• Assures that new Christians understand the decision they are making.
  • Avoids church terminology that can confuse people from a non- Christian background.
  • Directs the reader to page numbers rather than chapters and verses.
  • Teaches how to look up Scripture references by chapter and verse.
  • Encourages new believers to learn to approach the Bible a book at a time—as the Holy Spirit gave God’s Word to us.


Why It’s effective:

The Guidance for Life program helps a new believer form the habit of daily Bible reading and study. In just 10-15 minutes each day, during the first week of a new life in Christ, a new believer can read through the Gospel of Mark, the simplest, shortest and most direct presentation of Jesus’ life.

Rather than the topical approach which utilizes fragments of Scripture, Guidance for Life takes the reader through the entire Gospel of Mark. Many scholars highly recommend Mark as the first book of the Bible to offer a nonbeliever or new believer. (See the section on this Web site, “Why Mark?”)

As new believers read each day for 5 days (usually Monday through Friday) they will be presented with important teaching from Mark and other supporting Scriptures on these subjects:

  • The plan of salvation
  • The Bible
  • Prayer
  • Becoming part of a church
  • Witnessing
  • Water baptism
  • Holy Spirit baptism

The Weekly Cycle

In Guidance for Life, new believers are encouraged to establish a weekly pattern of Bible reading and study.

  1. On Monday through Friday, to coincide with a typical workweek, they are encouraged to read daily Bible readings.
  2. To prepare their hearts for the Lord’s day, they are encouraged to read complete books of the Bible at one sitting on Saturday evenings, beginning with the shorter books.
  3. New believers are encouraged to faithfully attend church and receive God’s Word from their pastor on Sunday with an expecting, receptive mind and heart.

Available Online

The complete contents of Guidance for Life are found on the Evangelism Commission Web site for nonbelievers— followchrist.ag.org.

Click here to view the Web site and its contents.