Next Steps
Getting to Know Jesus and Enter into FaithNext Steps
Getting to Know Jesus
Hello! I’m Pastor Jay from Calvary Pentecostal Church in Simcoe, Ontario! If you have clicked on this page I am going to assume it is because you would like to know more about starting a relationship with Jesus Christ. It would be my pleasure to share the 2 simple steps that can lead you to a place of peace, joy, and best of all; HOPE! Deciding to give your life over to Jesus to serve him is the most important decision any one person can ever make. The rest of your life and your eternity depend on what you will decide to do with Jesus!!
How do you become a follower of Jesus? Hundreds of millions of people have decided to follow Jesus, to become his disciple (learner), to become a Christian. If this is what you would like to do, I have good news for you. No one is ever too far from God, or too ‘bad of a person’, or have blown it so many times that God won’t accept you into his family. On the other side of that equation is the reality that no person is good enough to become a part of God’s kingdom on their own merits. It all comes down to what Jesus Christ has done on our behalf. That is really what faith in Jesus is all about.
John 3:16-17 For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
Step 1
The Start
To become a follower of Jesus you have to recognize your need for Jesus. Having a relationship with God isn’t dependant on us at all! It is putting our faith and trust in what Jesus did for us. We are told in the Bible that we are born and continue to live separated from God because of our sin, our wrong doing. No matter how good we try and be we always fall short because no amount of good things can ever make up for or cancel out the sinful, selfish, hurtful things we also do. As one songwriter said, “We owed a debt we could not pay.” That’s why God decided to pay our debts for us by giving us his only son Jesus Christ.
Jesus who lived perfectly and without sin became our substitute. He died in our place and the punishment our sins deserved was put on Jesus and he paid our debt for us. And when we put our trust in what Jesus has already done for us, and ask Jesus to forgive our debt, our sins, we are forgiven and Jesus pays the debt on our behalf. Not only are we forgiven but God himself, through his Holy Spirit brings brand new eternal life in us. We become new creations made for his family and made for eternity with him.
John 1:12-13 tells us that; To all who did receive him, he gave them the right to be children of God, to those who believe on his name, who were born, not of natural descent, or of the will of the flesh, or of the will of a man or woman, but of God.
While it is true that we are brought into a relationship with God when we confess our need for him and ask him to forgive our debt of sin, this is just the start. Biblical faith is dynamic. It is relational, and it is far more than knowing some facts about God and believing some things that are true about him. The very nature of faith in Jesus starts a lifelong process of being changed and transformed. It is the process of becoming Moreland more like Jesus. Thinking like Jesus thinks; loving and forgiving like he does; taking on the character of Jesus with increasing clarity. The evidence of our decision to follow Jesus will be seen more and more clearly as time goes by.
Jesus Christ did everything necessary to save us from our sins. He obeyed where we had failed. He suffered the penalty that we deserved for our sins by dying on the cross. He conquered death by rising on the third day. He ascended to the right hand of God the Father and sent his Holy Spirit to dwell in his people. We experience all that Jesus has done for us by faith, a faith that the Spirit uses to make us more like our Lord and Savior.
Step 2
What Now?
We are here to journey with you as you grow in your relationship with Jesus and walk with him. The next steps you take after making the decision to follow Jesus Christ and ask Him to forgive you of your sins are important.
READ YOUR BIBLE DAILY
The ultimate source of truth for a Christian’s beliefs about God, their relationship to God, and for daily life is the Bible. The Bible speaks to every area of our lives and makes known how we can live as followers of Jesus in a way that pleases him.
PRAY
Prayer is a conversation, conversation with God. Prayer is more than just speaking to God, it is dialogue, conversing with him. You will discover that the power of prayer isn’t only in the words we speak to him, but in learning to his words spoken to us. As we read the Bible and pray we will learn to recognize his voice when he speaks to us.
CONNECT
When you accept Jesus and are determined to follow him, you join a worldwide family, the family of God. The family of God is made up of smaller local communities called the church. We were created by God for the community, to be together, to grow together, struggle together, and serve the Lord together. We are better and stronger together. To find a local church made up of people who have made the same decision as you to follow Jesus Christ. Tell someone there about your decision and connect! That is what the church is for. There are no perfect people in the church, but the church is filled with people committed to the process of discipleship (which is a fancy word for becoming more like Jesus).
If you would like to talk directly with one of our Pastors or staff members about a relationship with Jesus please reach out to us through the contact information available on this website.
God bless you and if you made the decision to give your life over to Jesus we want to welcome you to the family and say congratulations! You will not regret it!
Join Us
Connect in Community
Calvary Pentecostal Church has several ways to get involved. Visit our Ministries Page to find just the right community for you and share your newfound faith. We can’t wait to connect!