Following Jesus
A Simple Guide to Your Next Steps
Maybe you’ve recently decided that you want to follow Jesus. Or maybe you’re simply ready to take your faith more seriously. Either way, you don’t have to have everything figured out.
Following Jesus is a lifelong journey. You learn. You grow. You ask questions. Sometimes you stumble.
And little by little, you learn to trust God and allow Him to shape the way you live.
Here are six simple ways to begin.
Spend Time With God
Start with the Bible and prayer.
One of the best ways to know God better is to spend time with Him.
Read the Bible.
If you’re new to the Bible, don’t feel like you need to start
on page one and read straight through.
Try starting with the Gospel of John in the New Testament. It will introduce you to Jesus—what He did, what He taught, and who He said He was.
YouVersion’s free Bible App makes it easy to read or listen to the Bible and offers reading plans to help you develop a daily habit.
READ THE BIBLE ONLINE →
Pray.
Prayer doesn’t require special words. Talk to God honestly.
Tell Him what you’re thankful for. Tell Him what you’re worried about. Ask Him for wisdom. Ask for forgiveness when you’ve done something wrong. Pray for other people.
Most importantly, make prayer part of your everyday life.
A Simple Place to Start
Try setting aside just 10 minutes each day.
5 minutes reading the Bible.
5 minutes talking with God.
Don’t worry about doing it perfectly. Just begin.
Learn to Understand the Bible
You aren’t expected to understand everything immediately.
The Bible contains history, poetry, letters, prophecy, biographies and teachings written over many centuries.
That can make it confusing when you’re first starting.
BibleProject has created an excellent free video series called How to Read the Bible. The short animated videos explain how the Bible is put together and help you understand what you’re reading.
WATCH HOW TO READ THE BIBLE →AI Can Help You Understand Difficult Verses
Another good source is AI. If you come across a verse you don’t understand, you can ask AI to help explain it.
Tell it where you’re coming from. For example:
AI is not perfect, and it shouldn’t replace the Bible, prayer or wise Christian teachers. But you may find that it can provide helpful insight into the verse you’re studying.
The more you understand the Bible, the more you’ll begin to see how its story fits together—and how it points us toward Jesus.
Keep Learning About Jesus
Questions are part of growing.
Who exactly is Jesus?
Why did He die?
How should prayer work?
How does God guide us?
Why does God allow suffering?
What does the Holy Spirit do?
You don’t need to be afraid of questions like these.
Alpha is a free course designed to help people explore questions about Jesus, faith and the meaning of life.
Groups meet in churches, homes and other locations, and some meet online.
You’ll watch a short video, meet other people and have the opportunity to talk openly about your questions.
FIND AN ALPHA GROUP →Looking for something you can do on your own?
Rick Warren’s The Purpose Driven Life is another good place to start.
It explores a very important question:
What on earth am I here for?
The book looks at God’s purposes for our lives—including knowing and worshiping God, belonging to His family, becoming more like Jesus, serving others and living with a sense of mission.
EXPLORE THE PURPOSE DRIVEN LIFE →Let Christian Music Become Part of Your Day
Music can be another way to keep your heart and mind focused on God.
You might find that Christian music is a great way to stay connected with God throughout your day.
Listen while you’re driving, working, walking, exercising or relaxing at home.
There is an enormous variety of Christian music today—worship, contemporary Christian, gospel, pop, rock, hip-hop, rap and more.
You don’t have to like one particular style of music to find Christian music that speaks to you.
K-LOVE
K-LOVE is one of the largest Christian music networks in the United States.
In addition to its main contemporary Christian station, K-LOVE offers several other streams featuring different styles and different decades of Christian music.
You can listen online or through the K-LOVE app.
LISTEN TO K-LOVE →V180 & Vision
Vision Christian Media is based in Australia, and its music can sound quite different from what you normally hear on American Christian radio.
V180 is especially worth trying if you’re looking for newer and different Christian music.
Vision also offers worship music, its main Christian station and other Christian programming.
LISTEN TO V180 & VISION →SiriusXM
If you already have a SiriusXM subscription, explore its Christian music channels.
You’ll find choices ranging from contemporary Christian and worship to gospel, Christian hip-hop and rap.
Try several different stations. You may discover artists and styles you’ve never heard before.
EXPLORE CHRISTIAN MUSIC →A Song to Start With
Sometimes one song can say exactly what we need to hear.
Be Alright
Evan Craft, Danny Gokey & Redimi2
Part of this song is sung in Spanish. Even if you don’t understand the words, the message is worth hearing.
The Message Behind the Spanish Part
In simple terms, this part of the song is saying:
Even though things may look bad right now,
God is still in control.
He has never lost control of the world,
and He hasn’t lost control of your life.
What you’re going through will pass.
Trust God, because everything is going to be alright.
That’s one of the reasons we chose this song.
Following God doesn’t mean that everything in life will always be easy or turn out exactly the way we want.
It means we can trust Him even when we can’t see what He’s doing.
Christian music isn’t a substitute for reading the Bible, prayer or being part of a church.
But it can fill your day with reminders of God’s promises and help turn your thoughts back toward Him.
Sometimes that reminder comes at exactly the right moment.
Find a Church
Following Jesus was never meant to be something we do alone.
Watching videos and reading books can help you learn about Christianity.
But eventually you need other Christians in your life.
A good local church gives you people to worship with, learn from, pray with, serve alongside and turn to when life gets difficult.
FIND A CHURCH NEAR YOU →What should you look for?
Don’t choose a church simply because the building is close to your house.
- The Bible is taught and taken seriously.
- Jesus Christ is at the center of what they believe and teach.
- People are encouraged to pray and grow in their relationship with God.
- Questions are welcomed.
- People genuinely care about one another.
- There are opportunities to serve others and put your faith into practice.
You may need to visit several churches before finding one where you belong. That’s okay.
The important thing is: don’t try to walk this road alone.
Live What You Believe
Following Jesus is more than believing certain things.
Jesus calls us to live differently.
That happens little by little as God changes our hearts.
Look for opportunities every day to:
- Love people.
- Forgive people.
- Tell the truth.
- Help someone who needs it.
- Be generous.
- Pray for others.
- Choose what’s right even when it’s difficult.
- Tell someone what God has done in your life.
You won’t do all of this perfectly. None of us do.
But as you spend time with God, read His Word and walk alongside other Christians, you’ll begin to see your life change.