How do you become a christian

[AlwaysSunshine81]

So tonight I took my DD to a candlelight service at our local chapel. It’s not a church.
It was lovely and I feel so inspired by what the pastor was saying. I have actually been thinking of going every week but I am not religious at all and 37yrs old!

Maybe start by going back and chatting to that pastor? If you felt inspired by what he was saying then start there

The bible says that if you believe that Jesus is the son of God, that he was sacrificed to restore good standing between you and God and then confess this with your mouth, you will be saved. Ie have become a Christian.

That’s my simple understanding anyway.

Go back! If you don't want to chat to the pastor, try chatting to some other members of the congregation about what they think. I hope you'll find a warm welcome.

Meanwhile try reading the Gospels - you can find them all free online, or via various apps. The Gospel of Luke is the one with most of the Christmas story in it, if it's this time of year that's got you in the mood.

I grew up in a church going family, drifted away from it a bit, but came back because the essential rightness and truth of Christ's message and love was brought home to me by various experiences. I hope you can find that too xoxo

You believe that Jesus was the son of God. That is how you become a Christian. It doesn't mean by any stretch of the imagination you have to go to church or do any of the other nonsense they insist upon.

Your age does not matter, being 'religious' does not matter( if you read the gospels you will see that it was the religious people of the day that Jesus criticised the most) If you enjoyed the service, just go back on a normal Sunday service and see what it is like. there may be an Alpha group or something similar which explains Christianity and is a safe place to ask any questions. they may have mid week groups where you can get to know people better and ask them about their faith. But read Johns gospel and talk to God about what you are feeling and what you need and he will put the right people in your life.

Would definitely recommend alpha as a starting point. Choosing to become a Christian is asking Jesus to be Lord of your life and following him and the plan God has for your life from that point. You need to know and believe/accept that Jesus died on the cross, took the punishment you deserved, rose again from the dead and repent of your sins. There is a lot more obviously to understanding God's love for you and what being a child of God means but I would suggest maybe even emailing the church you went to and seeing what they suggest as the next step. Alpha will definitely help your understanding without any pressure at all. It is a great course that some people do just to find out more, not necessarily ending up in them making any kind of decision. There is no pressure. Find one by googling 'find an alpha course near me'

You could become involved more in the social/community aspects of your local church and live a 'Christian' life if you don't quite believe in the God/Jesus bits and see where it goes from there. I have attended a few church based events and enjoy the social part of it - but the prayers etc don't really mean much to me.

I second trying an Alpha Course, it will give you a community which I think is so important when you begin your journey. You can search online for one running near you. You usually get a free supper, new friends and the chance to get your questions about Christianity answered.

These people were great with me. You can ask them anything and argue any points you disagree with.

christianity.org.uk/

God is softening your heart, friend.

It's quite simple really. You repent of your sins, you actively try to move away from them all and you put your trust in Jesus Christ. Go and buy a bible and read it. Speak to your pastor and tell him that you would like to put your trust in Jesus Christ.

Praying for you.

God is so good!

People go to church / chapel for all sorts of reasons and in my (quite denominationally varied) experience they are unlikely to be pushy if that's what you're worried about. Just go back. I used to go to church on my own when I was 8 and 9 (which is admittedly a bit weird) and in an hilariously restrained British way the vicar would shake my hand afterwards each time and politely never asked me what on earth I was doing there!

If you want to do some reading there are loads of apps these days which feed you a Bible reading each day / offer guidance on reading the Bible, and there are also apps for prayers (the C of E one is called 'Daily Prayer' I think), and then loads of intro books on Christianity of all kinds. The chapel may well have a supply of books that you can borrow.

Kalidasa, your post made me laugh! I also used to take myself off to church at that age, but there was a Sunday School in the church hall that I could go to! The Vicar didn't have to shake hands of all the rag, tag & bobtails in there!

Agree with Thisisit777, if you have that conversation with God (ie pray), you have become a Christian. It's what happens after that I found so amazing. In wanting to be more like Christ, you need to know more about him. Thus follows the reading the Bible, finding other Christians etc.