Nourishing Spiritual Seekers

One of the most striking cultural shifts of the last few decades is the rise of the "spiritual but not religious" person. You meet them everywhere in Melbourne's inner-north. People who don't want institutions but crave transcendence. People who don't trust dogma but long for meaning. People who won't tick a denominational box but practise ritual, meditation, tarot, mindfulness, or a curated mosaic of spiritual practices.

For these neighbours, the hunger is real, even if the pathways feel improvised. In many ways, this group is exactly whom Jesus calls the church to serve: people searching for life, longing for God, and willing to explore.

Over the years at our church, I've also observed another surprising phenomenon, almost the mirror image of the first. There are always some who are, in fact, "religious but not spiritual." They are thoughtful, educated people who come to church because they should, because it matters, because it's good for their kids, because they believe in the idea of God… but feel very little connection to God's presence in their daily lives.

Some of them still have a prayer life. They still show up, believe, and serve. But underneath it all, many quietly admit:

"I'm spiritually dry." 

"I haven't sensed God's presence in years." 

"I wish I felt something."

This presents a real pastoral conundrum.

How can we be a church that nourishes spiritual seekers if we don't feel nourished ourselves? How do we introduce people to the transforming, life-giving power of the Holy Spirit when some of us feel like we're running on spiritual fumes?

This part of our vision requires honesty, hope, and a look at how God is already at work among us.

If you're in a dry season, let me encourage you: this time will not last forever.

As I said in my sermon on Ezekiel 47, sometimes the nourishment comes when we lift our eyes beyond ourselves and notice what God is doing in the wider church community. The answer is rarely found by burrowing further inward. Instead, it's found in paying attention to the sacred between us—the presence of the Holy Spirit in the relational space where God meets His people.

And our church is full of signs of this sacred presence.

Where We Already See God at Work

Here are just some of the ways I am seeing us living out this vision:

People are coming to faith for the first time. Every year, people arrive curious and searching, and discover that Jesus is real and that Christian faith has depth, warmth, and life. Spiritual seekers are genuinely finding that nourishment that only Christ brings among us. 

Stories of answered prayer and healing. I regularly hear testimonies—from big answers to prayer to quiet moments of healing, provision, reconciliation, and renewed joy. 

The spiritual vitality of our young people. Our youth ministry is full of teenagers praying for one another, serving, worshipping, and growing in faith. I've been really encouraged to see our youth inviting their friends from school to both Friday nights and to the youth services. When seekers see young people taking Jesus seriously, it has an enormous spiritual impact.

A culture of warm, unpretentious hospitality. Visitors say it all the time: our church "feels different." People are noticed. Newcomers are welcomed into homes, groups, and friendships. Hospitality is a spiritual practice that nourishes.

Public engagement through the art show and community events. Our art show was a powerful example of nourishing spiritual imagination in the neighbourhood. It opened up conversations about beauty, transcendence, and faith, exactly the space where spiritual seekers thrive.

Small groups where people share honestly. In our community groups, people open their lives: grief, doubts, burnout, parenting struggles, anxiety—and others pray, encourage, and support. These resonant spaces are where the Holy Spirit often moves most deeply.

Our staff team's spiritual health. Behind the scenes, our staff team has grown in prayer, unity, confession, openness, and expectation of God's presence. 

Intergenerational care that reflects the Kingdom. Children praying for adults, older members encouraging young families, singles supporting parents, and people with disabilities being included. These are holy, nourishing moments.

A growing number of people have a spiritual director. Spiritual Direction is a prayerful, guided conversation in which a trained companion helps you pay attention to the presence and movement of God in your life.

In all these ways, the Spirit is nourishing people and teaching us how to nourish others.

What Spiritual Nourishment Is—and Isn't

Let’s be clear. Spiritual nourishment is not constant emotional intensity, always "feeling" close to God, a quick fix, self-improvement, retreating inward in search of mystical experiences, or avoiding suffering and complexity.

Spiritual nourishment is encountering the living God, receiving grace, being shaped by Scripture, worshipping among real people, letting the Holy Spirit soften and renew you, seeing God at work in others, and participating in community where the sacred "between us" becomes real.

Nourishment is found not in introspection, but in opening yourself to the relational, communal work of the Spirit.

How We Become a Nourishing Church—Even Imperfectly

The beautiful truth is that we do not need to be overflowing to nourish others. But we do need to be open. 

We need honesty: naming our dryness without shame. 

We need expectancy: trusting that God genuinely meets His people. 

We need prayer: seeking not just God's help, but God's presence. 

We need hospitality: welcoming seekers as beloved image-bearers. 

And we need formation: helping each other move from mere duty into spiritual depth. 

When we lean into these postures, even imperfectly, God breathes his life into us. He waters. He nourishes. And nourishment spreads.

Stay Close to the Well

Jesus said, "Whoever drinks the water I give will never thirst."

We are not the source of the water. But we are a community that drinks from it. And because we drink, we can offer it to others.

By God's grace, this is already happening among us. And by God's grace, we will continue to grow into this calling.