What Now? New Believer Plan For TeenagersНамуна

Faith Where you Live

Well done! You have made it to the final lesson in this YouVersion Reading Plan. It’s an exciting and sometimes challenging journey to be a new follower of Jesus, but reading and exploring the Bible will continue to point you towards Jesus for the rest of your life.

As you move forward, it’s important that you feel like you can represent Jesus in your neighborhood, where you live, where you go to school, and other places you spend time. Because Jesus has become such a part of who you are, it means that whenever you are with your friends, Jesus is also there. Think about that! It’s not just you hanging with friends anymore. Now it’s you AND Jesus. As you share who you are with friends, you will naturally tell parts of God’s story and who He is becoming in your life.

Read

Check out this story from the Bible often called, “The Woman at the Well.” You can find it in the book of John, Chapter 4, Verses 1 - 26.

This woman has a rough story. She has had multiple husbands/partners and she is a Samaritan (a pretty despised race of people back in those times). Jesus spends time with her and her life is changed. Jesus encourages her to start living differently and to share her experience back in her neighborhood. When she goes back to her neighborhood after meeting Jesus, her neighbors and friends hear her story, notice she has changed and they start to look for Jesus themselves!

Your story is likely different from this woman’s, but your experience might not be too different! You’ve recently met Jesus. You have decided to start a relationship with Jesus. Jesus has changed your heart; he is making you new. And now He is asking you to represent Him to your friends and neighbors. Jesus said that the most important thing you can do is LOVE GOD. The next most important thing is to LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR.

Think about this.Think about your closest friends. Have you told them that you’ve chosen to follow Jesus? If not, try and share this news with them. Don’t worry; you only need to share your story and your experience. You don’t have to change anyone. You don’t have to argue. You just talk about why you have chosen to trust Jesus. The Holy Spirit will take care of the rest - you don’t need to be a religious expert to do this!

Try This

After sharing with a few friends, try asking God how He’d like you to talk about him where you live and where you hang out. With some practice, and as Jesus becomes more and more a part of who you are, sharing with friends and family will become more natural. In the same way, reading the Bible and talking to God will also become more normal and natural in time.

As a final encouragement, remember that we are all in this together. It’s important to have a Christian friend or leader to walk this journey with you. Keep talking with them and with Jesus about how you can share your story and help point others to Him!