The Formation Way at Nu Church
At Nu Church, spiritual formation is the lifelong process of being shaped into the image of Christ for the sake of others. We describe this journey in three interconnected and simultaneous movements:
Know Christ — What we believe (the Good News, the Bible, the Holy Spirit, and the Church). This is the foundation. Knowing Christ is the starting point and the center around which all formation happens. What we believe about who He is and what He has done is the starting point for true biblical formation.
Experience Christ — How we are formed. This is the personal progression of Curiosity → Imagination → Informed Belief → Transformation through Community. The ongoing process of wrestling with what we have come to know about Jesus until those beliefs begin to shape how we actually live.
Encounter Christ — Where we are formed. In the communal spaces of the church (Sunday Gatherings, Courses, Communities, and Circles) we live out what we believe as true representatives of Jesus, partnering with Him in making all things new.
How Informed Belief Fits in Formation
Curiosity taught us it is safe to ask honest questions.
Imagination taught us to hope that God is inviting us to a new way of life.
Informed Belief teaches us to ground that hope in the truth of who God is and what He has done.
Without this stage, imagination can drift into emotionalism or vague beliefs that don’t shape our lives, and community can become centered on shared preference. Informed Belief is what gives the Formed Life a center to keep it secure; protecting Curiosity from becoming empty cynicism and Imagination from becoming self-centered. This part of the Formation process prepares us to enter community not as consumers of an experience, but as people being reshaped by a shared story.
Why This Matters
Being curious about faith and God is normal. In fact, curiosity about spirituality is at an all time high. For some, that curiosity leads them to imagine a different way of life. Past that, this is where Jesus says the path narrows and the move into a coherent, integrated belief system that actually changes how a person thinks, make decisions, and lives is one that far fewer people make.
Curiosity and imagination are beautiful beginnings, but they do not automatically mature into the kind of belief that can carry a person through ordinary days and costly obedience.
Informed Belief is where we take the “could be” of imagination and begin testing it against the actual story God is telling. It is where we search the Scriptures, ask harder questions, and allow the Spirit to correct our assumptions, expand our vision, and root our hope in something sturdier than a feeling.
Grace and knowledge are not rivals. They belong together. The more we know Him truly, the more we are able to receive His grace that transforms us. And the more we receive that grace, the hungrier we become to know Him still more.
This is not about becoming an expert. It is about becoming a disciple whose mind is being renewed so that the whole person can begin to look like Jesus.
Where to Start
Part of the knowledge problem is that many of us simply do not know where to start. Or, more likely, we do not feel the freedom to admit that we do not know. And this can lead to an internal isolation that makes us feel stuck. This leads to pride or shame and we’re kept from asking questions that would help us grow. So we stay where we are, repeating “I believe…” without ever really know what we believe.
This is precisely why the Church is the place for formation.
From the very beginning, the people of Jesus devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer (Acts 2:42). Knowledge was never meant to be a private project. It was always meant to be pursued together, as a community where it is safe to not know yet, to be corrected, and where the shared life of the church becomes the very place in which informed belief can grow.
How We Pursue Truth
The pursuit of knowing what we believe is not a singular activity, nor is the pursuit of truth. Culture, tradition, personal experience, and even geography profoundly shape our world. So how do we get to what is actually true?
We pursue the God of truth.
Pursuing Him as truth is not about creating a set of correct ideas about Him. It is to know Him. We do this through Scripture, Community, and Reflection.
Scripture
What does Scripture say—not just one verse, but the whole Story of God and His activity with humanity? Who does He say He is through Scripture? What do these stories, histories, poems, and letters reveal about who He is by showing us what He has done?
Community
How does the truth of who He is shape true biblical community? What do I see in Scripture that points to who He is, so that when I see that lived out in the church, its truth rings loudly of His glory?
Reflection
As I study His Word, reflect on the life of the church, and discover the history of our faith, what patterns do I see? What are the things we consistently get sidetracked with, and what does God seem to always course-correct us back to? What did the earliest church believe, and does their belief look different than mine? Why? Is that a problem?
Walking With Others
If you are helping someone else in their formation, Informed Belief is often the place where people feel most exposed. Many do not know where to start, or they carry quiet shame about what they do not know. Do not rush them toward expertise. Create space where it is safe to not know yet, and be honest about what you don’t know. Sit with them in the Scriptures. Point them toward Jesus rather than toward winning an argument. The goal is not to produce people who can debate well, but people whose minds are being renewed so that their whole lives begin to look like His.
Where To Go Next
Informed Belief is meant to lead somewhere. When truth begins to settle and reshape us, the next movement within Experience Christ is Transformation through Community. This is the point of Formation: to be shaped into Christ’s image together, for the sake of others, as a multi-ethnic, multi-generational family. Informed Belief prepares us to enter that shared life not as consumers of an experience but as people being reshaped by a common story for the sake of the world God is making new.
Just remember, you do not have to master everything before you move forward. Informed Belief is not a destination; it is a posture. It is the ongoing willingness to keep learning, keep repenting of half-truths, and keep allowing the knowledge of Christ to reshape the heart.
Some of us come to this stage with years of Bible knowledge and still feel the need to begin again. Others of us arrive with very little formal learning. No matter the case, we all will discover that God is kind to those who simply show up ready to receive.
Dig into community, and live out the what God is revealing to you!
Practice
Am I lacking information?
If the answer is yes, the next step is usually a Course. If we don't have a Course, ask your Nu Community Leader where to get resources for the area you are seeking more information about.
INFORMED RESOURCES
From the very beginning, the people of Jesus devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer (Acts 2:42). Knowledge was never meant to be a private project. It was always meant to be pursued together in community where it is safe to not know yet, to be corrected, and where the shared life of the church becomes the very place in which informed belief can grow.
Something about Jesus, His story, or His people caught your attention, and curiosity about His way of life now feels possible. The “What if?” you have been working through has become “This could be true… and I want it to be.”
Informed Belief is where our longing meets truth. It’s the steady, quiet process of letting God’s reality change how we see everything: God Himself, our lives, our neighbors, and the world He is renewing. This isn’t just about collecting facts or building arguments. It’s about loving God with our whole hearts and wanting a deep, personal relationship with our Creator.
We want to be a people who love God with our minds as well as our hearts. Because the Bible is clear, the mind is not an optional add-on to devotion. It is part of the way we love Him.
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” Matthew 22:37