New Year’s Assessment

What a year 2020 has been. Even if we ignore the global pandemic, we fought church and school closings, furloughs and layoffs, and elections that have divided families. I rest in the truth that God is in control and that He will ultimately be glorified. I don’t know about you, but I have spent a lot of time reflecting on the year. There have been some great highs and some deep lows. 

The mark of a new year has consistently pushed me into both of these emotions. We are able to look back on all that we accomplished (or didn’t) and have hope for what’s to come. 

Bible Studies for Life has put together a New Year’s Assessment for you to realize your growth over the last year based on the eight signposts of a maturing disciple, the Discipleship Pathway. In this assessment, you will be presented a series of questions or statements. For each, rate yourself on a scale of 1–10 on how much you agree with the statement. For each category, you will need to add up your score per question so that you can gauge which areas of growth need more attention in the coming year. Allow yourself about 30 minutes to complete the assessment, so find a quiet spot to prayerfully consider each response. 

In each section, you will be asked to create a goal for the coming months. This is not a resolution or a hopeful dream, but an attackable, reachable goal for you to put your energy toward. For example, say you want to memorize all of Romans (at 433 verses, you’ll need to do more than one per day)! That’s a fantastic goal. Now, break that goal down into months. What do you need to hit each month in order to have your yearly goal met? Start with a weekly goal and then a daily goal. Suddenly, memorizing Romans at 1.2 verses a day doesn’t seem like such a daunting task. Or perhaps, due to the assessment results, you’re noticing that some areas of discipleship are weaker than others. We have provided a list of resources that can help you in your journey of discipleship specific to each attribute.

I’d love to know how you plan to make the next year even better. If you’d like to share your goals, thoughts, or even prayer requests, send me an email at andrew.hudson@lifeway.com. Know that we are praying for you and your 2021!