Helping Young Believers Grow

Acts 8:36

And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?

When Philip led the eunuch to Christ, he did not walk away never to see him again. Instead, we see him riding in the chariot and teaching the next steps to his walk with Christ. Had Philip not taken the time to be with this young believer, he may have never seen him get baptized and go back to his country to spread the Gospel to Ethiopia.

I am very much for soul winning; however, those who know me well also know that I don't leave my converts for the cults to destroy, but I go after them to help them grow in the Lord. Now, I cannot make someone grow if they don't want to, but I must never give them the excuse that someone did not teach them after they got saved. If you want to be a person God uses to help young believers to grow in the Lord, there are some things you will need to do to make this happen.

First, you must be a soul winner. Nobody is “gifted” to train people who is not a soul winner. The soul winner is the best person to train young converts. The soul winner will always have the best heart to teach someone how to grow.

Second, it takes time to train young converts how to grow. You cannot train people to grow in the Lord if you are unwilling to spend time with them. Let me remind you that the young converts you led to Christ are your spiritual babies. You should desire to spend time with your spiritual babies while they grow. You will never be used to train people for Christ if you are unwilling to invest your time in people.

Third, it takes follow-up. You cannot train people who you don't follow up on. Follow-up is as critical as soul winning. Oh, the argument can be made that soul winning is more important, and in the view of eternity that is true, but the Gospel does not stop at winning them to Christ. You must follow up on those you lead to Christ to get them to church to be baptized. You must keep following up on them if you want them to be faithful to church after they have been baptized. Don't listen to the naysayers who state that if a person is truly saved they will automatically do right and attend all the services. Jesus had to work with His disciples for three years before they finally got what He was trying to teach them. You must make follow-up a part of your weekly outreach if you want to see young believers grow in the Lord.

Fourth, it takes patience. Young converts will frustrate you to no end, but you must remember they are babes in Christ. You will see times of great hope only to be followed up by disappointment. When working with young believers, be patient as they grow in the Lord. Don’t quit on a young believer because they seemingly have no interest. I have seen some young converts catch fire for the Lord after a time away. Keep working with them and rejoice in the little steps they take forward, for every little step forward is growth.

Fifth, it takes prayer. You must pray for the young believers if you are to see them grow. Pray for God’s protection about them, that He would keep them from sin and from false believers. Pray for God to give you wisdom to help them grow. We all want the great stories of those we led to Christ who became great servants of God, but someone invested in that great servant when they were a young Christian. If you will follow these steps, God will use you to train many great servants for Him.