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ZuluWhy should we disciple new believers?
Do you remember how excited you were when you first received Jesus as your Savior and Lord?
Do you remember your questions and concerns?
Do you remember the obstacles you faced as your life changed suddenly with your new identity in Christ?
New believers are like newborns—you wouldn’t just leave a baby alone with no guidance and no care.
They need help.
Leaving a new believer to navigate their new faith alone is problematic.
Imagine you share Jesus with a friend, and they receive His invitation. Fantastic, and this is time for celebration! Celebrate with them—but then think how you can help them going forward.
Investing in a new believer is vital—disciple them. It doesn’t have to be time-consuming and difficult.
In the Bible, the apostles equipped believers by visiting people, writing letters to those far away, and praying for them. Now it’s even easier—you can talk over coffee, send a text, and pray with them online.
Here are some simple ways to invest in new believers and help them as they adapt and grow in their new identity following Jesus:
- Give them a study Bible or send a link to download a Bible app (like this one) and train them where to start reading and how to study it. We recommend starting with the Gospel of John.
- Help them find a Bible-teaching church for baptism, growth, and community.
- Call, email, or text them regularly for prayer and encouragement.
- Meet with them regularly and use our free printable resources, video resources, and articles. Use the resources one at a time to train them on one specific topic when you meet together.
- Take them through our 50-Day faith journey, Your True Story, and use the Your True Story resources together each week.
- Print out a copy of our free Listen, Learn, Love, Lord Tool and teach them how to use it. You can even meet with them to review and help them complete it.
- Use these nine free discipleship training resources to help them grow.
After His resurrection, Jesus gave the disciples—His learning new believers—these instructions:
“I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Jesus has all authority, and promises to be with us each step of the way.
As you equip new believers, be sure to encourage that person to disciple another as you take on a new learner.
By unleashing believers as disciple makers, you are also preparing them to obey one of the most neglected parts of Jesus’s instructions, to “teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given to you.”
Making disciples of all nations and teaching obedience is critical.
A new believer’s conversion by the power of the Holy Spirit is only the beginning of their part in God’s Story. Let’s teach them to be disciples and to make disciples.
Here’s some math to think about . . .
What would happen if you discipled one person this year?
Then next year, that person started discipling one person.
The following year everyone who had been discipled started discipling one new person.
In 30 years, if this disciple-making cycle continued, more than one billion people would come to faith in Christ.
God could change your family, your community, and your nation through you.
Are you ready to raise up new believers who will continue the discipleship process until the whole world has heard the name of Jesus?
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