The Joys of Bringing New People Into the Faith
“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.” —Matthew 28:20
There’s a difference between going to Disneyland with adults and going to Disneyland with kids. If you go with adults, all they want to do is eat. They don’t want to go on rides because they don’t like waiting in line. They also analyze everything.
On the other hand, if you go to Disneyland with kids, it’s a completely different experience. They’ll wait in line for that ride. And to them, everything is cool.
In the same way, a new believer can energize a more mature believer. When someone who’s new in the faith comes into a church and is excited about Jesus, it energizes the older believers.
At the same time, those new believers need more mature believers to disciple them. They’re discovering things for the first time. Maybe they have questions about what a Scripture passage means. As older believers start helping them, they, too, discover things they’ve forgotten. Their passion is being rekindled.
So not only does it benefit the new believers who are being discipled, but it also benefits those who are doing the discipling. That is why mature believers need an outlet. It’s called making disciples.
Jesus said:
“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.” —Matthew 28:19–20
If you want to maintain passion and excitement in your spiritual life, then find some new believers and help them get on their feet spiritually. It will reengergize you.
Show me a church that doesn’t have a constant flow of new believers coming in, and I will show you a church that is stagnating.
True disciples will reproduce themselves.
This article originally appeared on Greg’s blog and is reposted here by permission.
