Jesus said, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross and follow me” (Matt. 16:24). The Bible also says, "we know what real love is because Jesus gave up His life for us, so we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters" (1 John 3:16). Furthermore, Philippians 1:29 says that for us as believers, “we have not only been given the privilege of trusting in Christ but also the privilege of suffering for him” and that “we are in this struggle together.”
We want to be a church that is willing to give up our time, money, resources, comforts, and ultimately our lives for Jesus, His mission, and our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.
1 Peter 1:4 says that for us as believers, “we have a priceless inheritance – an inheritance that is kept in heaven for us, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay.” Our lives as believers should look radically different from the rest of the world because of our hope in Jesus. We should sacrificially be willing to take risks for Jesus and His mission knowing that our time here on earth is short and we have a glorious inheritance awaiting us for all of eternity (Col. 1:4-5, 2 Tim. 4:6-8).
