Guidelines For Follow-Up

Keys to Effective Follow-Up

1. Ask the Lord to help you make a friend out of the new believer. It is vital to help new converts to gain encouragement, love and trusting relationships with Christian friends. Trust the Lord to help you involve the new believer in a small group fellowship of other loving and accepting believers. Help them to see how mature believers help equip us for the work of service for the building up of the body of Christ. (Eph. 4:11-16)

2. Help the new believer understand that they are a like a newborn babe that needs spiritual food, fellowship and guidance to successfully mature in Christ. (1 Pet. 2:2)

3. Set up a time to meet with the new convert to help them establish a rich devotional time to praise God, read the scripture and pray every morning. (Mark 1:35) (Psa 143:8)

4. Help the new believer develop a plan for memorizing and meditating on the five assurances: a). Assurance of Salvation – I John 5:11,12 b). Assurance of Forgiveness – I John 1:9 c). Assurance of Guidance – Proverbs 3:5,6 d). Assurance of Answered Prayer – John 16:24 e). Assurance of Overcoming Temptation – I Corinthians 10:13

5. Show the new believer how the Bible meets the four basic needs: a). Communication – I John 1:3 (fellowshipping with God) b). Nourishment – The Bible is the key to spiritual growth – 2 Tim. 3:16,17 c). Insight – The Bible is the key to wisdom and understanding – I Cor. 2:14 d). Protection – Spiritual strength, comfort and deliverance – Eph. 6:17

6. Teach the young believer to expect opposition from the world, the flesh and the devil. (I John 2:15,16) Help the person learn how to overcome evil with the good of Christ’s power through prayer, the scripture, fellowship and Christian service. (Rom. 12:21) (I Pet. 5:7-10) Instruct them in the essentials of spiritual warfare from Eph. 6:10-18

7. Teach the new believer how their salvation is not based on feelings or performance but on the facts of what Christ has done for them in providing eternal forgiveness. (I John 5:11-13) (Rom. 10:9,10) (John 1:12,13) (John 10:28,29) Thank God together for the imputed righteousness that we have been given through Christ’s shed blood on the cross of Calvary. Praise God together that you can never be separated from His love. (Rom. 8:31-39)

8. Teach the new believer the nature of positional truth. (Eph. 1:3), (2 Pet. 1:3,4) (Rom. 6:6) Show how to add characteristics of godliness, love and virtue to the positional benefits we already possess in Christ. (2 Pet. 1:5-8)

9. Speak about the differences between religion and true Christianity. To many religion means rules, boring church services, critical people, and financial appeals. Help them to see that Christianity involves fellowship, worship, prayer, peace, joy, scriptural teaching, service, love, obedience, witnessing, purpose, new friends, and new opportunities to contribute to the qualitative and quantitative growth of Christ’s kingdom.

10. Invite your new convert to church activities so they can develop a wider circle of friends, connections and ministry opportunities. (2 Cor. 4:5)

11. Pray and help the new believer develop Christian friends through numerous means.

12. Ask the new believer what they believe are the basic spiritual needs. Seek to help them find out how to get these needs met through the Bible, with prayer and with godly counselors.

13. Help the new believer to learn the essentials of speaking the truth in love and growing in all aspects in Christ. (Eph. 4:15) Teach the new believer how to mature socially, spiritually, cognitively, morally, affectively and behaviorally.

14. Help the new believer learn the essentials of how to share the gospel with others. Teach them how to share their testimony. Some of the best opportunities are found through the friendships of new believers.

15. Ask the Lord to give you wisdom in designing your follow-up according to the individual’s temperament, background and special needs. (James 1:5)