"Shift" - our new Journey spiritual growth program
New Church Journey programs are relevant Bible-based programs for people around the world to assist them in growing spiritually and applying God's teachings to their everyday lives. This year’s Spiritual Growth Campaign, "Shift", follows the life of Jacob. Participants will study the stories in Genesis about Jacob’s struggles and successes while finding practical application for God’s teachings in their everyday lives. The program provides a clear approach for study, discussion, and spiritual transformation.
Change is possible!
"Shift" focuses on the Old Testament story of Jacob. Participants see his times of deception, frustration, and struggle, as well as his moments of hope, inspiration, and love. At each stage of his journey, Jacob undergoes a shift which brings him a little closer to fulfillment and peace. "Shift" provides an opportunity to examine areas in our own lives that could use a change. These small shifts build up, and like Jacob, we will eventually look at our lives with astonishment, realizing how much has improved.
The Story
The story (Genesis 25:19 through Genesis 35:15) follows the life of Isaac’s son Jacob. It begins even before Jacob is born as he struggles in the womb with his twin brother, Esau. As a young man, Jacob clashes with his brother, runs away from home, gains a new awareness of God’s presence, and meets the love of his life. Over time, he learns to disentangle himself from an unhealthy situation, and, after many years, he gains the strength to go back home and face his brother.
Themes
Participants will discover a wide variety of themes in this story including sibling rivalry, favoritism, impulsiveness, grief, fear, dreams, getting stuck, blessings, jealousy, letting love win, justice and mercy, maturity, reconciliation, and forgiveness.
Weekly Focus: Each week, participants will find new ways of “shifting” toward a better life. Each of these follows a shift Jacob goes through in that week’s reading. These include shifts of awareness, shifts of expectations, and more. (See a complete overview.) Small group participants will have a chance to practice using truths from the Word in their lives, returning each week with a wealth of material for discussion.
Audience
The SHIFT program serves a large variety of people, from participants just beginning their journey with the New Church to those familiar with its teachings. We all have struggles in our lives, and SHIFT can help make us aware of those problems or offer new ways we can look at them. It can help anyone with a conflict with a family member, co-worker, friend or spouse, those experiencing depression, someone who is painfully shy and wants to learn to come out of this shell, people who are having trouble feeling God’s presence, those who have experienced the recent loss of a job or a loved one, etc. Whatever problem you are facing, SHIFT can help show you a new way to approach that problem with the Lord’s help. All are invited to join this journey.
What people are saying
“There are a few things in my life I want to change, but just don’t know how. I think this [program] could help me break it down to where I can handle it one step at a time.”
“I appreciate the simplicity and easy to understand instructions of the small group activities. Plenty of white space and journaling pages to jot down notes or thoughts I might have. Each day’s reading is consistent and there’s great structure to help people focus on the story and task. I’m really looking forward to this program.”
“I haven’t read [the Jacob story] since grade school when I didn’t really ‘get’ the Bible, so it will be different seeing myself in the story now as an adult.”
