What Now? A Book for New Christian Teenagers

If you know a young person who is just starting as a follower of Jesus, Matt Shannon’s book will serve you well. ‘What Now?’ guides young people through their first steps of the journey of discipleship and helps them develop a practice of personal Bible reading. With the full text of the gospel according to Mark, some short thoughts to highlight big ideas, a helpful pattern of questions for reflection, and a prayer, new believers are given a solid set of resources to help them on their way. ‘What Now?’ doesn’t replace you (or anyone else) as someone to accompany young people on the journey of faith. It will give you a resource to help you and this young person get going, and keep going, in the life of faith.

'What Now?' is an easy, accessible read and would be a great thing to give a new Christian as they start to learn what it looks like to encounter Jesus in the Bible. With 'What Now?', Matt Shannon has made a resource for teenagers who have just become Christians to read through Mark's gospel one chapter at a time, with a short devotion for each chapter and an opportunity to ask some simple questions of what they've read, and a simple prayer coming from each chapter.If you give it to someone, be sure to check in with them and ask them about what they're reading and if they have any questions. Space prevents the book from being a full commentary, so this would be a good chance to help them learn how to seek answers to their own questions. This approach will help them get the most out of the reading process.

’What Now?' sets up new Christians for success in teaching strong foundations and setting clear expectations to have endurance for the future. Matt Shannon writes with an authentic and genuine tone, making the book helpful and accessible. He assumes no prior knowledge with clear explanations of potential Christian jargon with clear and accurate theology. He anticipates what the reader is likely to be feeling with accuracy, providing direction and encouragement for the new Christian. Matt consistently encourages the reader to have questions and not only guides them to a variety of places for answers, but also prevents them from searching in unhelpful, confusing places. The content has accompanying videos that are incredibly helpful for youth who struggle to read chunks of text and allows for different interests and learning styles...The book features clear step-by-step checklists for the new Christian, in addition to a guide through the Gospel of Mark broken down by chapter that has the entirety of the biblical text, a short explanation or highlighting of a key point, some questions to guide reflective thinking and a prayer. There are also excellent footnotes and important bonuses at the back of the book, including an explanation on how to look up a Bible verse, and a glossary of common Christian terms that can be flicked to as required.I am excited about having this book on hand to give to new Christians as it clearly and succinctly says exactly what a new Christian needs to know to thrive and lock in as a believer! I’ve just put in an order for our church to have a stockpile ready for when, God-willing, new believers profess faith, and will be recommending this book as our new confirmation and baptism gift as a church.

This book is a real gift to youth ministries everywhere! It so helpfully serves as a resource to give to any young person who has made the life-changing decision to put their trust in Jesus. Matt Shannon writes with a warmth and simplicity that is clear evidence of his daily ministry interactions with teenagers. ‘What Now?’ gives new believers a really clear plan for how to start building the lifelong habits of a Christian and then puts Mark's Gospel directly into their hands, so they can begin straightaway. The accompanying videos also make this book even more accessible for young people to engage with. Over and over again, Matt points his reader to the saving work of Jesus, that we must continue to rely on in our daily Christian walk. As a youth pastor, I’m so thankful for this resource and can’t wait to put it into the hands of youth who decide to start following Jesus.

In being involved in running KYCK and combined youth events, I was often searching for youth gospel tracts and resources to give to those who had responded to the gospel. I'm so glad that we now have What Now? to fill this gap, as the one-stop-shop 'first steps' for new Christian teens!