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How Do I Follow Jesus? Start With This Simple Guide

Jason Inman • 13 minutes

If you’ve ever wondered what it means to follow Jesus, you’re not alone. Maybe you’re new to faith, trying to figure out what Christianity is all about. Or maybe you’ve been following Jesus for a while but want to go deeper. No matter where you are in your journey, one thing is clear: Following Jesus isn’t about having everything figured out. It’s about taking daily next steps toward Him.

Jesus didn’t just invite people to believe in Him; He invited them to walk with Him, learn from Him, and live differently because of their encounters with Him. He invites you to do the same.

What Does It Mean to Follow Jesus?

Following Jesus Defined

First, let’s start with a simple definition: Following Jesus is a lifelong journey of trusting Him, becoming more like Him, and living out His love.

In the Bible, Jesus’ closest followers are often referred to as disciples. We’re invited to become His disciples too. Disciple or Christian discipleship can sound odd or intimidating in modern English, mainly because it’s not common. It comes from the Latin word disciplus which means learner. So, a disciple is someone who is learning from Jesus how to live. 

Following Jesus Consists of Three Elements:

  1. Believing Like Jesus
  2. Living Like Jesus
  3. Becoming Like Jesus

Following Jesus Requires Surrender 

Before we explore these three elements, let’s pause and talk about surrender. Why? Because we can’t believe, live, or become like Jesus if we don’t surrender our preferences or pride. God wants to transform us from the inside out, and transformation requires change.

Changing old beliefs, changing our perspectives, changing habits, and changing our relationships are all on the table.

Jesus doesn’t invite us to a life of comfort and ease, but to a life of sacrifice and surrender.

—Pastor Craig Groeschel

My church’s Senior Pastor, Craig Groeschel, says, “Jesus doesn’t invite us to a life of comfort and ease, but to a life of sacrifice and surrender.” As you consider how to believe, live, and become like Jesus, pay attention to the theme of surrender.

Believing Like Jesus

Just about everything we do is rooted in what we believe. So what did Jesus believe about God and others? And how do His beliefs translate to us today?

Jesus’ Identity

Throughout Jesus’ time on earth, He made some pretty stunning claims about His divine identity. He described Himself as:

Jesus Christ is more than a simple teacher with nice ideas about being kind to others. Instead, He is God in human form, sent to offer salvation, freedom, and new life today. This is the good news that most Christians call the gospel.

Learn more about the gospel.

Do I Have to Believe in Jesus?

Many people followed Jesus while they were still figuring out what they believed about Him. The gospels—the books of the Bible that tell us about His life and earthly ministry—show us that some people learned from Him first and came to faith later.

No matter where you are in your journey, whether you fully trust Jesus as your Savior or you’re just exploring, every step closer to Him is a step in the right direction.

Jesus Can Help With Unbelief

Even if you’re unsure if you’re ready to accept Jesus’ words as truth, you can keep learning from Him. In Mark 9, a desperate father brought his suffering son to Jesus. Jesus’ followers had tried to help but couldn’t heal him.

The father pleaded with Jesus: “If you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”

Jesus replied: “‘If you can’? Everything is possible for one who believes.”

The father immediately responded: “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”

Faith isn’t about having zero doubts. It’s about taking steps toward Jesus and trusting Him more each day.

Even if you believe in Jesus, you may still wrestle with doubt—and that’s okay. Faith isn’t about having zero doubts. It’s about taking steps toward Jesus and trusting Him more each day. At some point, faith becomes essential to following Him, but Jesus meets us where we are and helps us grow.

Trust God’s Grace

Peter, one of Jesus’ closest disciples, boldly declared that Jesus was the Son of God. But on the night Jesus was arrested, Peter denied even knowing Him three times. Still, that wasn’t the end of Peter’s faith. Jesus restored him, and Peter became a key leader in the early church.

Thomas, another disciple, saw the risen Jesus in person but still doubted. He needed to see Jesus’ scars before he fully believed. And yet, he, too, went on to spread the message of Jesus.

What Did Jesus Believe?

Following Jesus Christ isn’t just about believing in Him—it’s also about learning what He believed and taught. Here are a few key things He believed:

These beliefs formed the foundation of how Jesus Christ lived, loved, and led others to new life. So we’re wise to consider how we might explore these beliefs and adopt them for ourselves.

Of course, the Christian life is about so much more than simply having the right beliefs. Our trust in Jesus Christ saves us and leads us to live out our faith through others-focused actions.

Living Like Jesus

Following Jesus Christ isn’t just about what we believe; it’s about how we live. Jesus didn’t just teach people about God—He showed them how to love, serve, and pray in a way that transforms lives. And the most incredible part? He invites us to do the same today.

But where do you start?

The Greatest Commandment

The Bible is a giant book with countless rules, laws, guidance, and cautionary tales for ancient peoples—some of which still apply to us today. That’s one reason many people have a hard time getting started reading God’s Word. But thankfully, Jesus gives us a way of making sense of the Bible in a way that directly leads us closer to Him.

In a memorable encounter, a man asks Jesus to name the greatest commandment in Scripture. Jesus gives not one but two commandments: to love God and to love others. He goes on to say that all of God’s laws can be summarized with these two great commands.

So, if any of this feels overwhelming or hard to understand, remember what Jesus said: Honoring God and following Jesus is rooted in loving God and loving people.

With that powerful truth in mind, let’s explore three key ways to begin living like Him: praying, serving, and loving like Jesus.

