How do you grow spiritually as a Christian?

By Pastor Kaloma Smith, Senior Pastor, UAMEZ Church · Last updated October 1, 2026

You grow spiritually by giving yourself to God and to other people. In the Great Commission, Matthew 28:19-20, Jesus sends his followers to make disciples, baptize them and teach them to obey, and he promises to be with them always. I read three movements in those verses: help people belong, teach by your example and give your hands to the mission. Each one grows the person who does it. I preached this message at UAMEZ Church in October 2025, during a season we called relaunch. Watch the full sermon here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_lowmCmL7g

Why shouldn't a church become a museum?

People should leave a church changed, and a museum only asks you to look. The day before this sermon, my son and I walked past an old church in downtown Palo Alto, and he asked if we could go into the museum. That cut me deep. "We are not here to guard the ashes of yesterday's faith." In a valley where innovation is endless and loneliness is an epidemic, people are hungry for belonging and purpose, which no machine can make. A church should be a movement that meets that hunger today.

Does serving really make you grow?

Yes, because growth in the kingdom is measured by what you release. "You don't grow by holding tighter. You grow by letting go." I also told our church, "The spirit of God doesn't move to make a spectator. He moves to make us servants." Jesus' last words in Matthew describe how disciples are made and how they mature, and they apply to every believer, including the ones who never touch a microphone.

How does helping others belong help me grow?

It enlarges your heart and changes how you see people. Baptism means being fully immersed, and it marks a person as part of God's family. Everything that welcomes someone into that family is part of the work. I came back to church at 27. I can't tell you what the preacher said that day, but I remember the people who said hi. Your hello in the parking lot or your welcome to a child at the door might be the first genuine greeting someone has heard. The longer I serve, the more I see each person as made in God's image, and less as a number on a church scorecard.

What does it mean to teach by example?

It means living what you teach. Jesus told his followers to teach people to observe what he commanded, which is about practice more than quoting. The church in America has a credibility problem because our words and our example often don't match. Discipleship works like an apprenticeship, where you pray with someone and serve beside them. Living what you believe deepens your conviction and builds integrity. Parenting my two young children has taught me patience, and serving people has taught me the same lesson.

Do I have to be perfect to serve?

You do not have to be perfect to serve. In our tradition we believe God keeps perfecting us day by day. The issues I fought 10 years ago are not the ones I fight today, and I still have issues. When I first came back to Christ my faith was tiny. Each small step of trust made it bigger, and it can work the same way for you.

What does it look like to give your hands to the mission?

It means carrying the mission wherever you go. The word go in that verse carries the sense of as you are going, so mission becomes an everyday way of life. Serving should pull you out of your comfort zone. Growing up in New York, I went on our church's Midnight Run, handing out soup and sweet coffee to people sleeping in parks and train stations on freezing nights. It changed how I saw my city. Hospital visits still humble me, because all I can do is show up and ask God how to be useful. At UAMEZ you can serve with kids, in worship, in tech and media, or in outreach.

Join us Sundays at 10 AM PT at 3549 Middlefield Rd, Palo Alto, CA 94306, or watch live at youtube.com/@uamez. Plan your visit at uamez.com.