The First Steps training has challenged my student leadership team in ways that I think will prove to be pivotal in their lifelong walks with God. Not only has the training better equipped them to go out and share their beliefs, relying on the Spirit, but it has also profoundly challenged them on their own convictions and beliefs.
A few weeks in, we looked at the topic of assurance and how sure we as Christians can be of our salvation. The boys were asked to rate from 1 to 10 how certain they were that they would go to heaven. Not one said 10! In fact, they would beat around the bush trying to reason the inability to have 100% certainty. Yet, we had just looked at parts of the Bible that are nothing but certain regarding salvation, and still, they were not convinced.
The beauty of this was bringing to light a key area of the boys’ faith that needed extra attention and challenged them to trust in the words of the Bible above their own experiences or opinions of themselves, such as whether or not they deserved salvation all the time or could fall away.
Not only did the training better prepare them to share their faith, it made them think about their own faith in ways they never had the opportunity or been challenged to before.
As a result of the training, I can see an increased certainty and confidence in their own beliefs, and I have no doubt that the Spirit has been with us, convicting and teaching us as we sat at Jesus’ feet and discussed what it means to follow Him.