Praying Like Jesus Prays

Jesus modeled regular conversation with God, the Father. Jesus prayed in public, with His close friends, for the sick, and in private. He never made a spectacle of prayer and warned against praying with fancy words to gain attention from others. 

Jesus didn’t leave us guessing how to pray. He said, “This, then, is how you should pray” and then proceeded to pray the Lord’s Prayer. Whether you’re new to praying or you have a strong life of prayer, we’d recommend making a practice of praying the Lord’s Prayer daily. 

“This, then, is how you should pray:
“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.’”
Matthew 6:9-13 NIV

Here’s a full guide to learning more about how to pray like Jesus with The Lord’s Prayer. 

Serving Like Jesus Serves

Jesus made it clear: He came to serve, not to be served (Matthew 20:28). He washed His disciples’ feet, fed hungry crowds, cared for the sick and the poor, and ultimately gave His life for all.

Just in case His followers didn’t pick up what He was putting down, Jesus plainly let us know that He was asking us to follow His lead as servants. 

I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them. John 13:15-17 NIV

Earlier in Matthew, Jesus also said:

“Here is a simple, rule-of-thumb guide for behavior: Ask yourself what you want people to do for you, then grab the initiative and do it for them. Add up God’s Law and Prophets and this is what you get.” Matthew 7:12 MSG

Here are five ideas for serving others like Jesus:

  1. Serve in your neighborhood and community. 
  2. Serve people who are incarcerated. 
  3. Serve in a local church and find new friends. 
  4. Serve your family and friends by learning what causes them to feel cared for. Then take the initiative and do it for them!
  5. Serve a group of friends by leading a small group (at Life.Church, we call these LifeGroups). 

Loving Like Jesus Loves

Jesus came to show us what God is like and that God is love (1 John 4:7-21). 

Paul, one of the most influential early Christians, once persecuted Jesus’ followers until he encountered the love of Christ. Love transformed him, and he went on to write much of the New Testament.

One of Paul’s letters included a chapter all about the kind of love that changed him. 1 Corinthians 13 is often recited at weddings because of Paul’s wonderful depiction of love. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.

Do you recognize these words? We recommend meditating on the entire chapter often. This chapter alone is evidence of the way Jesus Christ can transform a person. At the end of the chapter, Paul names three of the most important elements of following Jesus. 

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13 NIV

Paul understood love not just from Jesus’ teachings, but because Jesus’ followers showed him grace and forgiveness. Instead of returning the treatment, Jesus' followers accepted Paul’s repentance, helped him recover from his old ways, and chose to learn from him. That same kind of love can transform us today.

Here are a few practical ways we can love like Jesus:

If you want to live more like Jesus, continue practicing what He practiced by praying like Him, serving like Him, and loving like Him. 

Living like Jesus shapes us from the inside out. The more we follow Him, the more we begin to reflect His heart and character.

Becoming Like Jesus

Following Jesus isn’t just about learning His teachings or copying His actions—it’s about being transformed by Him. The more we trust Him, walk in His ways, and rely on the Holy Spirit, the more we begin to reflect His love, wisdom, and grace.

Think about it: We tend to become like the people we spend time with. If you follow someone closely, you’ll go where they go, experience what they experience, and start to take on their mindset and habits. The same is true when we follow Christ.

What Does It Mean to Become Like Jesus?

The more we devote our lives to the pursuit of Jesus’ way, the more we’ll become more like Him.

You may have heard Christian teaching or met Jesus followers who focused on believing in Jesus to get certain benefits—whether in this life or the next. Or, maybe you’ve met Jesus followers who focused on living like Jesus to accomplish certain things for themselves or others. Neither of these ways of living are uncommon or inherently wrong, but they are incomplete.

We follow Christ by believing what He says and by doing what He does (James 2:14-26, Ephesians 2:8-10). The more we devote our lives to the full pursuit of Jesus’ way, the more we’ll become more like Him.

What Is Jesus Like? 

Jesus’ beliefs and actions impacted how He lived. Here are a few snapshots of how His identity shaped His actions.

  • Jesus is full of grace and truth. He saved a woman caught in adultery and called her to a new way of life.
  • Jesus is just and merciful. He challenged religious hypocrisy and defended the oppressed.
  • Jesus is a servant. He washed His disciples’ feet, fed the hungry, and ultimately laid down His life for others.
  • Jesus is love. Even on the cross, He prayed: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34 NIV).

The more we follow Jesus, the more we reflect His character. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we grow in the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

How Do We Become Like Jesus?

If all of this sounds overwhelming, remember that transformation doesn’t happen overnight, and it’s not something we achieve by effort alone. Instead, it happens as we accept God’s grace and allow Him to work in us and through us.

  • Believe in Jesus. Trust His love, accept His grace, and let His truth shape your life.
  • Live like Jesus. Pray like He prayed, serve like He served, and love like He loved.
  • Walk with Jesus daily. Over time, as we follow Him, the Holy Spirit will change us from the inside out.

Jesus doesn’t just offer us a better way to live—He offers us a new identity. As we become like Him, we’ll continue to step into our true identity as children of God:

But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. John 1:12 NLT

So don’t just follow Jesus from a distance—walk closely with Him. Trust Him. Learn from Him. Let Him transform you. Not through legalistic actions, but through a personal relationship. As you do, you’ll find yourself becoming more like Him every day.

If you want to slow down and go deep into following Jesus, Life.Church created Following Jesus, a printed series of four in-depth study guides for small groups, Bible studies, friends, and families. 

You can also check out our Basics of Faith YouTube Series and the You’ve Heard It Said podcast.