Huron Hills

Spiritual Formation and how to help people grow in a relationship with Christ is a continual discussion point in churches today. Church leaders are constantly seeking fresh ways to help their members navigate what it means to be a Christ-follower living in today's complex world. Though this topic will never be put to rest and the challenge to help people will grow will always be present the good news is these discussions are beginning to bear fruit. MONVEE recently interviewed Dave Collins, the associate pastor at Huron Hills Church in Ann Arbor Michigan. Here is how Dave and his spiritual formation team are responding to this challenge.

5 Questions for Huron Hills

How do you define "successful" spiritual growth at Huron Hills?
Our mission is to draw those who are far from God into a close and living relationship with Jesus Christ. Successful spiritual growth for us as a church means that we are fulfilling both sides of our mission statement. We know that, for those who are far from God, spiritual growth means taking first steps towards becoming centered on Jesus Christ. For those who are further along in becoming Christ centered, one of the most spiritually forming activities is to help others move towards Jesus. For everyone connected with Huron Hills, becoming more Christ centered means that our character, words, and actions reflect God’s character. Spiritual growth at Huron Hills is seen in how people are being transformed in each of these areas as they engage in our mission.
What is your church known for?
We are an intergenerational, missional congregation that extends the love of Jesus in our words and deeds. We have vibrant ministries for children, youth, college students, and adults. We have strong partnerships with local ministries that care for poor and with World Vision in Mexico and Rwanda. We preach for life change from the Bible, and our worship life reflects authenticity drawn from the history of Christendom, from earliest expressions up to newly composed elements from this calendar year. Our mission is to draw those who are far from God into a close and living relationship with Jesus Christ.
How is Monvee helping your church engage personal spiritual growth?
Monvee has given us a common language around issues such as pathways to connect with God, spiritual hindrances, and practical steps to growth. It has been an exciting and easy first step for people to take responsibility for their spiritual growth.
What has been the best thing about Monvee at your Church?
The best thing about Monvee has been the way the tool has helped people engage in actual steps towards growth. What has been the most challenging? The most challenging thing about Monvee has been the resistance people express towards acceptance of their spiritual hindrances.
What do you think spiritual formation will look like at your church in 5 or 10 years?
Monvee, and tools like it, will continue to be catalytic for helping people take practical steps for spiritual growth. The continued development of app technology will provide innovators with opportunities to help others grow spiritually. Helping people move towards Christ centeredness will always involve engagement with the scripture; engagement with community, and practicing the spiritual disciplines God gives us.

Church Profile Location: Ann Arbor, MI
Denomination: Converge Worldwide
Year the Church Was Established: 1965
Size of the Congregation: 600 Person
Interviewed: Dave Collins - Associate Pastor
Church Website: www.huronhills.org

Monvee believes the best environment for helping Christians go deeper in their spiritual development is in the context of the local church. So, it’s important to us to develop Monvee in a way that connects easily to important information that the church is already storing. The first step in that connection process is now available: the Monvee Universal API.

An API is a technical term that basically means that Monvee is able, through the API, to connect seamlessly to your church management system. This helps streamline your databases into one place and accelerate the momentum of Monvee by giving additional insights and analysis to enrich the data that pastors are already tracking.

The Monvee Universal API was developed for Monvee by ACS Technologies, the nation’s leading church management provider. However, we mean it when we say “universal”. The API can be used by any church or church management provider with the appropriate security and authorizations (of course). It is designed in a way that makes it easy for your church management provider or technical leadership staff to connect. Want to know more? Church management providers or church staff representatives should contact us at monveeapi@monvee.com to learn how to take the next exciting step with the Monvee Universal API.