Become a Christian
What do I need to do to become a Christian?
Becoming a Christian involves understanding and accepting three core beliefs:
- Recognise that God loves you. He created you and loves you unconditionally.
- Accept that you are not perfect and have done wrong things, and this separates you from God’s perfect love.
- Believe God’s Son, Jesus, died for you and rose back to life.
Then, ask for God’s help and forgiveness to be saved and to have eternal life.
Learn more about all of this below.
God loves you
The Bible says God loves the world and everyone in it. He created the world and made humans in his own image. It may be hard to understand, but God loves you more than any person ever could. He loves you no matter what you’ve done or what you’ve experienced in life.
Read it for yourself:
God’s love for the world – John 3:16
God created the world – Genesis 1-2
What is sin?
As recorded in the ,Adam and Eve are the first people God created. He was in a close relationship with them. Unfortunately, they used their free choice to disobey God’s one and only rule. That choice, their mistake, meant something called ‘sin’ entered the world.
Because of sin, the world is no longer perfect. In every human, there is now selfishness, unkindness, pain and hurt. Everyone is sinful. And because God is perfect, that means we, in our sin, are separated from God, in his holiness . When we don’t have a relationship with God, life can feel empty and meaningless.
The Bible says, “All of us have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory. But God treats us much better than we deserve, and because of Christ Jesus, he freely accepts us and sets us free from our sins” (Romans chapter 3, verses 23-24, CEV).
This Bible verse means that even though we make mistakes and are not perfect, God still loves us and wants us to have a relationship with him again.
What does it mean that Jesus is our ‘Saviour’?
When we understand sin and how it separates us from God , we realise we need help to experience lives of purpose, love, joy and hope. That help comes through Jesus. Jesus is the Son of God. He lived on Earth, died on a cross and rose back to life so that we could have our wrongs forgiven and have a relationship with God.
You can read all about it in the Gospels:
Jesus saves us from the consequences of sin. He saves us from meaningless lives. He saves us from life without God. Jesus saves us so we can have eternal (forever, everlasting) life in Heaven with God after we die. Through Jesus, life has meaning and we have hope for the future. That’s why Christians call Jesus their Saviour.
“God loved the people of this world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who has faith in him will have eternal life and never really die” (John chapter 3, verse 16, CEV).
What is a salvation prayer?
When you decide to accept Jesus’ help, trust in him and call on him as your Saviour, you can pray a ‘salvation prayer'.
A salvation prayer is not complicated. It is simply talking to God and asking his Son, Jesus, to be Lord of your life – to renew, guide and support you. It’s a prayer acknowledging your sin and failings, and asking Jesus to take your sin away. It’s thanking God that Jesus died to pay for your wrongs and save you, and he came back to life again to give you hope. Becoming a follower of Jesus is also known as becoming a Christian. When you become a Christian, God the Holy Spirit fills you with love, joy, peace and wholeness. God is three persons in one: God the Father is for us and has made the way to restore our relationship with him; Jesus the Son came to earth to be with us and to save us; and the Holy Spirit of God is here within us now – in our hearts – helping us to live in step with God’s good purpose for our lives. When you pray a salvation prayer, God hears you and you can trust that he is with you.
You can say a prayer on your own, or with someone else. We recommend speaking the words out loud as it helps you express your decision to follow Jesus more clearly. However, if you can’t pray aloud, God still hears what is in your heart.
Jesus, I trust that you are the Son of God.
I see that I am not the person I ought to be. I have said things I should not have said, and done things I should not have done. I have failed to do things I could have done.
Thank you for dying for me, to pay for my wrongs. Please forgive me.
Jesus, here and now I turn away from my old ways. I turn from everything I know is wrong. And I surrender my life to you. From now on, you will be my master and teacher. I will follow you.
Jesus, please come into my life. Come into my heart. Be my Lord and Saviour forever.
If you have prayed this prayer, please share your journey with us so your local Salvos can support you.
How do I know I am saved?
The Bible also says we will know we are saved because we will have the Holy Spirit living in us.
“Christ also brought you the truth, which is the good news about how you can be saved. You put your faith in Christ and were given the promised Holy Spirit to show you belong to God” (Ephesians Chapter 1, Verse 13, CEV).
The Holy Spirit is God, just as the Father and Jesus are God – they are three in one. The Holy Spirit lives inside the hearts of all who believe. We cannot see him, but we can know him – experience him – and we can see the positive change he brings to our lives.
“The wind blows wherever it wants to. You hear it, but you don’t know where it is coming from or where it is going. It is the same with everyone who is born from the Spirit” (John Chapter 3, Verse 8, ERV).
The Holy Spirit gives us guidance about how to live life God’s way. He helps build our character, to become more like Jesus – bringing love, hope and good news to those around us. He gifts us with faith, wisdom and strength to live in our God-given purpose.
“But the Holy Spirit will come and help you, because the Father will send the Spirit to take my place. The Spirit will teach you everything and will remind you of what I said while I was with you” (John Chapter 14, Verse 26, CEV).
People who follow Jesus live differently to people who don’t know Jesus. Being a Christian means living out our faith in practical ways and following God’s plan for our lives.
Discover how other people have experienced Jesus’ love for themselves.
What do I do after I have accepted salvation?
We would encourage you to start talking with God and Jesus daily in prayer. You can talk out loud or silently, in your head. You can sit, stand, kneel or walk. You can close your eyes or leave them open. It can be just a few minutes, or it can be longer. You can talk to Jesus like you’d talk to a friend — sharing your thoughts, feelings and concerns. You may like to start by thanking God for things you feel grateful for that day and asking God to help you with things you are worried about. No concern is too small for God
We also recommend you read the Bible so you can learn more about God .We suggest you start by reading the stories of Jesus in the book of Mark.
The Bible is available online in lots of languages and translations. Find a language you’re comfortable with and a style of writing that makes sense to you. Visit YouVersion to download a free Bible app on your mobile device or to read the Bible online.
Finally, it’s important to connect with other Christians so you can feel supported in your journey as a follower of Jesus.
Find your local Salvation Army church using the button below or visit your closest Christian church. Many of these churches have an in-person and/or online presence. Some offer discussion groups for new Christians. Let them know you’ve just started a faith journey and would like to have a chat about it.