Depending on your age and background, you may or may not have heard the term spiritual disciplines before. Spiritual disciplines are the things Christians noticed that Jesus, the Apostles and early church fathers did that seemed to help them grow and stay healthy spiritually. Since it is not a term mentioned specifically in the Bible (although the various aspects of it usually are), the lists of spiritual disciplines may vary from person to person.

The difficulty with spiritual disciplines is that many of them aren’t really introduced or regular participation encouraged until the adult years. And as most of you know, starting a new healthy habit as an adult isn’t always so easy. As a result, many of us struggle to do even a portion of these things consistently, putting our spiritual growth and health at jeopardy.
What if we made an effort to teach children and teens these tools for spiritual growth and health? What if we did things to encourage them to make these habits a part of their daily life? Would they have stronger faith foundations? Would they have more tools at their disposal to make godly choices? Would it help them be who God wants them to be? Would their faith be stronger as an adult and would they be more likely to be faithful, productive Christians?
Until someone sets up a longitudinal study, we won’t know for sure. But since these are activities in which Jesus participated in when he was here on earth, it’s likely they are good practices for your students as well.
So what are the various spiritual disciplines? The lists vary a bit, but these are on nearly every list. Note that this isn’t a rigid checklist to be followed as some sort of ritual, but rather practices that can aide spiritual growth and health.
- Prayer
- Bible study – including reading, memorizing and meditating
- Fasting
- Worship
- Service
- Fellowship
- Solitude
- Confession
- Giving
- Hospitality
- Simplicity
- Reflection
- Stewardship
- Evangelism
- Gratitude
Which of these do you actively teach in your Bible classes? How are you encouraging your students to participate in them regularly? Are you and your volunteers participating in them as well? There are no guarantees, but actively teaching and helping everyone connected to your ministry practice spiritual disciplines may change everything.