The Following Jesus app is a free companion to pastor and author Samuel Deuth's book Following Jesus, made so churches can put a next-step resource in someone's hands the day they decide to follow Jesus.^1 The app also works as a complete, standalone discipleship tool.^2 It includes a free seven-session video course on the essentials of following Jesus, a guided 365-day Bible reading plan, a Verse of the Day, and Scripture in multiple translations.^2 Built-in reading plans cover topics such as men, new believers, parents, and marriages, and users can share Bible verse graphics and walk a friend or a group through the essentials of faith.^2
The course and the book gather teaching around seven essentials: prayer and worship, the Bible, water baptism, the Holy Spirit, the Church, sharing your faith, and loving people.^3
Deuth and his wife Katie serve as campus pastors at Awaken Church's Bressi Ranch location in San Diego.^1 In 2016 they received a mandate to make one million disciples, and their life, work, and ministry have focused on that mandate since then.^4 Deuth writes out of more than 20 years of ministry.^1 The ministry presents the book as a partnership tool for churches of many sizes, not a standalone self-help title.^3
The same one-year Bible plan, 365 Days With Jesus, is also on YouVersion, where readers work through the Old Testament, the New Testament, and a selection from Psalms or Proverbs each day.^5 Print and ebook editions now appear in many languages. The languages collection lists English and Spanish alongside German, Polish, Finnish, Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, Afrikaans, Dutch, Ukrainian, Japanese, Hebrew, French, Portuguese, Italian, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Urdu, Telugu, and Arabic editions.^6 Related church helps include study guides, an online course, and kids resources,^1 and a free discipleship and assimilation pathway for pastors.^7 On his Jesus page, Deuth writes that Jesus is Savior and Lord and that following Him is a relationship with God, not a list of rules.^8
