Where Are The New Converts?

By Richard Cox

The Church has been blessed with an influx of many new converts. God has expanded ministry to such a degree that we are reaching souls in many unique platforms and venues. We are making the effort as pastors, evangelists, teachers, and artists to draw and compel unbelievers to become believers during Sunday morning services, concerts, revivals and conferences. My concern is: are we placing enough focus on assessing our retention of new converts in our churches? Are we providing a spiritual diet for the new converts to get the sincere milk of the Word of God? Are new converts motivated about growing in God until they are able to eat the meat of the Word of God? Our goal as a church is for new believers to get rooted and connected to the church by using their gifts and talents in a church ministry.

Think about the day you became a new convert. How did the church embrace you into the church? I recall how the church, years ago, took the time to work with new converts. Being a new believer is a life-altering change. A new convert makes a major choice to turn from their sinful ways, take up their cross and focus on following Jesus Christ. In some circumstances, that might mean a sister must stop living with her boyfriend. A brother will have to stop going to happy hour to drink with co-workers. New converts are faced with a transition from the lives they knew as unbelievers to their new life as Christians. As the Body of Christ, we must help our brothers and sisters with this spiritual growth. It is a paradigm shift in their existence.

Some people aren’t happy about their conversion to become Christians because now it has caused a change in personal relationships, friendships, etc. New believers need to quickly feel connected and find fellowship within their new church family. Some new believers may need a mentor to guide them on their spiritual journey.

In college, from time to time one of my friends would tell me about how he had led students to Christ. All of our Christian friends would get together for dinner at the cafeteria. I noticed how I didn’t see any of these new converts. We were a small campus so it was easy to recognize new faces. When my friend came to my room again telling me about more converts, I stopped him and asked, “Where are these new converts you keep telling me about?” He paused, “I just asked them to repeat the sinner’s prayer and left them.” I told him, “Why did you leave that soul in the desert to die? Once you birth this soul spiritually you leave them without any spiritual food or care.” This is what is happening to some new converts that are falling through the cracks after we have praised God for these souls and lose contact after the service.