---Nurturing New Believers ~~

-"Like newborn babies, crave pure
spiritual milk, so that by it you may
grow up in your salvation."
--(1 Peter 2:2 / NIV) --

---OVER A PERIOD of time, I watched a pair of robins build a nest, hatch their eggs, and feed their young. What a busy pair! Once the babies arrived, the parents hopped around the lawn, gathering worms to drop into hungry beaks. Without constant nurturing, those little fluff balls would not have survived.

As Christians, we can take a few lessons from those birds about nurturing new believers. Just as the birds provided a safe nest, congregations provide a safe place for new believers to ask questions and express doubts. Through worship, sermons, and Bible studies, we feed new believers what they need to understand and practice their faith. Through one-on-one conversations and friendships, mature Christians are role models who show new believers how to live out their faith. And just as the parent robins worked as a team, so members of a congregation show teamwork as they exercise their spiritual gifts--giving, teaching, encouraging.

New believers need the Church, and the Church needs new believers to carry on its mission. What a privilege and joy to hold new believers close to our hearts, to feed them God's Word, and to protect them until they're ready to fly on their own. Someday they--in turn--will nurture other new believers.

We must also be aware that some people are shy or timid. They want fellowship but don't know how to reach out. Let us be the ones to reach out to them, in Jesus Name, and help them feel 'at-home'. New-comers may be trying to find out what 'Christianity' is all about. As they are watching us, let's be sure to shine for Jesus. "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" (Luke 6:31).

--["GOD IS LOVE" --(1 JOHN 4:8) - ]
-----"Till I Met You" / Laura Story / <https://youtu.be/6T5cRCyQaf4>
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