I have started to follow Jesus. What next?

follow Jesus in the power of the Holy SpiritHave you just made a start on following Jesus? Have you been through the steps on my page How can I become a follower of Jesus? If so, this is the place for you, and welcome to the community of Jesus followers.

If not, or if you are not sure where you stand with God and Jesus at the moment, then you should start with the page Why should I follow Jesus?

When you prayed the prayer on How can I become a follower of Jesus?, God forgave you for all you had done wrong, put his new life in you, and made you a follower of Jesus. Now you just have to follow him! But there are a few specific steps which will help you to get started in the right direction.

  1. You should tell someone what you have done. Better still, tell several people – but you are not expected to preach it in the streets for now! This will help to confirm inside you that you have made a real and permanent step. It will also help your friends and family to understand that your life has changed, and that theirs could as well. I realise that this could be difficult if the people around you may be opposed to the Christian faith – see also Do I need to change my religion to follow Jesus? (in preparation)
  2. It would also be helpful if you could tell me at Gentle Wisdom that you have taken this step, using the confidential contact form or by commenting publicly below. Then I will be able to pray for you and offer you advice for your own situation. (Unfortunately I cannot offer any kind of counselling.)
  3. You have already asked God to fill you with the power of his Holy Spirit. At this point you may have felt this power inside you, or maybe you did not. In any case you need to understand more about this power, and how to experience and use it. So please read my page How can I know the power of God in my life? (in preparation)
  4. You should start to get to know God’s handbook for Jesus followers, which is called the Bible. For advice on this read What is the handbook for Jesus followers? (in preparation)
  5. You are not following Jesus on your own. You are part of a worldwide community of his followers. So you need to meet up with others who can give you the support you need as you get started on this path, and can continue to walk along it with you. For advice on finding a suitable group of these people, read How can I meet with other Jesus followers? (in preparation)
  6. At some point soon you should consider being “baptised”. This is a simple public ceremony in which you body is dipped in water. This is to tell others that you are now a follower of Jesus and have formally joined his community. For more about this, read To follow Jesus, do I need to be baptised? (in preparation)

It is great to have you as a new brother or sister in the community of Jesus followers. I wish you well as you start to grow and mature in your new life. If there is anything else you want to know or advice you need, please let me know through the contact form or the comment box.

If you have any questions, please ask in the comment box below, but see the special comment policy for this series.

9 thoughts on “I have started to follow Jesus. What next?

  1. Thank you, Sandra, and may God bless you. I’m sorry that the follow-up pages are still in preparation – I have been distracted on to other things.

    Are you involved with any kind of church or other group of Christians? If you are, you should probably go to them rather than me for help. If you are not, then please tell me where you live, and perhaps a little more about you e.g. roughly how old you are, and I will try to put you in contact with someone. If you prefer to do this privately please use the contact form.

  2. I also need to know how to start my journey with Christ I have a church I’m baptized my problem is prayer I don’t know if I’m talking to Him right

  3. Leroy, thanks for asking and may God bless you as you start on this new life. I would say that God is not very concerned about exactly how you pray to him. You don’t need to use any special forms of words. Just be respectful – he’s not your equal, and certainly not your servant. But otherwise just be natural with him, tell him how you feel and what you need, and let him know about others’ needs. The important thing is to develop a relationship with him. And for that you also need to learn to listen to him. That is not an easy art, and not one that I am very well qualified to teach others about. I hope that helps.

  4. hey my name is kirsten, i have just become a follower of jesus because i want to change and be a better person and follow in the one that saved me to be forgiven as i have committed alot of sins and have just asked for forgiveness and want to move on with my new life. where do i start? i was baptised as a baby being catholic but i as a person do not know which religon i beleive in as there is so many but can i still be a follower in jesus ? i need help as i have picked up alot of bad habits and i dont think i can do this on my own. please email me

  5. Paul John, thank you for commenting here. I’m sorry that I have been slow replying. I don’t know much about you. So the best answer I can give is to follow the advice above. Find a good evangelical church and ask for help there. If the first one is not helpful, try another one. I’m sorry, but at the moment I cannot give any more personal advice. May God bless you!

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