Enabling New Christians in Their Discipleship 
"New Believer Assimilation"

One of the greatest concerns facing the Christian church today is her failure to not only retain new people who have joined the church, but also the lack of success in providing meaningful nurture that results in mature discipleship. Churches have used different methods to assimilate new believers with varying degrees of success, but for the most part churches agree that they have not been long term effective in enabling new Christians in the beginning of their spiritual journey. Listed below are some observations concerning the enabling of new believers that may prove helpful as churches develop their individual strategies.

• A decision to become a follower of Christ Jesus needs to be understood in light of biblical teaching and orientation given by a mature disciple. Becoming a Christian is not like joining a civic club. It is a holistic endeavor that changes one’s life and is intended for a lifetime. Jesus told would-be followers to carefully count the cost before making their decision (Luke 14:25-35). Church membership should also be entered into with purpose and expectation expressed. Many churches today have structured an interim time between desire for church membership and acceptance into membership for the purpose of church orientation and determining the readiness of the one wishing to become a part of the fellowship. Church membership should have integrity and carry high expectation. More than one person has left the church disenchanted because there was a lack of perceived purpose and meaningfulness in being a part of it.

• As Christians share their faith experience with people who have not yet decided to become followers, care needs to be given to distinguish between becoming a follower of Christ and joining a church. Both decisions need a specific orientation. A church needs to decide what expectations they will have of members; what behaviors do they want them to exhibit and what information needs to be given to enable them.

• It is important that churches develop new believer and new church member orientations that are relationship based rather than curriculum focused. There are several good resources that can be used, but it is the personal interaction and encouragement that creates the right environment for long-term commitment and growth. Curriculum needs to focus on helping the new believer learn how to do personal Bible study, pray, and be involved in the life of the church. The church may also need to rethink the priority that she is placing on the new believer (or new member). These people need to be treated as VIP’s for indeed they are. It is the care and nurture given during the early days that affirm their decision to be a part of God’s kingdom and his church. While new believers should be treated as royalty, they also need to know from the outset the expectations of Christ and the church. Accountability is not meant to police or intimidate, but rather convey love and desire for their spiritual growth.

• Churches would do well to identify and specifically train Christians who have a desire to invest themselves in new believers. As already stated, new believer nurture is best couched in relationships rather than curriculum. Church leadership should equip such nurturers for their ministry. These nurturers or “encouragers” should be mature in their faith to the point that they can model what they are instructing the new believers and also able to invest the necessary time needed.

• An aspect of new believer nurture should include an introduction to spiritual gifts and identifying what areas they would like to work in. The church needs to structure herself to provide such ministry opportunities.

• Establishing purpose and ministry opportunities for new believers early in their faith journey is important. It is also important that they are encouraged to share their new found faith with others. It is not important that they have a mature theology. It is important that they tell others what has happened to them.

• Once a person has indicated interest in becoming a follower of Christ or has committed to do so, the church needs to act quickly and deliberately in responding to that decision.

HOW DISCIPLESHIP MINISTRIES CAN HELP: We offer Making a Big Deal Out of a Big Deal which is designed to help churches develop an environment that will intentionally enable the nurture of new believers.