Five First Steps in Following Jesus

Okay so I believe in Jesus now, but how do I start my relationship with Him? What do I do now that I’m saved? 

Here are 5 first steps in following Jesus that can help answer these questions: 

Pray
Prayer is when you talk to God. He not only can hear you but wants to hear about your day, about what’s getting you down and what you’re grateful for. And speaking of gratitude, if you’ve never prayed before, start by thanking Jesus for saving you from your sins. Thank him for the fact that he will always be faithful to you. His love for you will never change even if everything else does. 

Read the Bible
Prayer is when you talk to God but did you know that God wants to talk to you? One way he speaks and guides is through the bible, which is a collection of his words to us. Psalm 119:105 says, “your word is a lamp unto my feet, a light on my path.” There will be dark moments on this journey where you don’t know which steps to take. Let God speak to you through his words in those moments. But don’t just wait to listen to him when things go wrong; make it a habit to read your bible daily- on your phone or with some friends at youth group. You can even listen to the bible on audio when you take a walk. 

Some parts of the bible are confusing, which is fine, just like it’s fine to not always understand what a friend is saying. When miscommunication happens, we need to let go of an original idea we had in our head and listen to our friend intentionally. This is how God wants us to read his words. A good way to start is by reading a section of the bible called The Gospels. They are historical accounts of Jesus’ life. You can learn more about The Gospels by watching this video. And if you don’t have a bible yet, you can read the bible on apps like this one or this one.

Join a church 
Maybe you’re already part of a church and have been in churches your whole life. But if you don’t know what a church is, here’s a general idea: it’s a community of Jesus-followers who help each other go deeper with God and show his love to others. You might think that finding a church during a pandemic is really tough, and you’re right. But this pandemic can also be an opportunity to pray about which church you’d like to be a part of in the future. One thing you can do is google, “churches in _____” and add your city or town. Then pray and check out different websites to see how different churches are connecting online. Or look at their instagram and start thinking about what going to church could look like in the future.

The future may be a very scary thing to think about right now. If that’s where you’re at, remember the bigger goal: to join a community of people who can help you grow your faith. If you’re thinking along those lines, you’re on the right track to experiencing more of what God wants for you! 

Share your story
God not only wants you to experience his love; he wants your friends to experience it too! God wants all people to be saved (1 Timothy 2:3-4). He wants to give you the opportunity to join him in this great endeavour!

Participating in this opportunity is called “the Great Commission.” It’s basically going to those around you and talking about faith and what it’s like to follow Jesus. There’s the word “co” in there because you’re not alone on this adventure. Jesus promises that he’s with us as we talk about him.

Inviting your friend to discover faith can be as simple as sharing the Faith Adventure with them. Download the Voke app and start the Faith Adventure with one friend or a group of friends. This can have a huge impact on their life – and even their eternity.

Keep following Jesus 
Finally, always remember that Jesus loves you. And the right way to respond to his love is by repenting from your sins and obeying him. That means doing a 180 degree turn from the life you were living before and living the way he wants you to live now. In the Gospels, Jesus said the following words to people like you who were new to faith: “whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me” (John 14:21).

The way we respond to a friend’s love says a lot about if we love them in return. As you begin experiencing Jesus’ love and power in your life, our prayer is that you get to know him through prayer, his word, your new church, participating in his work and obeying him in your everyday life. May these first steps in following Jesus be taken in confidence knowing that Jesus is with you on this lifelong journey!