I vividly remember the season when I decided to give up running and join a gym. Up until then I had been an avid runner and enjoyed it. It was a great stress reliever for me, but I didn’t have much physical strength — I was weak and I wanted to change that.
I remember going to a nearby gym and getting a membership there. Most gyms will give you a tour and show you all the nice and shiny amenities they have and all the group classes they provide. The gym walls are laced with photos of trainers and their various credentials.
I was sold. I was convinced that this gym was the right place for me, and for the first time in my life, I had a gym membership. But there was one problem — I didn’t have a plan. I didn’t know what to do, nor did I know how to do whatever it was I needed to do. I was lost — I had no vision and no plan.
Much like my gym experience, my spiritual journey with God began with me stumbling around, unsure of what to do. Although I had been in church all my life — every Sunday, Wednesday and Friday when the church doors were open — I didn’t give my life to Christ until I was 16 years old.
I heard the preacher tell us that Jesus was going to return one day, and we better get right with God, or we’d go to hell. He said that Jesus died for our sins. The problem was, I didn’t think of myself as a sinner. In fact, sin wasn’t really clear to me — I didn’t understand what it was. But I knew I didn’t want to go to hell as the preacher mentioned, so I decided to give my life to Christ. The preacher walked me through the sinner’s prayer and told me that I was now saved.
But I was clueless about what it means to follow Jesus. What is a Christian? How do I pray? How do I even understand the Bible? What is the Bible again? I had so many questions.
Sadly, this is the experience of many who have made professions of faith to follow Jesus. Now what? How do I live now that I follow Christ? What do I do?
The Baptist State Convention of North Carolina has developed a resource titled “Now What?” to address these questions. This discipleship curriculum is designed for you — those who have prayed to follow Jesus and want to dig deeper into what that means. This curriculum is also for those who have been walking with Jesus for a while but may need an awakening to what it means to follow Jesus.
I pray that whether you are a new believer or have been walking with Jesus for some time, this curriculum would help you know Jesus more. I pray that you would be refreshed as you journey through the “Now What?” resource.
“Now What?” Discipleship Curriculum
This resource is a 10-week discipleship curriculum designed to help new believers discover foundational biblical truths of what it means to be a follower of Jesus.
