We are all someplace in our relationship with God. Maybe you believe he doesn’t exist, feel he doesn’t care, or you are curious and want to know more about him. Wherever you are, God loves you and wants you to know the joy of abundant life now and the certainty of eternal life in him. God’s Word (the Bible) tells us that we’ve all sinned and don’t deserve any of this, but because of what God’s son Jesus did for us, we are offered forgiveness for our sins and a new life in him, all as a free gift.
Jesus, being both fully God and fully human made this gift possible by taking the punishment for all our sins and offering himself as a once and for all perfect sacrifice. He also defeated death by coming back to life three days after he was crucified. Today he is at the right hand of God his Father in heaven, praying for you and me, longing to bring us into his family and ultimately to live with him forever.
God tells us in his Word that he loved the world so much that he gave his one and only son so that anyone who would believe in him would not perish but instead have eternal life, (John 3:16).
If you would like to accept this gift of God, a simple prayer is all that is required to begin:
“Dear Jesus,
I know that I’ve done things that have separated me from you. My choices have caused me to fall short of the
abundant life you purchased for me and my sins have kept me in behaviors that hurt me and those around me. I
don’t have what it takes to fix this problem, but I believe that you do. So right now I’m putting my trust in
you alone and am asking you to please forgive me for all of my sins. Please make me your child and help me to
always walk in your ways.
Thank you, Jesus. Amen.”
If you prayed this prayer, we want to welcome you to the family of God! We’d love to meet you and encourage you in living this new life you’ve received. Please contact us at pastor@muwesleyan.com or office@muwesleyan.com
For more about this important step of faith, you can also visit here.
Once you have prayed the prayer under “first step”, (link?) one of the next steps is water baptism. From the baptism of Jesus all the way to the present day, water baptism has always been practiced by followers of Jesus. This sacrament is for all who have put their faith in Jesus for salvation. Baptism is a symbol of God’s grace and is a public acceptance of the forgiveness of sins provided through faith in Jesus. By this public act, you declare to others your commitment to be a follower of Jesus. At your baptism your church family will join you in celebrating your new life in Christ. You can learn more by talking to Pastor Dan personally or emailing him at pastor@muwesleyan.com
Membership in the Wesleyan Church is encouraged as an early step in the discipleship of new believers. “Believe, belong, and become” can be used to understand our model of membership. Those who believe and are baptized are invited to belong as members of a local Wesleyan Church. Becoming is something that all believers should be engaged in, continuing spiritual growth through ongoing discipleship, becoming more like Jesus. The membership commitments are designed to help all members grow closer to Jesus and closer to other members in your church community. When you express an interest in learning more about the Wesleyan Church, Pastor Dan will schedule time to tell you (and others who are interested) more about the beliefs, commitments and process of becoming a member. You can also learn more about what the Wesleyan church believes here.
The New Testament refers to followers of Jesus as disciples. Discipleship is what we do to help disciples become more like Jesus. It is a lifelong process that impacts every area of our lives. It helps ensure that our pursuit of God is intentional, relational, holistic, multiplying, and lifelong. Discipleship takes place one on one as well as in group settings and informal meeting times. Everyone in the church who is a believer should be being discipled or be actively discipling at least one other person. While all disciples must keep growing to remain healthy, the discipleship model is successful when one who has been discipled completes the cycle by discipling a new believer. If you communicate with Pastor Dan or anyone else at church that you would like to meet with other believers and learn more, we will be sure to set up a time to meet and direct you to additional ways you can be involved in discipleship