Step 1: Read the Bible

If you’ve ever opened a Bible and felt a little lost, that’s okay. It’s not your typical book! The Bible consists of 66 books written over 1500 years by 40 different authors. The entire Bible is written by people who had a personal relationship with God, and who received messages from Him about the truth of who He is, our identity as His children, and instruction about how to live the life God wanted for us.

We can use the Bible to receive instruction for our lives, and as a way to know more about our own relationship with God today. A good place to start is with the book of John in the New Testament. It explains how and why God truly loves us. It also explains who His son Jesus is.

If you don’t have a Bible, that’s okay, there are plenty of free apps and online versions. We recommend the YouVersion Bible App.

Step 2: Pray

God loves you and loves hearing from you! Communication is important in any relationship and prayer is just that, a conversation with God. He really wants to hear from you. You can tell Him anything and everything, and if you listen, you can hear Him speak to you too. It’s true that God speaks to us uniquely and individually, so it can look different from person to person.

A good way to tell if you are hearing from God is if it lines up with God’s character and what the Bible says. When you pray, you don’t have to speak or act a certain way. Just pray however you feel comfortable. Talking to God is just like talking to a friend and having a conversation.

Step 3: Worship

Worship is the actions we do, from a heart of reverence and love towards God. It is defined by the value we place on who God is in our lives and where God is on our list of priorities. There are lots of ways you can worship, like telling God when you’re thankful for all the awesome things He’s done for you, by praying, singing, or meditating on what He said in the Bible. If you’re not sure where to start, think about something you’re grateful for, or about His love for you, and let Him know you love Him.

The ways we can worship God are super diverse, but we can summarise it as any action we do for God. This can mean reading the Bible or singing in church, but it is also anything from treating others with kindness, going the extra mile at work, choosing to do what is right and good, and deliberately living a life we know makes God proud. This means that your whole life can be used to worship God, not just something you do at church.

 Step 4: Connect with a Church Community

It’s really important to meet up with other people who follow Jesus too. To do that, we recommend joining a church or attending an Alpha Course to learn more about God and what it means to be a follower of Jesus. There are many different types and styles of churches and many of them run Alpha Courses.

God values community, and that’s why church or meeting with other followers of Jesus is important. God gave us the gift of His community, so we can support and encourage each other. Each person is a masterpiece made by God, and that means we each have something that we can show each other about our loving Creator.

Step 5: Share Your Faith

It’s good news! Tell it, sing it, post it. Telling other people about your life-changing decision is really important too. This is called sharing your testimony. There are lots of ways to share your testimony online and offline. Posting something on social media is a great way to start. Write it down and start sharing. Tell someone about your decision to follow Jesus, and how He has changed your life! If you see God has done something extraordinary for you, why not tell a friend or a family member about it? It might help them to get a better view of how God cares about everyone, including them!