Take the Next Step
Begin a wonderful journey with God!
On the first Pentecost following Jesus’ resurrection, Jews from every nation who were celebrating the feast heard a sound like a mighty rushing wind. When they investigated, they found Jesus’ disciples speaking in tongues (foreign languages) and heard the very first Gospel sermon preached by Peter. At the conclusion of Peter’s message, they asked “Brethren, what shall we do?” to get into a right relationship with God. Peter told them “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 2:38) These words remain just as true today for us to have a close relationship with God.
Learn about God’s Love
God loves you so much He sent His only Son to redeem you.
“Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah.” (Acts 5:42). Jesus’ disciples freely shared the gospel (good news) message of Jesus redeeming us from our sins. In talking about this good news and its impact on lives Paul says “Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.” (Romans 10:17) The first step in our journey is learning the good news about what Jesus did to restore our relationship with God that had been broken by sin.
Believe in Jesus
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16)
We believe that Jesus is the promised Messiah, God in human flesh, and that He offered His sinless life to pay the price for our sin filled lives. Death couldn’t hold Him and He was raised to live forever in heaven at the right hand of God the Father. Paul tells us “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.” (Romans 10:9-11)
Change Your Life
Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. (Matthew 3:8)
When we believe in Jesus as our Lord and Savior it causes us to want to live a changed life. Knowing that Jesus suffered such a horrible death to pay the price for our sins should cause us to repent of our old sinful life. Paul tells us “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20) Like Paul, we should live a life that reflects the amazing gift we received from God.
Water Baptism
And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name. (Acts 22:16)
Romans 6:3-4 tells us that baptism is a burial in which our old life is put to death, and we begin a new Spirit-led life. Like the early church, we practice immersion baptism to symbolize this burial and our commitment to follow Jesus as Lord. Water baptism is our public acknowledgement that we are no longer dead in our sins but are now alive in Christ. You can put on Christ in baptism whenever you are ready to commit your life to Him.
Follow Jesus
My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. (John 10:27)
Throughout the Gospels we see Jesus calling individuals to follow Him. He called Peter, James and John from fishing to follow Him. He called Matthew from his lucrative position as a tax collector to follow Him. And He calls us today to follow Him. What does it mean to follow Jesus? In Mark 8:34 Jesus “called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” Following Jesus means living not for self but for the One who died for our sins!
Get Connected
Join today.
We wanted to give you one place where you could respond to any of these next steps. A place where you could find message notes, sign up for events, and enroll in groups and classes that will continually help you in your journey with Christ. Check out our connect page and register for a user account. It’s the easiest way for you to get on board.