Dude, congratulations. You’re a Christian now. You are a part of God’s family.
In the parable of the sower in Matthew 13, Jesus tells a story about a farmer scattering seed. Some seed falls on a path and gets eaten by birds. Some falls on rocky ground — it sprouts fast but dies in the sun because it has no roots. Some falls among thorns and gets choked out. But some seed falls on good soil, and it produces a massive harvest — a hundred, sixty, or thirty times what was sown.
The seed is the word of God. The soil is your heart. If you’ve received Christ, that’s a seed falling on good soil.
But seeds need certain conditions to grow. Here are basic things a new Christian ought to do for maximum seed germination:
Tell a friend, a family member, the person who gave you this card — anyone. It doesn’t have to be a big announcement. Just say it out loud to another human being: “I gave my life to Christ.”
Faith was never meant to be private. Saying it out loud makes it real in a way that thinking it doesn’t.
“For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.”Start with the Gospel of John. It’s the story of Jesus told by someone who walked with him. After that, read Acts — it’s what happened after Jesus rose and ascended, written by the historian Luke. It will show you what the first Christians believed and how they lived.
You don’t have to understand everything. Just start reading. God will use it.
“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”Not a perfect one — there aren’t any. But find a Bible-believing church where people actually know each other and care about following Jesus. You need people around you who are further along than you are. You need to be taught, and you need community.
If you don’t know where to start, reach out to us (see below) or search for a church near you that teaches the Bible verse by verse.
Jesus commanded it. Baptism doesn’t save you — faith in Christ does that. But baptism is your public declaration that you belong to him now. It’s your way of saying to the world: I was dead, and now I’m alive. I’m with him.
Talk to a pastor at your church about this. Don’t put it off.
“We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.”This is prayer. It’s not complicated. You don’t need special words or a special posture. You just talk to him. Thank him. Ask him for help. Tell him what you’re struggling with. Tell him what you’re grateful for. He’s listening.
You can pray anywhere — in your car, in bed, on your lunch break. He’s not waiting for you to get to a church building. He’s with you right now.
From your own habits. From people around you. From doubt. There will be days when you wonder if any of this is real, or if you really believe it, or if you’re doing it right.
This is normal. It doesn’t mean it didn’t work. It means you’re in a fight now — and that’s actually evidence that something changed. You wouldn’t face resistance if there were nothing to resist.
When that happens, go back to what you know: Christ died for you. He rose. He promised never to cast you out. Hold onto that.
“I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”If you’re in the Richmond area and looking for a church, contact us here:
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”
2 Corinthians 5:17