It’s time. There’s nothing different about the new year, except that we’ve made it out to be a fresh start. And who doesn’t love starting over?
2019 may have been a year in which you took strides in your spiritual life. Or maybe you’re reaching the end feeling stuck in the same place as the year before, and you wonder if you’ll ever change.
What if we told you the key to making this year different than every year before is a lot simpler than you think?
As you’re thinking through goals for the start of a new decade, consider adding these resolutions to your list.
1. Get in God’s Word daily.
Each day is full of decisions, and the little decisions you make each day add up to lead you in a direction. You’re either becoming more of who God wants you to be, or you are drifting further away from who He made you to be. Choose every day to open the Bible; pray, “God, show me who you are and what that means for me today”; and then read something. If you don’t know where to start, ask a friend or mentor, or start here.
2. Find a church home already.
If you are a believer in Christ but not a member of a local church and plugged into community, you’re planning this new year to miss out on the fullness of life God has for you. According to Scripture, we may even dare say that you’re living in disobedience. Here’s what we mean.
3. Go all in.
So many of us have bought the lie that we can serve both God and ourselves. We essentially do what we want, and then show up on Sunday to feel good. Christianity was never meant to be something you add to your life. The call is to come and die in order to truly live. Let go of whatever is holding you back from being all in with Jesus. That relationship, that habit, your lifestyle, fear of what will happen – if it’s keeping you from full devotion to Christ, it’s keeping you from living the good life.
• Confess sin – Confess early, often, and out loud to friends following Christ.
• Find community – Find a group of believers in your local church who will get to know you and help you follow Christ. Let them speak into your decisions using biblical wisdom. Ask them to hold you accountable for reading God’s Word daily and for setting boundaries in place where you know you struggle.
• Serve your local church – God made you for a purpose, and He gave you specific gifts to use for the building up of His body, the Church. Find somewhere to serve in your local church and commit to serving on a regular basis.
4. Get to AWAKEN conference!
We all need a little encouragement from time to time. Whether you’re the newbie wondering what it’s like to actually follow Christ or the vet who’s been around for a while, you need people and people need you. The AWAKEN Conference is a doorway to the purpose-driven, world-changing, norm-shattering life you dream of having. For anyone tired of just showing your face on Sundays or wondering if there’s more to your life, we’re spending Memorial Day Weekend 2020 redefining Church – the way God designed it from the start.
5. Did we mention get to AWAKEN conference?
But seriously, if any of the things above seem either way too simple or way too complicated, we’ll be here to help you the weekend of May 23-25. You’ll have access to trained young adult pastors who are committed to helping you walk with Christ. They’re already praying for you. They want to know your name. They want to know your story. They’re in the same life stage as you are (or just a step ahead), and they’ve been training for the moment that they’ll get to connect with you and help you take your next steps with God.
We aren’t just starting a new year; we’re heading into a new decade, and your life isn’t getting any longer. So, why wait? Put these things at the top of your new year’s resolution list this year, and just see what God does. You’ll be better off for it.
See you at AWAKEN May 23-25, 2020.