What If Parents Gave Birth to a 25-Year-Old? Survival Guide for Those Newly Born Again and Those Discipling Them

Five Things We Will Learn

1. Why new believers need healthy relationships and spiritual family to thrive.
2. How to teach basic survival skills—money, self-care, and abiding in Jesus.
3. The role of purpose and God’s Word in directing a new life.
4. Why boundaries and consequences are essential for growth.
5. How faith, hope, and resilience empower disciples to endure challenges.

Jesus said, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”  John 3:3, 5–7 (NIV)

What does being “born again” look like, and how can we help them survive if we are the ones leading them to the Lord?

Let’s imagine five things someone will need if they are born at the age of 25 years old [BORN AGAIN!] instead of one day old. They will have very different needs than a newborn, because they currently know very little about how to survive yet they are an adult and survival is demanded of them.

Here are the five most important things they would need to know:

1. The Value of Relationships

• Life is not meant to be lived alone.
• Healthy friendships, family bonds, and mentors shape who you become. They need to join a church family. With us, we believe they need to join a church family that lives out the values of Jesus Christ—spirit-filled, spirit-led, and rightly related to apostolic relationships.
  • Have them read Everyone needs a church Family, a Tribe.  Finding your place, love, purpose and hope in the family of God
  • Help them download the GLM App by texting “GLM” to 77977, then help them set up their profile so they can be recognized and begin to connect & engage with the greater body of Christ.
• Learn how to give trust wisely and invest in relationships that build, not drain, you.
  • Have them read Why God Places the Chosen in Toxic Families, Jonathan Chan

2. The Basics of Survival and Self-Care

• How to eat well, sleep enough, and care for the body they suddenly “wake up” in.
  • Most of them are spending the majority of their free time—even time while at work—staring at their mobile devices. They are addicted to the dopamine they get from it. You have to tell them, “The eye is never satisfied. It will never get enough.” (Ecclesiastes 4:8) They will need to free up their time to be productive, take care of important relationships, and work hard at their job not only to earn an income, but also to be in alignment with God’s expectations for them to work (Ephesians 6:5–9).
    • Have them watch The A.I. Dilemma & The Church (Part 10): Baal E-Masculation, ToS, Unveiling the E-Masculation Effect of Artificial Intelligence and its Profound Influence on Masculinity
    • 👉 GregLancaster.org/Media – Series
  • Teach them to abide with Jesus! Most everyone wants to, but they don’t have a plan. We have a simple plan for them at iAbide.org. They’ll discover that they will have a fruitful life and answered prayers once they start to abide with Jesus (John 15).
• Remember, it’s all new to them—the Bible, the ‘church language’ that many Christians use without remembering what it was like when they first became believers, and even how the Kingdom of God operates. Jesus said to seek first His Kingdom, and all the things they need will be added to their life (Matthew 6:33). If you don’t teach them not to focus on ‘stuff and things’ before the Kingdom of God, then what they truly need will never be added to their life.
  • • To help them with this, have them watch The Secrets of the Kingdom series. This series explains the Kingdom of God in a way that will help them quickly grasp an understanding and begin living a fruitful, productive life.”
      • 👉  GregLancaster.org/Media – Series
• How to handle money, pay for shelter, and navigate the practical world (budgeting, cooking, hygiene, healthcare).  This is so important, because they’ve been handling finances and debt in the darkness of their lost life. More than likely they are in some sort of financial crisis.  But now that they are born again, they must walk out of bad financial decisions they made when they were living only for themselves.  (Proverbs 22:7)  God is their provider and will provide, they’ll have to learn to turn their hearts away from lenders and others to provide for them and to God.
  • Share with them EveryDollar by Dave Ramsey to help move them from the world’s way of money management—debt—to God’s way of money management, being blessed in all they do, and being the lender, not the borrower (Proverbs 6:6–8).
    👉 https://www.ramseysolutions.com/money/everydollar
• Without these basics, everything else in life becomes harder.
  • Remind them: “It took all your life to get to this point, so don’t expect to come out of it overnight. Be patient with yourself as you come out of debt and past bad decisions. You’ll learn godly character through this, which will help you for the rest of your life!” (Hebrews 12:5–11)
  • Have them watch TWO SECRETS to Being Established and Successful which helps them understand God is for them, how they can have success and how they need to set up daily routines that will bring the order success requires.
    • 👉 GregLancaster.org/Media – Series

