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This confession is important for two reasons. First, it proves the faith of the new Christian. Someone who has not sincerely accepted Jesus as Savior and Lord will not publicly announce that he has. Second, it gives your new brother or sister in Christ an immediate opportunity to confess his or her faith before a non-threatening, supportive group (Rom. 10:9-10).
I have a setting on my computer that records the time of transmission of each line of IM dialogue. If your Internet software has this feature, use it when leading a seeker to Christ. If not, note the time the prayer ends. Ask the new Believer to type a line of dialogue into the room. The confession is simple: I was born again at (time of prayer's end in Believer's time zone). Be sure that you are watching chatroom dialogue when your IM partner types this message. Make a big deal of it! Praise God for what He has done in this new saint's life.
Tell the new Believer to save the IM after it ends. I didn't think of this until a man in England who had just been born again told me that he was planning to save the dialogue. Salvation in IM leaves evidence in writing. When Satan begins attacking the Believer's recollection of his salvation experience, the Believer can read the evidence. I suggest that the new Christian also make a hard copy of the dialogue. This can help him silence human doubters, and it will be there in case the saved-on-disk copy disappears. I save the IM myself, for future study, or in case a saint loses his file.
Bible study is important to the new saint's spiritual growth. Reading a chapter a day is a good way to start; and John's Gospel is a good book to read first. Be sure the new Christian has a Bible available. If necessary, make arrangements with a church in his area. Most will give away a Bible to a new Christian, if they know about the need. There are also Websites where anyone can download a Bible free of charge. Bibles are available in software form at very low prices in most stores that sell software. Some of these packages include study helps. Any one of them will be useful to someone just beginning to study God's Word.
By the way, this time in a new saint's life is not the time to be peddling your favorite Bible translation or study guide. A new Christian might not have the money or the need for an expensive edition of God's Word. It is important that he have a Bible he can read easily. The Holy Spirit can make meanings and applications plain, and He indwells this new Christian. The Spirit is not restricted to working with any particular translation, nor is He rendered helpless by the absence of a map or a concordance.
The new Christian should be urged to pray. Most know to start a prayer with a reverent address of God (e.g. Dear Lord, Heavenly Father). Most know to end with Amen. Many know to pray in Jesus' name. Content is the part of which they might be unsure.
Let your new brother or sister know what a prayer is. It's talking to God. It is also acknowledging His presence and our dependence on Him. Encourage the new Believer to include praise, thanksgiving, and petition in prayers. Remind him to be constantly in an attitude of prayer (I Thessalonians 5:17), so he and God can speak to each other as needed. Stress the necessity of both Bible study and prayer, which combine to keep two-way communication flowing between God and each of His people.
Near-Term
Follow-up
Unfortunately, many new converts from Cyberspace have had disappointing experiences with local churches in the Real World. Others have lifestyles that they fear will lead to rejection by a church. Convincing the new Christian to give a church a chance to meet his needs might be difficult. In the Real World, the saint who watches a rebirth can personally take his new brother or sister to church. When the new Christian is a thousand miles distant (or five times that far), the experienced Believer must take a different approach.
Most major denominations and many local church congregations have Websites. Before beginning the task of leading others to Christ online, know where to send them, once they are saved. Contact the Site of your own church or denomination. Read doctrinal statements, meeting times, staff names, anything that will tell a new Christian what kind of church this is. Do the same with other churches and denominations. When God saves someone online in your presence, know where to find a list of Bible-teaching churches near the new saint's home. If he has no preference for one church over another, contact a pastor in his area, and get the two of them in touch. If you know someone at a Bible-believing church near the new saint's home, have your friend meet him and arrange a visit to a worship service.
Act quickly when putting a new Christian in touch with a local church. A new saint with no regular place of in-person Christian fellowship is on his way to dormancy. Do your best to get the new Believer to attend at least one church service within two weeks after salvation. Urge him to contact the pastor, to review his salvation experience with the pastor, and to be baptized. An unbaptized Christian with no roots in a local church is adrift in his spiritual life. God saved us all for better things than that.
A new saint needs Christian friends and a mentor. If you have led this new convert to Jesus, you should be there to step into both roles. Follow the conversion IM with e-mails, telling your new brother or sister more about yourself and more about the Christian life. Answer questions, or put the new saint in touch with others who can. Keep in contact, and keep encouraging your new brother or sister to be strong in the Faith.
Are you protesting that you lack the knowledge to be a source of enlightenment for another? You are probably much more mature in your Christian life than the new Christian in need of a mentor. Let him take advantage of the experience and godly wisdom you have. If the task, once undertaken, proves too much for you, you can hand the new saint off to someone more experienced. Better yet, you can renew your own commitment to Christian growth as you help the new saint through the first stages of growth.
Sometimes a new Christian, for whatever reason, chooses not to respond to follow-up messages. Sometimes the person who leads the new Christian to salvation is not the right person to continue monitoring the new saint's growth. For these reasons, it might be wise to put other mature Christians in touch with the new Believer. When I do this, I tell the new Christian in advance that others will contact him. I give him a sign by which he can recognize anyone I have sent. I tell him to look for an e-mail with Bruce Wilson sent me in the Subject box. If you have others contact the new Christian, be sure they are doctrinally well-grounded and trustworthy; and be sure that everyone knows the recognition sign.
Sometimes, regardless of everyone's best efforts, a new saint simply does not respond to online follow-up. If this happens, thank God that the new one is His, and commit the new Christian to His care. You have done what you can do. One more person is eternally secure in Jesus. You are not responsible for follow-up beyond what the new Believer allows.