Are you leaving the JW organization, but you still want to follow Jesus Christ?

If so, I want you to know something that you may need to hear right now:

You are not an apostate simply because you are questioning or leaving an organization.

Leaving an organization and leaving Jesus are not the same thing.

Maybe you have spent years believing that if you walked away from the organization, you were walking away from God. Maybe you were taught that questioning the organization meant questioning Jehovah himself. Maybe the word apostate has been used in a way that made you afraid to even explore what you truly believe.

But please take a breath.

God is not afraid of your questions. Jesus is not afraid of your questions.

Your relationship with your Creator does not depend upon your membership in an organization.

Jesus said:

>“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.”
— Matthew 11:28

Notice that Jesus said come to me.

Not come to an organization.
Not come to a system.
Not come because you have everything figured out.

Come to Me.

If you are leaving the JW organization because you can no longer reconcile what you are being taught with what you see in Scripture, that doesn't mean you have stopped loving God. In fact, your desire to keep following Jesus may be one of the most sincere things in your heart right now.

And please remember this:

You are loved.

You are loved by the One who created you, who knows you completely, and who cares about you deeply.

Jesus said that even the hairs of your head are numbered. Think about that for a moment. The God who knows something as small and seemingly insignificant as the number of hairs on your head is not going to abandon you because you are asking questions.

You don't have to have all the answers today.

You don't have to immediately know what denomination you belong to.

You don't have to replace one organization with another.

You can simply begin with Jesus.

Open the Gospels. Read Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Read Jesus' words for yourself. Watch how He treated people. Notice His compassion, His patience, His mercy, and His truth. Pray. Talk to God honestly.

You can say:

“Jesus, I don't know what is true anymore. I've been afraid. I've been confused. But I still want You. Please lead me.”

I believe that is a beautiful prayer.

If you are somewhere between the life you knew and the faith you are trying to rediscover, you are not alone.

And if you are terrified that leaving the organization means God will leave you, please hear this:

God is not confined to an organization.

You can walk away from an institution and still walk toward Christ.

You can question teachings and still love God.

You can discover that something you believed for years was not true and still have faith.

You can begin again.

And perhaps most importantly:

You do not have to be afraid of Jesus.

He is not standing at the end of your questions waiting to condemn you.

He is inviting you to come closer.

❤️ If you are leaving the JWs but still want Jesus, I hope you know that there is a path forward. You are loved. You are not forgotten. And your journey with Christ does not have to end because your journey with an organization has ended.