Day 2 - Session 2: Chair 2 - The Believer
Participant Handout
Session Theme
Section titled “Session Theme”New believers are spiritual babies who need nurture, identity, and patient modeling of the basics - just as Jesus spent up to eighteen months with His disciples, helping them learn to walk, talk, and feed themselves.
Scripture Focus
Section titled “Scripture Focus”- 2 Corinthians 5:17 (New creation in Christ - the old has gone)
- Hebrews 5:13-14 (Infants needing milk, mature eating solid food)
- 1 John 2:1, 12, 28 (John addresses believers as “teknion” - dear children)
- John 2:1-12 (Jesus takes disciples to a wedding - modeling life together)
- John 3:22 (Jesus spent time with them in the Judean countryside)
- Matthew 3:17; Psalm 2:7; Genesis 22:2; Isaiah 42:1 (Jesus’s identity affirmed at baptism)
- John 13:34-35 (Love as the mark of discipleship)
Learning Objectives
Section titled “Learning Objectives”- Describe new believers as spiritual infants (nepios/teknion) who need intentional nurture
- Name the six priorities Jesus modeled for new believers in the first 18 months
- Identify one specific new believer they can help grow and one practical next step
Teaching Block 1: New Believers Are Spiritual Babies
Section titled “Teaching Block 1: New Believers Are Spiritual Babies”Core Idea: New believers are not problems to solve - they are spiritual babies to celebrate. They are radically transformed but still need patient nurture.
- Two Greek words for new believers:
| Word | Meaning | Picture |
|---|---|---|
| Nepios (Heb 5:13) | Infant - immature, totally dependent | A newborn who cannot feed, walk, or talk |
| Teknion (1 John 2:1, 12, 28) | Little child - a term of endearment | A beloved grandchild - celebrated at every milestone |
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What happens at new birth: Dead is made alive (Eph 2:5). Old has gone, new has come (2 Cor 5:17). A RADICAL transformation - yet they still need nurture.
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The village baby: A mother in a remote village does not hand her newborn a survival manual. She feeds, holds, talks, and patiently teaches everything. New believers need the same patient love.
Scripture: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” - 2 Corinthians 5:17
Discussion Block 2: How Were You Nurtured as a New Believer?
Section titled “Discussion Block 2: How Were You Nurtured as a New Believer?”Small groups of 3-4
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(5 min) When you first became a believer, who helped you grow? What did they do that helped most?
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(5 min) Looking back, what was missing from your early discipleship? What do you wish someone had done for you?
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(5 min) As a group, list 3-4 things every new believer needs in their first few months:
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Teaching Block 3: Six Priorities Jesus Modeled
Section titled “Teaching Block 3: Six Priorities Jesus Modeled”Core Idea: Jesus spent up to 18 months with His disciples, modeling six priorities that were more caught than taught.
- The six priorities:
| Priority | How Jesus Modeled It | What It Looks Like For Us |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Dependence on the Holy Spirit | Conceived, anointed, filled, led by the Spirit (Luke 4:1, 18) | Teach dependence on the Spirit, not willpower |
| 2. Centrality of prayer | Began in prayer, ended in prayer, slipped away constantly (Luke 5:16) | Pray WITH new believers, not just for them |
| 3. Obedience to the Father | “I seek not to please myself but Him” (John 5:30) | Teach obedience as the Father’s love language |
| 4. Centrality of God’s Word | 90+ OT quotes from 70+ chapters | Help them open the Bible: What does it say? Mean? Apply? |
| 5. Exalting the Father | “The Father living in me is doing His work” (John 14:10) | Give glory to God for everything |
| 6. Relationships of love | “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14) | New believers need a family, not a program |
- Key principle: More is caught than taught. In an oral culture, new believers learn by watching, not reading manuals. A church-planter who takes a new believer along on visits models more than any lesson.
Scripture: “But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.” - Luke 5:16
Discussion Block 4: The Five Needs of New Believers
Section titled “Discussion Block 4: The Five Needs of New Believers”Five stations - groups rotate through each (3 min each)
| Station | Need | Your Ideas |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Identity | Knowing WHOSE they are | _________________ |
| 2. Walking | Learning to walk with God | _________________ |
| 3. Talking | Sharing God’s story and their own | _________________ |
| 4. Feeding | Feeding themselves from Scripture | _________________ |
| 5. Potty Training | Dealing with sin, walking in the Spirit | _________________ |
Best ideas from the stations:
Teaching Block 5: Four Principles for Ministry to New Believers
Section titled “Teaching Block 5: Four Principles for Ministry to New Believers”Core Idea: Four non-negotiable biblical principles for nurturing new believers.
Principle 1: Without nurture, they will not survive
- Infants are totally dependent. New Christians are the same.
- “I planted, Apollos watered, but God made it grow” (1 Cor 3:6) - but someone must plant and water!
Principle 2: Give personalized attention to the basics
- Identity, walking, talking, feeding, potty training - celebrate each milestone
- We duplicate how we were treated. Good nurture ensures future multiplication.
Principle 3: Never forget identity - Whose they are
- 33 things happen the moment we come to Christ: chosen, adopted, forgiven, sealed, made alive
- We do not strive for victory - we live from victory
- Satan attacked Jesus’s identity right after the Father affirmed it (Matt 3:17; 4:3). He does the same to new believers.
- Contextual illustration: A new believer from a Muslim background, disowned by family, mocked by neighbors. Identity is the anchor: “I am a child of God, chosen, adopted, forgiven, sealed.”
Principle 4: Spiritual children need a family
- Values are learned, lessons taught, love experienced IN a family
- All four chairs around the same table - that is the family of God
Scripture: “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” - 1 John 3:1
Discussion Block 6: My Chair 2 People - Making an Action Plan
Section titled “Discussion Block 6: My Chair 2 People - Making an Action Plan”Pairs first (8 min), then whole group prayer (7 min)
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Identify 1-2 new believers (Chair 2) in your life:
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For ONE person, create a simple action plan:
| My Action Plan | Write Your Answer |
|---|---|
| Name: | |
| What they need most: | (identity / walking / talking / feeding / potty training) |
| One thing I will do this week: | |
| One thing I will model for them: |
- Share your plan with your partner.
Commitment: This week I will: _________________ For this person: _________________
Prayer: Pray for your Chair 2 person. Pray for wisdom, patience, and love to nurture them well. Thank God for the privilege of being a spiritual parent.
Application Handles
Section titled “Application Handles”-
When you meet a new believer who does not know the basics (prayer, Bible, how to share their faith), do not be surprised - they are a spiritual baby. Celebrate where they are, the same way you celebrate a toddler’s first steps. Model the basics patiently and joyfully, knowing that more is caught than taught.
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When a new believer struggles with sin and feels like a failure, help them practice “spiritual breathing” - exhale (confess the sin, 1 John 1:9) and inhale (claim God’s forgiveness and walk in the Spirit). Remind them of their identity: they do not strive for victory, they live from victory because Christ has already won.
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When you disciple a new believer who faces persecution (family rejection, community pressure), ground them in their identity first. Teach them the 33 things that happened when they came to Christ - chosen, adopted, forgiven, sealed. A secure identity is the anchor that holds in the storm. Remind them that even Jesus was tested on His identity right after the Father affirmed Him.