I am thankful to God and am grateful to four Christian brothers.  One often cared for me and made me feel at home in church.  He encouraged me to attend worship service faithfully and to enjoy Christian fellowship.  Another helped me to continue trusting the Lord during difficult times.  Yet another Christian brother taught me unconditional love by his life testimony.  A fourth brother encouraged me to learn to interpret God’s precious Word.  These people invested their time in and changed my life.

 

Your Experience of Spiritual Growth

 

I believe you are also thankful to some people.  Had it not been for that person, you might still be outside salvation’s door, not having a consistent “Quiet Time” (a time of reading the Bible and praying), attending worship faithfully or you might still be unclear about your salvation.  Dear all, your experience tells you that it is important to have a spiritual mentor.  You have benefited from the care and spiritual guidance given you by others.  You have a responsibility to do likewise to new friends or new believers in our church.  Paul was Timothy’s spiritual mentor and Timothy later became the pastor of the church in Ephesus.  Moses mentored Joshua and he became a mighty general who led Israel to the Promise Land.

 

Mark by Barnabus’ encouragement returned to serve the Lord after a period of weakness.  And you, after being strengthened by a certain brother in Christ, are growing spiritually in the Lord and enjoying abundant life.  Indeed, it is more “blessed to give than to receive.”

Caring for New Friends

You can do several things.  First, I encourage you to fellowship after service.  Also, care for new friends.  You can introduce him or her to other people.  You may not quite know how to share the gospel, but you can help him feel at home in church.  How can people not experience true love in God’s house?  Within the week, if you have his or her contact number, at his convenience, call him to care for him if possible.  Also, in the weeks to come, continue to care for him as he may not yet feel at home in church.

Have Quiet Time with Him

Second, a new Christian may have difficulty understanding the Bible.  He may not know how to pray or have the habit of doing his Quiet Time regularly.  He may also not be quite clear about matters related to salvation.  Do you remember that you were once also like that?  He needs your guidance and encouragement.  You can arrange to have Quiet Time and pray with him that he may learn how to maintain these spiritual disciplines.  In this way, you cut short his learning curve. Then he will grow and enjoy abundant life.  May the Lord give you a burden for new believers.

Eternal Value

It is a challenge to help new believers to grow as he constantly requires encouragement and guidance.  But when his life changes and he overcomes bad habits and develop good spiritual discipline and maintains a stable spiritual growth, you have done a work of eternal value, you have fulfilled the Great Commission which your Lord entrusted to you: “Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them inthe name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,and teachingthem to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with youalways, to the very end of the age.” ” (Matt 28:18-20)