GET NEW BELIEVERS STARTED

 

Over several months, I spent time building a relationship with Cameron. Then I shared the gospel with him when I thought he was ready. He prayed to accept Christ. Everything about his response seemed genuine, and he appeared to be sincere. But his relationship with Christ never went further than that prayer.

 

Brianna came from a nominally Christian background. Though her parents had never shown any interest in spiritual matters, she jumped at the opportunity to receive Jesus. She showed a consistent hunger to grow from that day forward, asked lots of questions, and worked through several personal issues. She made Jesus the center of her life and went on to lead others to Christ in high school and college.

 

Why do some students who accept Christ grow rapidly and others stagnate almost from the start or along the way? There is no formula for getting a student to mature spiritually. Sometimes the reason some grow and some do not is a mystery. We know God wants everyone to know Him and to grow in their relationship with Him, but He doesn’t force anyone to grow. Each and every person has to make ongoing, daily decisions for the rest of their lives to either follow Jesus or not. As leaders, then, what is our role in helping students get started and keep growing in their journey with Jesus?

 

My friend Keith explained it this way:

 

Years ago, my wife and I had a tomato-growing contest, and the stakes were high: the loser had diaper-changing duty for a month. My wife spent an hour prepping her square-foot patch of ground with potting soil, fertilizer, and plenty of water, while I watched in amusement. When she was done, I grabbed a teaspoon, dug a hole three inches deep, stuck my tomato plant in it, covered it with soil, and flooded it with water and verbal encouragement. (Yes, I spoke to my tomato plant.)

 

Over the next month, she pampered her plant while I ignored mine. I trusted nature to take its course; she worked with nature for greater results. Eventually the difference was obvious. My tomatoes were green, the size of acorns, and hers were big, red, and juicy. The lesson was reinforced every time I took out the diapers.

 

Students respond like the tomato plants. We can’t make them grow, but we can create an environment that encourages growth. As Jesus promised, what is planted in good soil produces a bountiful crop (Matthew 13:23).

 

The Significance of a Relationship

Jesus always had time for relationships. No matter how many large crowds gathered around Him, He consistently gave people His time and attention. We see this when He called His disciples individually, by name; when He cast demons out of Mary Magdalene; in His nighttime conversation with Nicodemus; and when He called Zacchaeus down from a tree, healed a paralytic, and cast demons out of a man. When the Samaritan woman believed in Him and ran to tell everyone else in the village, He stayed for two days to teach her and other new believers so they could begin to grow. Almost every page in the Gospels shows us how Jesus focused in on individual people.

 

It is easy to view a student’s prayer to receive Jesus as the end of the process, but it’s really just the beginning. Just as when a new baby is born into a family, the parents have a significant responsibility to care for and guide that baby to grow into a strong and mature adult. So it is when someone is born into God’s family.

 

The Effectiveness of a Good Plan

Healthy spiritual growth requires following a good plan. With a haphazard approach, a new believer’s life will likely not change significantly. Like the tomato plants, lack of nurturing and letting nature take its course is not a wise strategy. We can trust God to work in a new believer’s life. Yet He almost always does His work through His people. God entrusts us with the amazing privilege of guiding new believers to grow.

 

Paul put it this way:

 

We proclaim him, warning and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil, striving with all the energy he mightily inspires in me. (Colossians 1:28-29)

 

How do we do this effectively? What is the goal? Again, Paul gives us direction:

 

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. (Colossians 2:6-7)

 

Begin this adventure with new believers by addressing their felt needs: What will my friends think? What about my parents? What if I do something wrong? Will Jesus leave me? What is this new life going to look like? Raise these questions for them and with them, giving them the opportunity to express their fears, doubts, and apprehensions. But also teach them the basic truths about following Jesus:

 

• What happened when I accepted Christ?

 

• How do I get to know God?

 

• How do I tell other people?

 

• How do I connect with other Jesus followers?

 

What happens if I mess up?

 

• How will my life change?

 

A valuable tool to get them plugged into the life and resources God has for them is Getting Started. This small book covers the basic truths of growing in Christ and most of the common questions new believers have (see Resources below). It will help you walk through these basic truths with your new disciples.

 

Using the Getting Started book will quickly accelerate the growth process. Plan your first Getting Started meeting as quickly as possible and then, if possible, meet six times in the next six weeks. Use these simple, practical guidelines.

 

1. Bring your weekly goal clearly into focus. If you know your goal for each meeting, you will be confident about what you want to accomplish. What do you want this new believer to understand as a result of this meeting?

 

2. Get into the Bible immediately. As soon as people accept Christ, they need to start reading God’s Word quickly and regularly. Give them a paperback Bible and ask them to start reading 1 John that night. Show them where 1 John is. Call them the next day to see if they did the reading. If not, do it with them on the phone. If they continue to struggle with doing the reading, call them every day and do it with them. Encourage them to ask you questions about what they read. If they don’t have any, ask them questions.

 

3. Give your new disciple focused attention quickly. For new believers, many questions immediately come to mind: “What will my friends think of me?” “How am I supposed to talk and act?” “How will my parents respond?” They have many legitimate questions. By answering them, you communicate that you care and are available to help. The first few days after a decision for Christ are very vital, so find time to talk or at least text as often as possible that first week. After that, get in a rhythm of communication that doesn’t smother them but keeps the two of you in close touch.

 

4. Find a quiet place to meet. In your follow-up conversations, find an informal place that is convenient for both of you.

 

5. Follow a simple format. You can shape the conversation for greatest effect by following a simple structure:

• Personal: Check in on how they are doing, what is going on in their world.

 

• Progress: Ask how they are doing with grasping and applying what they have been reading in the Bible and learning about Jesus. Go through one session in Getting Started at each meeting.

 

• Problems: Encourage them to talk about struggles: their personal life, family, friends, school, and other significant issues.

 

• Prayer: Pray with them and for them about what was discussed above and about whatever large or small concerns they want to pray about. After a couple of follow-up sessions, encourage them to pray.

 

If you take these steps with your new believer friends and go through the six sessions of Getting Started, they will be off to a great start and begin to grow deeper in their new, life-changing relationship with Jesus.

 

Next, take the steps outlined in this article to continue with your discipleship group—to “make disciples” as Jesus challenged us to do.

 

Your Next Steps

We encourage keeping a notebook or journal of ideas, action steps, and resources that will help you advance your youth ministry. You can use the following questions and suggestions for brainstorming and developing your goals and plans.

 

• Download two free Getting Started books, one for you to read through and one for your new believer friend. Make notes on how you will communicate these significant first steps in order to help your new believer friend grow.

 

• Plan and start your six weekly meetings.

 

• Keep track daily of your new believer friend with calls and texts.

 

• Prayerfully consider others who would benefit from one-on-one or group conversations with you. If a few students decide to follow Jesus, consider an entire group led by you or one of your trained leaders.

 

Resources

• Go to barrystclair.com to download free:

– Getting Started