FAITH Foundations: Building strong roots
What FAITH Foundations is
FAITH Foundations is a five-week guide for growing believers who’ve grasped the basics and are ready to go deeper.
FAITH Foundations is:
- An intermediate discipleship course.
- A deeper exploration of each Simple FAITH principle.
- Designed for believers with 2-4 months of faith experience.
- Focused on why these practices matter and how to do them from grace.
- Addressing common struggles new believers face.
Target audience:
- Believers who’ve completed Simple FAITH (or equivalent basic teaching).
- Christians who understand the basics but want to go deeper.
- Those who are beginning to face real challenges in their Christian walk.
- Believers are ready to establish sustainable spiritual habits.
The question FAITH Foundations answers
“Why do these things matter, and how do I do them from grace?”
New believers often begin practising spiritual disciplines (prayer, Bible reading, church involvement) but struggle with:
- Understanding why these practices matter beyond “you should do them”.
- Doing them from love rather than obligation.
- Maintaining consistency without guilt.
- Avoiding performance-based Christianity.
FAITH Foundations addresses these issues by exploring the “why” and “how from grace” for each foundational practice.
The FAITH Foundations structure
FAITH Foundations expands each letter of FAITH with a full session:
Week 1: Father’s Love – The Foundation of Everything
Your relationship with God is based on His unchanging love, not your changing performance. Explores God’s character, adoption, and prayer as a relationship.
Week 2: Accept Christ – Grace Changes Everything
You are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. Your works are a response, not a requirement. Explores justification, grace, and living from acceptance.
Week 3: Immersed – Your New Identity in Christ
You have a new identity anchored in Christ, empowered by the Holy Spirit. Explores baptism, new creation, and Spirit-filled living.
Week 4: Transforming the Heart – God Changes You from the Inside
God transforms you by renewing your mind through His Word and Spirit, not through self-effort. Explores sanctification, Bible study methods, and spiritual growth.
Week 5: Help Others – Love Overflows from Grace Received
You serve others from the overflow of God’s love for you, not to earn His approval. Explores community, communion, service, and evangelism.
What makes FAITH Foundations unique
Grace-based orientation
Throughout FAITH Foundations, you’ll encounter consistent emphasis on grace. Every section includes distinctions between performance-based and grace-based Christianity.
Example:
- Performance-based: “I pray to earn God’s attention”
- Grace-based: “I pray because I already have God’s attention through Christ”
This prevents the performance trap many Christians fall into after their initial enthusiasm wears off.
Addresses real struggles
Each session includes a “Common Struggles and Biblical Answers” section addressing questions like:
- “I feel distant from God when I don’t pray enough”
- “Does God still hear me when I sin?”
- “I keep trying to change but keep failing”
- “I don’t feel forgiven”
These aren’t theoretical issues. They’re real challenges believers face in months 2-6 of their faith journey.
Practical methods
FAITH Foundations doesn’t just say “read your Bible.” It teaches you how:
- SOAP method (Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer)
- Lectio Divina (Divine Reading)
- Book study approach
- Meditation on Scripture
You learn methods you’ll use for life.
Theological depth without complexity
FAITH Foundations introduces important theological concepts (justification, sanctification, adoption, imputation) but explains them in plain English with clear biblical support.
Biblical foundation
FAITH Foundations rests on the same Scriptures as Simple FAITH but explores them more deeply:
Week 1 – Romans 8:38-39 (nothing separates you from God’s love)
Week 2 – Ephesians 2:8-10 (saved by grace for good works)
Week 3 – 2 Corinthians 5:17 (new creation in Christ)
Week 4 – Romans 12:2 (transformed by renewing your mind)
Week 5 – 1 John 4:19 (we love because He first loved us)
Each session includes extensive Scripture references, biblical examples, and theological grounding.
How to use FAITH Foundations
For personal study: Work through one session per week. Take time with reflection questions and do the action steps (daily, weekly, monthly). Journal your insights and struggles.
For one-on-one discipleship: Meet weekly with the person you’re discipling. Read the session together or have them read beforehand. Discuss reflection questions. Pray about struggles. Check on action steps.
For small groups: Use FAITH Foundations as a five-week small group study. Each session provides discussion questions. Encourage vulnerability about struggles. Pray for each other’s growth.
For new believers’ classes: Churches can use FAITH Foundations as a follow-up course after baptism or new members’ orientation. It equips new believers with solid foundations before they join ongoing small groups.
When you’ve completed FAITH Foundations
You’ve established foundational practices and understanding. You’re ready to address the performance patterns that inevitably arise through VICTORY.