WE MOVE SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 6 New home: The Kettle Room at Gibson Mill — 325 McGill Ave NW, Suite 148, Concord, NC 28027
SOJO Church
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The SOJO family kneeling and praying over one another

Know · Part Three

Your move:
Partner
with him

Jesus never once asked anybody to admire him from a distance. His invitation was two words long: “Follow me.”

Apprenticeship

Following is
a trade you
learn

In Jesus’ world, a disciple wasn’t a fan or a student taking notes. A disciple was an apprentice.

An apprentice moves in with the work. You’re with the master, you watch his hands, you copy his moves, and slowly — over years, not weekends — you start to do what he does. That’s the actual shape of the Christian life: be with Jesus, become like Jesus, do what Jesus did.

That’s also exactly what our whole mission means. Know him — the being-with. Grow in peace — the becoming-like. Go in purpose — the doing-what-he-did. Know, grow, go isn’t a church slogan. It’s apprenticeship to Jesus, in order.

A SOJO group sharing a meal around a table

Learning the trade · SOJO Church

Becoming a Christian

What actually
happens

Not a formula. Not a transaction. A covenant — and it starts with grace.

You cannot earn this. “For you are saved by grace through faith... it is God’s gift — not from works” (Ephesians 2:8–9). The rescue was accomplished by Jesus on the cross and out of the empty tomb. Your part is to receive it and reorient your whole life around it. The Bible uses two words for that:

Repent — which doesn’t mean grovel; it means turn around. Change direction. Stop walking your way and start walking his. And believe — not “agree the facts are true,” but trust him with your weight, the way you trust a chair by sitting in it.

“If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

Romans 10:9, CSB

A man praying during a service at SOJO Church

The turn · SOJO Church

Ready?

A prayer
to start

There’s nothing magic about these exact words — God is listening to your heart, not grading your grammar. But if you’re ready, pray something like this and mean it:

“Jesus, I believe you are who you said you are. I’ve been walking my own way, and I’m turning around. Forgive me. I trust what you did on the cross for me. Be my Lord, be my teacher — I’m yours. Teach me your way. Amen.”

If you just prayed that — welcome home. Heaven is louder about this than you are (Luke 15:7). Don’t keep it a secret. Text us right now so we can walk with you — the button below starts the message, you just add your name and hit send.

What happens after you text

We walk with you.
Here’s the path.

01

A real person texts you back

Usually the same day. Not a robot pretending to be a pastor — a pastor. We’ll celebrate with you and answer whatever’s on your mind.

02

Discover More

Our three-week class on the basics of following Jesus — doctrine and discipleship, no question off limits. It’s the best next room to be in.

Ask about the next class
03

Get baptized

The public yes. Jesus was baptized, and he asks his apprentices to be. It’s the next page of this story — literally.

Read about baptism

knowYou don’t clean up to come to him. You come to him, and he does the rest.