Moving on
Life after Foundations
Foundations is designed to be an enjoyable and challenging stepping-stone in your life as a follower of Jesus. As the course draws to its close, it is important that you give some thought as to what to do next. This sheet suggests how you can help yourself, and how the church can help you.
Go to church regularly
Try and make going to church a definite commitment, rather than something you make a decision about each Sunday morning. Find out about the different kinds of services on a Sunday. Each one may have its own distinctive character, from the form of service to the kind of people who attend. Once you start going regularly you will get to know people, and you will start to feel that you belong.
Make time for God each day
Relationships need to be nurtured. Try and find time each day for a quiet moment with God. Read the Bible, maybe with the help of a study aid. Pray, and listen to God.
Start to pray for others to come to know God, through Jesus
The time has come for you to share with others what you have found. Hopefully they will have noticed a difference in you that they will want to ask you about. Start praying for friends and family, that they will discover the living Jesus. Hopefully there will be events at your Church that are designed to introduce people to the church and to Christianity in gradual, unthreatening stages. Next time there is a social event, take along a party!
Involve yourself in the life of the church
You need to move on from being a church attender to becoming a participant in the church community. No church ever has enough volunteers to help in its running, and there should be some area in which you are able to offer to help in some small way. In time you will find an area in which you decide to become more fully involved. Through this you will make new friends and begin to understand how the church is run.
Join a housegroup or small group
It is not always easy to get to know people or make friends in a large church. One of the best ways of doing this is to join a small group of people who meet on a regular basis and who are committed to supporting and helping each other as well as to developing their spiritual lives together.
Be baptised
This is a crucial part of your journey with God, and sometimes the longer you leave it, the harder it becomes to make the decision. Find out when the next baptismal classes are to be held. Going to the classes does not necessarily commit you to being baptised, but will help you to make an informed decision.
Apply for church membership
This is a confirmation of your commitment to your local church, and of that church's commitment to you. By becoming a member, you are declaring that this church is your spiritual home and that you want to work alongside your church family to fulfil the task that God has for you. Find out what membership involves, then think seriously about applying for membership.
Communicating your decisions
You may not want to do anything more than to take time to think about and to digest all that you have covered in Foundations. However, your Foundations group leaders would love to be of help, and to this end there is a voluntary questionnaire through which you can communicate what, if anything, you would like to do next..
Thank you.