3. Purpose and Direction

• Life isn’t just about existing—it’s about why you exist (Habakkuk 2:2–3).
• They need to explore the Word of God, their gifts, values, and passions to find meaning and direction.
  • Get them started on The Commands of Jesus so they will know their purpose and how to live their new life! (Matthew 28:19–20)
    • 👉 GregLancaster.org/CommandsOfJesus or text TCOJ to 850-786-4GLM (4456).
• Without purpose, adulthood feels empty, no matter the circumstances (Proverbs 29:18).

4. The Reality of Boundaries and Consequences

• Every choice has a ripple effect.
• Boundaries (both personal and with others) are essential for protecting themselves and respecting others.
  • Have them watch the First Love Series. It will lead them to fall deeper in love with the Lord and to realize His love for them.
  • 👉 GregLancaster.org/FirstLove
• They need to quickly learn self-control and discernment in relationships, work, and habits.

5. The Importance of Faith, Hope, and Resilience

• Life is full of challenges—disappointments, loss, setbacks.
• They need to know how to anchor themselves in faith (in God, in truth, in something greater than themselves). They also need to join a church family and become rightly related to it.
  • • Lead them to Vine Fellowship Network, look for ‘How to Connect,’ and help them connect to a church.
    • 👉  VineFellowshipNetwork.org
    • Lead them to subscribe to the Words of Wisdom weekly text by texting “WOW” to 850-786-4GLM (4456)
    • Encourage them to watch Dynamics of Shepherds and Sheep: Finding Safety in Our Good Shepherd’s Care series, which will help them understand how the Lord has given us shepherd-leaders to shepherd us through this life
      • 👉  GregLancaster.org/Media – Series
• Resilience, forgiveness, and hope are keys to navigating life without becoming bitter or broken.
  • Have them watch Unhinged Forgiveness to understand the power of forgiveness and how it sets them free. 👉 GregLancaster.org/Media – Series

So in short:
Relationships, Survival, Purpose, Boundaries, and Hope would be the five “first lessons” for a 25-year-old newborn.

Born, but Abandoned — The Tragedy in the World and the Church

The world has no problem having children; they have a problem caring for them. There is a blind spirit of murder on them as they abort babies being formed and act as if nothing ever happened. Sad to say, the Church has both problems: 95% are not leading even one person to be born again (to become a disciple), and especially not helping them survive if they do help birth them into the Kingdom of God—hence, born only to be aborted—yet they are excited about the next one being born. Hmmm.

Discipleship Means Raising God’s Children, Not Leaving Them Behind

Part of being a disciple and making disciples is loving the babies in the Lord—the new disciples—understanding their lack of knowledge and their need to be raised up in the Lord. This part of discipleship tests your love, and God’s Word says that if we claim to love God but do not love our brother, we are liars.

Love Is the Standard for Parenting — Both Natural and Spiritual

Then we are told what love is:

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.
— 1 Corinthians 13:4–8a

This is exactly what is required to raise children—both our children and God’s children!

Key principles about love:

• It’s about character (patient, kind, humble).
• It’s about relationships (not self-seeking, not easily angered).
• It’s about endurance (always protects, hopes, perseveres).

GOD WILL NOT FORGET!

God is not unjust; He will not forget the love you have shown Him as you have helped His people and continue to help them.
— Hebrews 6:10

Don’t forget to help raise them once you help birth them. Don’t just drop them off at the church like a daycare and assume they’re okay — they need you!