In Acts 2:47, the church grew as “the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.” Interestingly, this verse came at the end of a brief transitional passage which summarized the activities of the church over a period of months or even years. Moreover, similar statements were made in Acts 5:14 and 11:24, suggesting that the church generally grew slowly but steadily rather than explosively as at Pentecost (Acts 2:41).
This slow but steady growth is the inspiration for New Foundation Church’s +1 Initiative. The idea is simple. We all know people who do not yet know Jesus. They could be parents, spouse, kids, neighbors, coworkers, or the barista at our favorite coffee shop. And we commit to sharing Jesus with them so that, one by one, they are added to the number of those who are being saved. Here is how it works.
Pray Daily
Every day, we will pray for our the people we know who do not yet know Jesus. Specifically, we will pray that God will draw these +1s to himself by whatever means are necessary and that he will use us in the process.
Engage Weekly
At least once per week, we will engage our +1 in some meaningful way. This could be a conversation across the fence, a card or phone call, or an invitation to a BBQ. Exactly what we do does not matter. What matters is that we do little things on a regular basis to build a relationship with them over time.
Invite Often
As often as we possibly can, we will invite our +1 to faith and fellowship. What that means is that, as opportunities arise, we will share our faith with them and encourage them to follow Jesus. And we will let them know we would love for them to join us also in church.
But, what will I say?
The best part of the +1 Initiative is that there is no script to memorize, and we don’t have to know everything there is to know about Jesus. We simply have to share what we know about Jesus. Even if we don’t know much about Jesus, we do know this: Ephesians 2:1-5 says, “You were dead in your trespasses and sins in which you previously walked… But God, who is rich in mercy, because of his great love that he had for us, made us alive with Christ.” In other words, we need to say only three things:
Who you were before you followed Jesus
Tell them what your life looked like before you decided to follow Jesus. Perhaps you were addicted to drugs. Maybe you were trying to be “good enough” to get into heaven. Possibly you didn’t even think about spiritual things at all. Whatever!
How you met Jesus
Tell them how you met Jesus and why you decided you wanted to follow him. Was it a friend who told you about Jesus? Did you hear about him in church? What prompted you to finally get serious about following him?
Who you are since following Jesus
Tell them how your life is different because you follow Jesus. Are you clean and sober? Have your relationships been restored? Do you now have a joy and peace that you never knew before?
We don’t have to share these things all at once. It may even take a year or two to reach the point where they will accept the invitation into faith or fellowship. Perhaps we will mess things up a time or two. Don’t worry about it! Just keep trying! Because sooner or later, our +1 will find themselves in need of help and hope, and when that happens, if we have been doing these things, God will create an opportunity for us to share so they can follow Jesus, too.