For those new to the Christian faith.
Choosing to follow Christ is the beginning of your faith, and hands down, the best and most important decision you’ll ever make. You’ll experience purpose, peace, joy, and a secured eternity in heaven through your relationship with Christ. You’re at the beginning of a spiritual journey that will change your life, and we want to help you get off to a great start!
This set of online transcripts will help you understand your new commitment to follow Christ and guide you through your first steps as a believer. The transcript will help you understand what is important for you as you grow in your faith, address common questions new believers often ask, provide steps to growing in your faith, and help you set expectations for your first year as a Christ follower.
1. What Are My First Steps?
2. What We Want for You
3. What Just Happened?
4. What Do I Do To Grow?
5. What About the First Year?
1. What Are My First Steps
Teaching Pastor Jason Strand shared five steps that you could take within the first year to help you grow in your faith. That may seem like a lot, but take your time! To begin, we would recommend committing to one or two of the steps listed below within the next month as a starting point. We’d also encourage you to check out our New to GTC track to learn more about who we are as a church and why we do what we do.
a.) Get Baptized
We believe baptism is the first step of obedience to God, it invites God’s blessing on your life, and it declares your true identity with Christ. If you are ready to take this first step of obedience in your walk with Jesus, register for an upcoming baptism—we hold baptism services twice a year (winter and summer).
b.) Read Your Bible
We have access to the best wisdom in the world, and yet many of us hurry through our days without clear direction. Get to know God’s heart and grow in godly wisdom by reading your Bible on a daily basis. We know the Bible can be intimidating, so we’ve compiled easy-to-understand reading plans that will help you get started.
c.) Share Your Story
Everyone has a story worth sharing. Telling your story is a great way to reflect on your faith journey and might be the perfect way to reach your friends and family who are far from God. Take 30 seconds, three minutes or 30 minutes to share your story with someone. Or tell it to us!
2. What We Want for You
In the same way that a plant needs the right environment to grow, our hearts can either be a rich or difficult environment for faith to grow. We want you to have a heart like rich soil so that your roots of faith grow down deep and that your life has an impact of this world that produces a harvest of meaningful relationships, joy, love, and so much more.
3. What Just Happened to Me?
So, you made a decision to follow Christ. You might be wondering, “What just happened to me?” Nothing weird is going on and you definitely don’t need to start acting weird. Just be yourself and allow God to direct your life on this new and exciting journey you’ve begun with Him. To help you get started, Jason will answer a few questions that people who are new to their faith often ask.
4. What Do I Do to Grow?
Think of spiritual growth the same way you would physical fitness. To get in shape–and stay in shape–physically, we need to be disciplined. We need regular exercise and a healthy diet that will help our body operate at its peak performance. It’s no different spiritually. To grow in our faith, we need a steady diet of spiritual practices that will draw us closer to God.
5. What Does the First Year Look Like?
Whether you are beginning a relationship with Jesus for the very first time or you are recommitting your life to him, you are beginning a new chapter of life with Christ. In this video, Jason will walk you through five important steps you can take to help you develop a firm foundation as you experience your first year in Christ.
