Challenge Accepted

Challenge Accepted. The beginning of a new year has a funny way of making us ambitious: new calendars. new routines. new promises that this will be the year we finally get it right. We make plans to pray more, stress less, eat better, love our neighbors, and read the Bible in a year, all by January 3rd. 

Our intentions are good. Our optimism is real. And if we’re honest, the pressure can be, too.

Last week, we began a new sermon series called Challenge Accepted, but it may not be the kind of challenge you’re expecting.

 This isn’t about trying harder or adding more spiritual goals to an already full life. It’s about learning a different way of living with God, one rooted in trust, perseverance, and surrender rather than performance.

Scripture consistently reminds us that God doesn’t ask for perfection or impressive spiritual resumes. He invites us into alignment: learning to walk with Him, one faithful step at a time, even when the path ahead isn’t clear. Trust doesn’t mean having everything figured out, it means taking the next step without needing the whole map. Perseverance doesn’t mean pushing through on sheer willpower, it means staying rooted when growth feels slow or invisible. Surrender isn’t giving up, it’s releasing our grip on outcomes we were never meant to control in the first place.

That kind of faith is less about heroic moments and more about everyday faithfulness. It’s quieter and slower, yet far more freeing. Many of us feel the weight of expectation (spoken or unspoken) to do better, be better, or finally “get it together.” But God invites us into something simpler and more hopeful: stop performing for Him and start trusting Him with our lives.

We’d love for you to join us on that kind of journey: perfection not required and no prior experience necessary. Just a willingness to take the next step with Jesus from wherever you happen to be starting.