Lost and Found

We see and hear of so many converts over time who fall away from the faith and soon become "like the lost" in their living and in their personal lives. Why is this happening? I believe it is because of the lack of follow-up and discipleship for those new converts to help them deepen their faith through study in God's Word. When I was a youth pastor, I made it a priority to disciple all the new converts and used a ministry tool called the Paul and Timothy discipleship process, and we were able to not only retain those new converts but also lead them to follow Jesus in a deeper calling. I thought at the time that having them come to a youth Sunday School class would be all they needed, but Sunday School classes are not geared for the more intense discipleship that new converts need. New Converts need a group mentoring dynamic that is not geared to regular church times and dates.

The Optimum plan would be to meet with a mature Christian on a one-to-one basis and thus lead the new convert into the four elements of a deeper growth. Those elements are Foundation, Fellowship, Forward, and Flourish. I have written a book for discipling or mentoring new believers that leads those new converts through a deeper process of growth, and this process will stand a much better chance of them not only not falling away from their faith, but will lead them into a stronger and deeper walk with Jesus. Over the next few blog posts, I will share these insights with you who follow my blogs and give you an idea of just how positive this process can be for a new convert. The implementation of this discipleship process would be best done one-on-one, but a much easier version is when a group of no more than four new converts meets with a mentor and is led through the book, and builds an accountability group that strengthens the new convert.

These groups will be called DIG groups or Disciples In Growth, and over four weeks, they will develop the faith of the converts with an end focus of getting them involved in their local church at a servant level. On Monday, I will take you through the Foundation part of the process, and you will see the jumpstart to the Vision for Life discipleship process and how it can take a new convert to a deeper faith walk. I am totally available to bring this process to churches and teach mentors how to lead these groups and develop their DIG groups in a personal way for their church ministry.

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The Pilgrimage Continues,

David Warren