This year we long for each one of us to go deeper in our relationship with Jesus through lifegiving spiritual practices and through authentic spiritual friendship.
In our Venture Communities we are going to learn about different spiritual practices and how we might apply them in our season of life to help us tune into God.
And we are going to encourage you to start an intentional spiritual friendship of some kind if you don’t already have one.
In our Venture Communities this year (first Sunday of the month) this is what we will be looking at and we want to encourage you to champion one another in these:
Finding & Being a Spiritual Friend: How-To?
What Do We Mean by a Spiritual Friend?
A spiritual friend is someone who walks intentionally with you in your journey with God—offering prayerful presence, deep listening, and mutual encouragement. This isn’t just about chatting with someone who shares your faith—it’s about cultivating a relationship that helps you go deeper in it.
Whether it’s a one-to-one friendship or a group of three, the aim is the same: to notice God’s presence together and to respond faithfully.
There are two forms that these might take:
A spiritual friend helps you cultivate a deeper relationship with God in everyday life. A spiritual friend is someone who accompanies you on your journey. They help you pay attention to God and keep pursuing Him in all aspects of life.
A mentor offers guidance rooted in experience and spiritual maturity. A mentor is someone ahead of you on the journey of faith. They offer wisdom and guidance based on their experience.
These roles may overlap at times, and the point isn’t the title—it’s the intentional relationship centered around experiencing more of God everyday. Going further up and further in with your faith.
“We are so often content to paddle in the shallows when God is calling us into the deep.”
How to get started?
Step #1 - Begin with Prayerful Openness
Start by asking:
Who might God already be highlighting in my life? Are they someone to walk alongside (spiritual friend), or someone to help guide me (a mentor), or someone I could more intentionally offer guidance or help to?
Would a one-to-one or triad work best for this season?
Am I open to being real, honest, and spiritually curious?
If I already have this kind of relationship, how is it going? Have we grown lax or stale? Do we need to revise our rhythms and practices together?
Pray for wisdom. Don’t force it—watch for who the Spirit might already be highlighting in your life.
Step #2 - Ask someone to come alongside you.
Share what you are looking for in this spiritual friendship. Do you both share this desire?
Decide when, where, and for how long you will meet together?
Set a structure, even if loosely, for how you will meet.
Agree to try this for a time and then review.
It’s simple, but intentional…
Step #3 Meet up, ask, listen and pray.
What’s been happening since we last met?
What’s God been speaking to you about?
What are you going to do about it?
Pray for each other
Try for 6 months and see how it goes.
Additional Resources
Below are some books you might like to read together with your community group to go deeper in spiritual practices.
For those who already have a spiritual friend that you meet with regularly to pray and want to go deeper - here is a spiritual checklist that you could do together as you start afresh this academic year.
Equally you can use this on your own in a time of retreat and solitude with the Lord.