01 - WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO FOLLOW JESUS?

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Following Jesus is a journey. We all have our own story, and our relationship with Jesus is personal. Your journey might not look like somebody else’s, and that’s okay.

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You don’t need to have everything figured out before you begin. But if there was one thing we’d encourage you to understand from the start, it’s this: Following Jesus means surrendering the old you and allowing Jesus to bring out the new you.

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It’s learning to trust Him with every part of your life, the good, the difficult and even the things you’d rather hold onto. As we follow Jesus, He begins to change us from the inside out, shaping the way we live, love, think and treat others.It doesn’t all happen overnight. Following Jesus is a lifelong journey of becoming more like Him.You’ve taken a step towards Jesus.

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Now keep following where He leads.

 

02 - START READING THE BIBLE

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At Waypoint Church, we believe the Bible is God’s living Word and that it still speaks into our lives today.You could think of the Bible a little like a map for life. It helps us discover who God is, understand more about Jesus and learn what it looks like to follow Him in our everyday lives.

 

But we also want to be honest, the Bible can sometimes feel complicated. There might be things you don’t understand, passages that leave you with questions, or times when you simply don’t know what something means. And that’s okay. You’re not expected to understand everything straight away.

 

There are some brilliant resources that can help you, and being part of a church family means there are people you can ask questions and explore the Bible with.

 

THE OLD & NEW TESTAMENT

 

The Bible is made up of 66 different books, written by different people across many years, but together they tell one big story, God’s story of His relationship with humanity and His plan to bring us back to Him through Jesus.The Bible is divided into two main parts: THE OLD TESTAMENT This is everything before Jesus’ birth. It tells us about creation, the history of God’s people, His promises, His laws, wisdom and the prophets. Throughout the Old Testament, we see God’s plan unfolding and the promise of a Saviour who was to come. THE NEW TESTAMENT This begins with Jesus. The first four books, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, tell us about Jesus’ life, teaching, death and resurrection. The rest of the New Testament tells us about the beginning of the Church and helps us understand what it means to live as followers of Jesus.

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WHERE SHOULD I START?

 

If you’re new to the Bible, we’d recommend starting with the Gospel of John in the New Testament.John is all about discovering who Jesus is. You’ll read about His life, His miracles, the people He met, what He taught, His death and His resurrection. You’ll also begin to discover what it means to believe in Jesus and follow Him. John himself tells us that he wrote these things so that we might believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and through believing, have life in His name.So if you’ve just decided to follow Jesus, John is a great place to begin getting to know the One you’ve decided to follow. THE BIBLE APP Another great resource is the YouVersion Bible App. It gives you access to the Bible wherever you are and includes Bible reading plans, Verse of the Day, audio Bibles and lots of other resources that can help you understand the Bible and build a rhythm of reading it regularly. 

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Apple — App Store:
Download the Bible App on the App Store

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Android — Google Play:
Download the Bible App on Google Play

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03 — START TALKING TO GOD

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Prayer is simply talking to God.

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You don’t need special words, a particular place or a perfectly structured prayer. You can talk to God honestly about what’s happening in your life, what you're thankful for, what you're worried about, the questions you have and the things you need help with.

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And prayer is personal. As you begin praying, you'll discover what that relationship with God looks like for you.

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There’s a story often shared in Christian teaching about someone who wanted to spend time with Jesus. He would go to a cafe, order two coffees, sit down at a table and imagine Jesus sitting in the empty chair opposite him.

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One coffee was for him. The other was for Jesus. It wasn’t because he believed Jesus physically needed a coffee. It was simply a way of reminding himself: Jesus is here, and I can talk to Him.

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That’s a really simple picture of what prayer can be. It’s spending time with Jesus and talking to Him honestly about your life. What would you tell Him? What would you ask Him? What are you thankful for? What are you struggling with?

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The Alpha Course gives a really helpful way of thinking about prayer:

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KEEP IT SIMPLE.
KEEP IT REAL.
KEEP IT GOING.

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You don't need impressive words. Be yourself. Talk to God about what's really happening in your life, and keep coming back to Him.

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And if you’re not sure what to say, three simple words can help you get started:

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THANK YOU — What are you thankful to God for?

SORRY — Is there anything you want to bring to God and ask His forgiveness for?

PLEASE — What do you need God's help with? Is there somebody else you could pray for?

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You could even begin as simply as:

“Jesus, I’m here. I want to know you. Help me learn to follow you.”

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Prayer isn't about saying all the right things or putting on a performance. It's about relationship.

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Just start the conversation.

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04 — CONNECT WITH CHURCH

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Following Jesus was never meant to be something we do on our own.

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Church is more than somewhere you go on a Sunday. It’s a family and a community of people learning to follow Jesus together, encouraging one another, praying together, asking questions, supporting each other and growing in faith.

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Finding a church where you can belong is an important part of following Jesus. That might be Waypoint, or it might be another local church, what matters is finding a church family where you can connect, grow and continue taking your next steps with Jesus.

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And if Waypoint can be that church family for you, we’d love that.

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At Waypoint, our heart is helping people find and follow Jesus, and we'd love the opportunity to get to know you, hear a little of your story and walk alongside you.

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If you haven't already, you can fill in the form to receive your free Bible and resources. But that form is about more than us sending you something in the post.

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By filling it in, you're also giving us the opportunity to start a conversation with you. We can connect with you, encourage you, answer questions and help you think about what your next step might look like.

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Think of it as the first step in getting to know us at Waypoint and, if we're the right church for you, becoming part of a church family.

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You don't need to have everything figured out before you connect.

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Just take your next step.