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FIRST STEPS FOR NEW BELIEVERS

CONGRATULATIONS!
You have just made the most important decision and commitment a person can make in life. As a result of receiving the Lord Jesus as your Savior, you have experienced what the Bible calls being “born again”, a new birth. You are now part of God’s family. Your Father is God and you have been given the free gift of salvation and have been granted everlasting life.

In your physical life, you entered the world as a baby and then grew to maturity. The same is true in your spiritual experience. Now that you have experienced a spiritual birth, you need to grow into a mature follower of Jesus. Just as an infant needs help to grow physically, a new believer needs help to grow spiritually. Below are six things that we encourage you to do so you can begin growing in the Lord:

1. Love God and love everyone as you love yourself.
These are God’s two greatest commandments.

2. Study the Bible.
The Bible is a compilation of 66 divinely inspired books and letters divided into 2 main sections: the Old Testament and the New Testament. In the Bible God reveals himself to us. We discover His nature and character, His love, His justice, His forgiveness and His truth. Also, the Bible is what we use as a guidebook for living out the Christian faith. As a starting point, we encourage you to begin in the New Testament in the book/gospel of “John”. Start your daily reading by reading at least one chapter from “John” at a sitting.

3. Pray often.
Prayer is how we communicate with God. You can pray from the heart, freely, spontaneously, and in your own words. You can pray alone or with other Christians. You can talk with God (aloud or silently) throughout the day. Take all your problems to Him. He is interested in you and everything that pertains to you. Make sure to close your prayers with “In Jesus name, Amen” or “In the name of Jesus, Amen”. By closing a prayer that way, you are sealing the prayer and recognizing the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, advocate and mediator between you and God, the Father.

4. Attend a Christian Church.
As a member of God’s family, fellowship in a local church is important for your spiritual growth. Ask God to guide you to the church where He wants you to be at this present time. When considering a church, look for one that teaches that the Bible is God’s Word, our final authority, and that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who died and rose again for our salvation. A good church will believe, teach, and practice the true teachings of the Bible, and will provide further instructions on Christian living such as baptism, being filled with the Holy Spirit, serving and how you can support the church.

5. Share your faith.
Tell those around you how you received the Lord Jesus Christ and how they too can find God’s forgiveness and eternal life through faith in Him. Perhaps they too are ready to accept the Lord Jesus like you did.

6. Turn from sin.
Sin no longer has power over you! You may be tempted to sin but now you have the ability to resist it. As you walk in faith and obedience to the Lord you will notice that the things that you used to do, like or think that were contrary to God’s plan for your life, you will not want to do those things anymore. But, we all make mistakes in our walk so if you sin, be quick to confess your sins unto God and He will cleanse you from your sin and help you to overcome any sins that you may still struggle with. Don’t forget to close your prayers with “In Jesus name, Amen” or “In the name of Jesus, Amen”.

Again, congratulations and welcome to the family! We rejoice with you and pray that you will develop a deep relationship with God and be used mightily by Him to impact the lives of everyone you encounter!



To view the entire First Step for New Believers document in pdf format, please click here.

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