The Next Step

2 Corinthians 5:17

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!

Many efforts are being made in the United States to share the Good News of the Gospel. College revivals like the one at Asbury University in Kentucky sparked a renewal of the revival age with other colleges and universities following their example. Missionaries from countries around the world are coming to the United States to bring hope to a fractured country.

And while this is encouraging, the questions that must be asked are: What’s the next step? How do we, as practicing Christians help the newest members of God’s family? How do we help them become a new creation?

It’s not enough to just hug them and tell them how happy we are that they have come to accept the Lord into their lives.

We need to help them navigate their new life in Christ. Many of them who weren’t introduced to the Lord through family ties don’t even have a church they or their families belong to. And they probably have no idea yet who the Holy Spirit is. The Lord may call us to be the person who can walk with a new believer. And we need to be ready at any time to answer that call.

I belong to Celebrate Recovery, a Christian-based 12-step program to help people deal with hurts, habits and hang-ups through faith in Christ and I have sponsored people in both that program and AA. When a new person comes to a meeting, I make sure to give them my number in case they have any questions about anything they heard in the meeting. Because I keep extra Bibles in my house in case anyone needs one, I’ve had the pleasure of giving them to people throughout the years with the promise of being there for them while they navigate through 66 books they may have never read.

The In Touch Ministry publication, “Now That You Believe...Beginning Your New Relationship with Jesus, states: “Now that you have accepted Jesus as your Savior, you may be wondering, 'What did I just do?’ Perhaps you weren’t quite sure what you were agreeing to.”

I accepted Jesus while watching an evangelical TV program, and I didn’t have a church then. I knew about God and the Bible because I went to Catholic school, and while we were taught Bible History, I don’t ever remember being encouraged to read the actual Bible. I was also never taught I could have a personal relationship with Jesus. So, as I sat in my living room that day after I tearfully accepted Jesus into my life, I had no idea what to do. The preacher encouraged his listeners to find a church they would be comfortable in. And that was it!! I was on my own to navigate this new life I was sure I wanted. But it shouldn’t have had to be that difficult.

Unfortunately, many churches today no longer have altar calls after the service. Identifying new believers is not easy. Without the help of revivals and structured programs, and special programs like the Shallom Mission Ballet, we are truly fishing for people to tell them about the Lord.

We live in a hurting world that desperately needs Jesus. But unless we have the willingness to keep our eyes, ears, arms, and hearts open, the hurt will continue to grow. It’s time for follow-through. It’s time to take the next step.

“No Christian is an only child.”
Eugene Peterson