We would love to have a conversation with you and help you in your journey! Please email (provide a link here to discipleship@livingwater.com) and we’ll set up a time to talk and answer any questions you might have.

While the information below is helpful to understand how to grow in your faith, the absolute best way to actually grow and become transformed is to do so in community with other believers. Opportunities to connect with others can be found (here - provide link to Next Steps page)

START WHERE YOU ARE

Making a decision to believe and embrace Jesus as your Savior is the beginning of an amazing, life-altering experience. Understanding what it means to be a part of God’s family, knowing your identity as His son or daughter, and learning how you can get to know God better are the best places to start on a faith journey. Each of these elements of your faith is powerful on its own, but when you bring them all together and allow them to transform you, you will find the most powerful and fulfilling changes happen in your life.

When you decide to put behind your old habits and ways of thinking, they begin to no longer contain the power and control they once had in your life. Some quickly become distant memories while others gradually lose their grip on your life as you grow in your understanding and begin applying godly principles to your life. Eventually, you’ll discover that many of the things that once held you trapped in old behaviors and thought patterns become integral parts of God’s story in your life and the freedom He has brought to you. They become indicators of how far you have come.

NEW FAMILY

When you choose to accept God’s plan to restore your relationship with Him through Jesus, you become a part of His family as His adopted son or daughter. You have the opportunity to have loving, interactive, and real relationships with others who have made the same decision. While this is true, it can be difficult to believe or know what to do, especially if you did not experience this in your family. Regardless of what you have known or experienced, God’s design for you is to be in healthy and connected relationships. He wants to move you away from the isolation of feeling like an outsider and into living in authentic community, where people know you and you know them.

Getting to know other people in God’s family will help you grow in your faith. As you experience different circumstances and share with the people you are connected with, you will learn new ways to think and process situations from God’s perspective. You will be encouraged and challenged to put your faith into action. You will also learn from others how they have made their way through difficulties and have grown closer to God and encouraged in their faith.

NEW IDENTITY 

It is likely that you have defined your identity by what you have done. For example, it is easy to believe that your core identity is as an employee, teacher, boss, wife, father, or any other role you might hold. As a Christian, your new identity is defined by who God says you are, not what you have or have not done. You are a loved and forgiven child of God.

Since it is likely you have had to earn things like love, approval, significance, and success, this new way of thinking and believing is not easy.  The Bible addresses this and teaches that you will be transformed by the renewal of your mind. As your faith and trust in what God has done in your life grows, the motivation to obey and serve Him shifts from “have to” to “want to”.  You begin to do things and serve God because He loves you, not to try and make Him love you.  

KNOWING GOD

The best way for you to get to know God is through reading the Bible and praying. You will learn about God and principles for making decisions and seeing situations through His eyes as you read the stories of people in the Bible. You will also get to know God through spending time in prayer and learning to both speak and listen to Him.

Knowing God through the Word

The Bible, also called God’s Word, contains the record of God’s creation, mankind’s rejection of God’s leadership, God’s plan to redeem mankind through Jesus Christ, and His plan to restore humanity’s broken relationship with Him through the Church. It also shares the stories of God’s people through history as His purposes unfolded, the life and mission of Jesus, the early church, and how the church grew to spread the gospel of Jesus around the world. You will learn truth and principles for living out your faith from the Bible.

While the preaching you hear each Sunday is centered on the Bible, and valuable for you to hear and apply to your life, it is also important to learn to read the Bible for yourself. The words of the Bible teach you about God and can seem to actually “speak” to you deep inside, causing you to believe more deeply, know how to handle a specific situation or how to think about something in a new way. There is no other way to become comfortable in reading the Bible and applying it to your life than actually doing it! There are, however, other people who have been where you are and can help you understand things along the way. This is another great reason to be connected with others in the family of God.

The Gospel of Mark is a great place to start reading the Bible. It provides a simple and direct understanding of Jesus' birth and life written by Mark, one of Jesus’ disciples. The Gospel of John, another book written by a disciple of Jesus, reveals the love and heart of God. This is another good place to start reading in the Bible. It is important to read the Bible regularly. The goal is not to read through it in a hurry to be done, but rather to read more slowly, allowing yourself to process and think as you read. There can be a lot of things to think about in a chapter or two, so it may be good to focus on one or two of the verses that are most interesting, or that seem to pop off the page. As you read the Bible, ask the Holy Spirit to help you understand how the truth of the Bible should impact you. You will find that as you read the Bible with the help of the Holy Spirit, the Bible will start to “read you,” bringing understanding, comfort, wisdom, and showing you ways to live like Jesus.  

It’s helpful and encouraging to have a plan to write down what God is teaching you. Recording it helps you to see how faithful God is and far you have come over time.

Knowing God through Prayer

Like any other relationship, it is important to stay in communication with God on a regular basis. You need to “hear” from Him and He wants to hear from you. Prayer is simply talking and listening to God. The actual posture you take is far less important than the position of your heart. You might discover that you need quiet, privacy, or both, but it is different for every person and your preference for when and how you pray can change based on your circumstances or seasons of life.

Just as in any other relationship, you will grow more comfortable in prayer. Your prayers do not need to be fancy or complicated, but simply what comes out of your heart as God is showing you things in life and from the Bible. Keep in mind that what is important is not how you pray but that you pray!

 It is helpful to have a plan for your prayer time, so here are a few questions that you can regularly ask yourself as you read the Bible and pray. You can write these down in the “Kneel” portion of the WALK reading plan you learned about earlier.

Instruction - What is God teaching me in this scripture?

Thanksgiving - What does this make me thankful for?

Confession - Where do I fall short or want to get better?

Prayer - What guidance or help do I need from God?

EMBRACE THE JOURNEY

As you embrace your new identity as a son or daughter of God, you will find yourself becoming more aware of Him and His goodness, His kindness, and His love, you will find yourself thinking and acting differently. Old things will fall away and new things will take hold. Relationships will change and you will have a new perspective on situations that come your way and the circumstances you find yourself in.

Being a part of God’s family and connected to other believers, you will find the support and encouragement you need for challenges that come your way and answers to questions that arise. You will also have a place to share your success stories and discover the power you have to bring life to others through your faith journey.

Through reading the Bible and praying to God you will discover intimacy with Him that you never knew existed. You will know and be known by your Creator and be hungry for more and more of Him.

Welcome to your journey with Jesus.