Participate in community. You’re now part of a spiritual family made of up of fellow Christians, bound together by the presence of the Holy Spirit in your lives. Find a healthy church. Keep in mind that a healthy church: devotes itself to teaching the Bible, believes in the power of prayer, does life with one another, has a good reputation in the community at large, and grows numerically. Then make a commitment to stay at that church as long as God wants you to, so you can know, serve, and celebrate other believers there. Choose your friendships intentionally. Assess your friendships to see how healthy they are. Make sure you have many more positive friends than negative ones. While you want to be friendly to everyone, you need to guard against people dragging you down with negative energy. Try to be the kind of friend that others need – someone who encourages and energizes them in positive ways.

Carry out your mission. Your mission is any task that God has equipped you for that no one else can do. Whenever you have the idea that Jesus may want you to serve in a specific way, go ahead and try it. Don’t hesitate to take action because you’re waiting to hear some dramatic announcement from God about your mission. Instead, pay attention to the interests and talents He’s given you, and how you might engage them to fulfill needs He’s already revealed to you. As you move forward serving the people around you, your relationship with God and your understanding of His mission for you will also move forward. Whenever you pray about something, make sure that you also work to do whatever you can to be part of the answer to that prayer. For example, if you pray about world hunger, spend less on food for your own family at the grocery store each week and donate the amount you save to a charity that feeds the poor. Every day, consider how you can love others in ways unique to you – being the best employee, spouse, parent, friend, neighbor, volunteer, etc. that you can be. God will work through you in all of your relationships, and guide you to give each person exactly what he or she needs – from childcare for a mother to companionship for an elderly person. Ask God to help you develop the habit of giving financially to your church and other organizations that help do God’s kingdom work. Try to give regularly and generously. Realize that whenever you fund a specific mission, you also fund your own spiritual growth, because you release the power that the world’s system has over you when you release money. Be sure to stay in touch with people who don’t yet have relationships with Jesus. Don’t abandon them now that you have Christian friends. Instead, spend time with them regularly and communicate Jesus’ love to them clearly. Demonstrate authentic character and, when opportunities arise, tell them the story of how Jesus’ power has made a positive difference in your life. Pray for the people you know who don’t yet have relationships with Jesus, love them unconditionally, and keep praying for them even when it seems like they’re not making any progress spiritually. God will honor your prayers – sometimes in surprising ways.

Adapted from Welcome to the Revolution: A Field Guide for New Believers, copyright 2008 by Brian Tome. Published by Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, Tn., www.thomasnelson.com. 
Brian Tome heeded God’s calling when in 1995, a group of Cincinnatians felt a need. They wanted a great environment for friends to explore questions about God – without pretending they had it all together. They needed a pastor and asked Brian Tome to move from Pittsburgh and to lead their effort. The result was Crossroads Church, which now hosts more than 12,000 people each weekend, many of them new believers. Brian and his wife Libby have three children.