“Training” New Believers

This week I was reading my Bible alone in a Starbucks and I kept being distracted by an exchange that was taking place at the next table.

There was a new Starbucks partner (employee) being trained by a more seasoned worker. Binders were out and conversation was flowing. They were talking about the cash register, morning and afternoon pastries—yes there is a difference—and scheduling, among other things. There was more than information being transferred here; culture was being developed.

It reminded me of my days training for Starbucks almost 12 years ago. There were classes and there were workbooks, but what I remember best are the one-on-one conversations. These connections were the backbone of the training program then, and they still are today. Every new partner had (has) various veterans who ensured that positive development was being made.

And it made me think of how we might help new believers get acclimated to the faith.

Many of our churches have regular classes for new Christians. These training opportunities are important and can provide an overview or primmer on what is necessary to understand as a person follows Jesus.

It is probably a good idea, too, to give people some material to read and work through. Lectures in classrooms can sometimes be static; most of us need to engage with and tangibly work through information on our own to make sure it ‘sticks’.

However, I wonder if we tend to miss the most vital element of passing important understanding from one ‘generation’ to the next? Relational connections can’t be beat in discipleship, because ultimately our faith is not simply about information, it is about transformation, and a relational, discipleship-based connection promotes a transference of life and not just of knowledge.

Just a thought: What if every person at your church who indicated they were interested in following Jesus was partnered with a more seasoned believer for a series of conversations that flowed around some important aspects of the faith? Maybe a workbook could serve as a practical tool for those conversations, but the outcome would be more impacting than a workbook alone could give.

Propagating relational connections might be a little more work than simply providing a class and it would certainly take more investment than handing a new believer a book, but in the long run, I think it would be much more effective.