Preacher Lek spoke to us on "Following Up with the Newly Saved".

Firstly, the Gospel must be preached so that souls are saved. These new believers then need to be nurtured and cared for.

5 Principles of follow up:

1. Commitment of time and determined effort
Acts 14:21 "And when they had preached the gospel to that city, and had taught many, they returned again to Lystra, and to Iconium, and Antioch." It requires sacrifice of one's own commitments.

2. Confirm: to make sure that they are truly saved, and to reinforce the truth of God's Word by answering any questions
v 22 "Confirming the souls of the disciples"

3. Care: they need constant encouragement and strenghening of their faith
"and exhorting them to continue in the faith"

4. Comfort when they go through trials and tribulations
"and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God." They need role models to follow, and we must be at hand to comoort and counsel them.

5. Commend/Commit
v23 "And when they had ordained them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed." The nurturing of every believer is God's work; we must entrust the ultimate care of the believer to the lord. We also must commit them to others if we are unable to do so.

Applications:
- The work of following up never ends. It may be burdensome, but it is God's work.
- It requires prayer, and even fasting.
- We must be well versed in God's Word as we must give the new believers godly wisdom found in Scriptures, and not our own wisdom. Unless we are equipped with God's Word, our zeal may be of little use. Our life may stumble more than build up others. We need to build up our own spiritual life first.
- We can follow up through Bible Study, being a friend with them, praying with them, encouraging them to attend worship, visiting them, but most of all, interceding for them at the throne of grace.

Questions to think about:
1. Do you know of a new believer that requires help? How can you help him/her?
2. Share with the group how you follow up with a new believers in the past. How is the person doing spiritually today?
3. Discuss practical ways to care and comfort a new believer.