps us to become more effective when we look at the positive examples of others. We should seek out spiritual leaders and study them to learn how they succeeded. We should also look at the examples from scripture with the same idea in mind. We should also look to become spiritual mentors to others in order to help them grow.
We must hold ourselves accountable before God and ensure we are obeying God's will. We also look to help others come into a relationship with God that He desires. This is a unique responsibility God has placed on each of us as we answer the command Jesus gave us in Matthew 28:18-20 and Paul reminds us of in II Corinthians 4:7.
Christianity is about serving. We serve God. We serve others. We serve those we love and those that challenge our love. This marks us as servants and the household of God. Jesus said so in John 13:35. The love he speaks of here is a serving kind of love.
Satan uses many tactics to shift our focus away from our faithful service to God. One way is to distract us with things of the world. Paul teaches us to keep focused on higher things… things of God (Colossians 3:1-4).
3. How can you use this lesson to grow spiritually and help others come into a relationship with Jesus?
We should all strive for effectiveness in our service to God. It begins with obedient faith seen in our repentance and baptism. It continues in faithful living in which we "grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" (II Peter 3:18). In doing this we become more and more like Christ and more and more able to serve God. This is the Christian lifestyle that presents an effective witness to non-believers and also confirms that we are sincere if we have the opportunity to share our faith with them.