Take your next step
What is your next step in faith? Perhaps you are just beginning to ask questions, trying to figure out who God is. On the other hand, you may be experiencing a crisis, wondering what God has for you in all this. Possibly, you are somewhere in between. Wherever you are, this page is designed to help you identify and take your next step.
Connect
The first step in faith is getting connected. In John 1:35-42, John the Baptist pointed out Jesus as the Lamb of God to two of his disciples. This simple connection changed everything for these men and the world. Often, the first connections forged are with others in the church. These friendships form across a cubicle wall, over coffee, or across the kitchen table. During this step, perhaps with the help of these new friends, you begin to connect with God. The Holy Spirit beckons us toward himself, and the closer we draw to him, the closer he draws to us.
Ultimately, the most important connection we make in this step is to place our faith in Jesus. This means acknowledging our responsibility for all the stuff that we have done which was not quite right (or downright wrong) and resolving to follow God's character and command from this point. In the same instant that we do that, Jesus forgives us of those sins and transforms us into his friends. As his friend, our objective should be to get as close to him as possible so that he can rub off on us!
Discover
The second step in faith is a journey of discovery. In Matthew 4:18-22, Jesus called his disciples to follow him and be transformed. Here, we learn the truths of the faith and put them to work in our lives. At DHWC, we do this by joining other believers to worship God together. We gather in Discover Groups of 3-12 people to study Scripture and encourage one another in our pursuit of Christ. And we participate in one-on-one mentoring relationships, seeking people who are farther down the road of faith that we can follow and people who are not quite as far that we can help.
Go
The third step in faith is going. In Luke 10:1-12, Jesus commissioned 72 disciples to heal the sick and share the gospel in towns throughout the region. This same call is extended to Christians today. Serve in a capacity that makes the most of your gifts and passions. Share the good news whenever possible, in any way possible. Be looking for things that need to be done and then lead the way to accomplish it.
Disrupt
In Mark 14:43-52, Jesus' disciples had their world upended when Jesus was arrested. What was certainly the greatest test of their lives, however, became the event which forged them into the apostles they needed to be going forward. The third step in faith is disruption. Whether the disruption is deliberate or the result of circumstances beyond our control, it tests and builds our faith like no other situation can. Attending camp or retreat removes us from our normal setting and circumstances, and going through some sort of trial or hardship compels us to dig deep into our faith.
Important Information!
It's important to know that, for some people, these steps may not be in this exact order. For example, it may be a time of disruption which brings some people to faith. There may be some who start at "Go" by serving in some capacity before they really connect with Jesus. That's fine. To some degree, these steps don't have to be taken in sequence. The point is that we must eventually take all of these steps! So if you're on a step and realize you missed one of the previous steps, it would be probably be good to go back and pick it up!
Keep Going!
Even if you have completed all of these steps, your faith journey is not complete! St. Paul certainly experienced all of these steps by the time he wrote Philippians 3. Yet, he advised the Philippians, "Not that I have already reached the goal or am already perfect, but I make every effort to take hold of it because I also have been taken hold of by Christ Jesus" (vs 12). Therefore, if we have taken each of these steps, rather than stopping where we are, we begin the process again, asking God to search us for new areas that must be addressed so we can keep growing!