Page 48 - Finding Jesus with Good News report A5 WEB

When did they decide
to follow Jesus?

Trying to gain a richer understanding of their
conversion experiences, we asked people about the
circumstances when they made the decision to follow
Jesus.
For many people, just as their faith journey began
internally and alone, making a decision to follow
Jesus was something that took place privately.
This makes sense if an experience of God or reading
the Bible are the things that impacted them most
powerfully. However, we shouldn’t underestimate
communal opportunities, be they at a course, in
conversation, or in a worship setting.

Committing with limited knowledge
Listening to people describe how they came to
faith, we noticed that a significant number of
them were making some kind of commitment
with only a very limited understanding of the
gospel. Some participants had a long journey of
reading, thinking, and asking questions. But many
made some kind of commitment before they
had fully understood exactly what they were
committing to. This tended to be in response
either to the overwhelming love they had received
within the Christian community, or to some kind of
encounter with God. For these people, they did a
lot of what we might consider exploring Christian
faith after they had already committed to it,
illustrating the need for intentional discipleship of
new believers.

48 Finding Jesus