What Happens Next?

Notice what one early follower of Jesus said to a group of new believers: “I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns” (Philippians 1:6 NLT).

Paul wrote these encouraging words to everyday people doing their everyday best to follow Jesus. They weren’t perfect, but they were making progress…just like us.

We don’t know where or when you chose to follow Jesus, nor do we know the challenges you’ve overcome. We are confident, though, that God will continue the good work that He started in you!

Our prayer for you is the same prayer Paul prayed for that group of new believers: “I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding” (Philippians 1:9 NLT).

Keep saying YES! to Jesus every day. Seek progress, not perfection. God is love, so He won’t abandon you when life gets hard or when you make a mistake. It won’t always feel easy, but as you make progress, you’ll witness God working in you and through you as you live and love like Jesus.

So what happens next? Well, your journey of following Jesus is unique:

• You could find friends through a small group.
• You could find a local church or get to know more about your church.
• You could use your gifts to make a difference through serving.
• Or you could choose something completely different!

The best thing you can do now is to continue taking the daily steps you’ve been reading about in this plan. There isn’t one cookie-cutter path for following Jesus, but we’ve noticed some common steps. We hope you’ll read through these common steps and talk with a pastor about what’s next for you:

• Finding a local church, joining a small group, or finding some solid Christian friends - If you want help with these, we can help: https://www.jesuscares.com/find-a-church
• Getting baptized
• Finding a mentor
• Sharing your decision to follow Jesus with a friend or family member

Whatever you do, don’t stop following Jesus. Don’t continue on with life like nothing has happened inside of you. Something has happened, and something is happening. Lean into that and trust God to continue making you more like Jesus!