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.

My wife and I were a part of a church where we joined the follow-up committee team. Committee members would join the new converts after altar call and take the names of the people. There would be a weekly follow-up with a call to support and assist the new convert with making the transition as a Christian. Some of the responses when we called amazed us. Some of the comments were “The preacher made me come up and I don’t want to be a Christian.” But many more were sincere and glad to receive a weekly call to talk with someone on a personal level to discuss their transition. Most people appreciated the calls to help find out about joining and participating in the life of the church.

Luke 15:4,6,9 (KJV) says “what man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it? And when he cometh home, he calleth together [his] friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost.” This scripture describes a shepherd leaving the 99 and finding the one lost sheep. Just think if we received 100 souls in a year and only ended up with 60, is there a way to find the 40 sheep?

How are the sheep we gather into the fold escaping out of the gate of the church’s protection? Does the Body of Christ have people in place to make sure we retain the sheep that God has entrusted to our care?

Any churches that have programs or committees in place, please send me an email with a brief description about how new converts can be retained within the church. Your ideas can be shared with the Gospelcity.com family. A follow-up article will include examples of successful church programs currently in use.

We work so hard in the Body of Christ to bait our hooks in ministry to lure the unbelievers into becoming believers. Sometimes they may jump off or out of our baskets to return to the sea of life. It is our responsibility to help new converts grow and mature in the Lord. Transition doesn’t happen overnight. Can I get an “AMEN”? Someone helped you so think about helping a new believer in the Body of Christ.