I talked to my pastor this morning. Asked him what we tell and or give new believers, or people that feel "stuck" in their walk, when they seek direction at the front of the church after service.... this is what he had to say...
* A Bible! (All new believers are given a Bible because it is the Word of God and necessary for the growth of their relationship with the Lord.)
* Small Groups/Sunday Service! (I'm fairly certain we all agree that this is important... connecting a new believer with others that believe is a necessity. It fosters relationship, accountability, steadfastness and community worship... )
* Follow-Up! (The beauty of a small church is that our pastor can indeed follow up with each person that accepts Christ and or voices a need in their walk with the Lord. )
* Mentoring! (Something I FULLY agree with but find to be much more of a concept than a reality. I would LOVE to see this fully integrated in ours, and EVERY, church!)
* Daily Direction! (Our pastoral staff gives a Bible and the three month devotional "The Word for Today" in an effort to direct the new believer on a daily walk with the Lord)
I ended up talking with Pastor Mike for a while. About more than just the direction we offer for those that are new believers/"stuck". And I was encouraged about all that is in the works for our church... things not yet up and running but being discussed, arranged, put into motion.
I will still contact a few of our other pastors to see their take on this topic. I think it is such an important topic. Please let me know how your pastoral staff handles it...
1 comment:
Chelle,
Our church gives a new believer a Bible and a hug. That's if we know they have accepted Christ. We don't have a public alter call. Our church is very small, in the past 7 years attending we have maybe seen 3-5 people accept Christ. We attend service on Sunday and encourage others to come to the co-ed Bible study on Wed evenings. We also have a women's and a men's Bible study during the week. I agree with you that the 'disciple/mentor' programs are more fiction than reality. I am now attending a women's Bible study at a friend's church (another long story) and have been blessed to be around many more Titus 2 women. That was my prayer, to find someone much older in their walk who I could glean from. Whether we are a new believer or have been walking a while, we still need that godly person in our lives that we can seek out for counsel.
Do you have someone like that in your walk?
God Bless..Joanne
p.s. love your deep posts!
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