We know that once we are saved, we begin a journey of faith in which we may develop both our theological understanding and our personal relationship with God. Our local church community can play a helpful part in this. Psychological research underlines just how important a trustworthy community is. For example, Kurt Lewin’s field theory and group dynamics (1947) showed that beliefs change most durably through participation in trusted communities rather than one-way instruction (a teacher and class model). If your new convert does decide to come along to your church, and it is a trustworthy culture, they will be more likely to continue changing the way they think, as their minds are renewed in their newfound faith. But if the cultural climate of the church is one of insecurity, or there are toxic dynamics such as lack of trust, criticality, non-acceptance, exclusion, judgementalism, or hypocrisy, the new member will be much less likely to adopt the beliefs of the group.