How would you live your life if you had one month to live? The people of the nation will find out how Northeast Texas families will respond, starting in two weeks. Thirty-five area churches have taken up the “One Month to Live” challenge, the brainchild of Kerry and Chris Shook, co-authors of the book, “One Month to Live: Thirty Days to a No-Regrets Life.”
The area-wide response is the largest group of churches in the nation to accept the challenge, and has drawn the attention of ABC’s Nightline, the national late night news program. Nightline will be on hand when the challenge kicks off on Jan. 31, and will chronicle three local families as they participate in the six-week life-changing program.
The event will launch at 6 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 31, in the Hopkins County Regional Civic Center Arena. Currently, the membership of 35 area churches is expected to be there as well as author Kerry Shook and Nightline. As many as 3,000 people are expected to take part in the kick-off event.
Challenge organizers Joel Tiemeyer, senior pastor of The Way Bible Church, and Bruce Welch, minister of education at First Baptist Church of Sulphur Springs, both emphasized that it is not too late for other churches to get involved or for individuals and/or families who may not be attending one of the participating churches to take part.
“We want to invite any and all churches and families to get involved with this,” Tiemeyer said. “This isn’t about one denomination or one ethnic group. This is a multi-denominational, multi-racial coming together of people who want to enrich their lives not just for 30 days but for the rest of their lives.”
Over 2,200 churches across the country have taken or signed up to take the challenge since the program’s inception in the summer of 2008, but this is the first time that the movement has spanned an entire region. Churches in five different cities are participating in the challenge.
Welch emphasized that this is not about the size of the organization, but about the individuals who are participating in it.
“The purpose of the challenge is for us to think about our life, not just on this Earth but for eternity because we are eternal beings,” he said. “We need to see if what we are doing on Earth in this life is what we need to be doing to go into eternity.”
Tiemeyer added, “The purpose of the challenge is for everyone to evaluate where they’re at in life right now. Refocus your life on your family and friends and faith right now instead of putting it off until tomorrow.”
But the two clergymen also see the benefits of having such a large collection of churches involved.
“The purpose of the area campaign is to see a movement of God take place in this city and the Northeast Texas region,” Tiemeyer said. “The nation can look at the local churches and see hope and stability, a strong entity that will stand up for what is right and what we believe in.”
He added that the nation’s economy and daily reminders of the fragility of life are attracting many people to the challenge who are reassessing their priorities. Participants in other parts of the country report that taking the challenge has helped them to live life more intentionally – from spending more time with their families to strengthening their marriages to giving back to their communities.
Welch added that there is a momentum that is gained when a large group of people has one binding motivation.
“There’s a synergy when a group does something. It’s more than the sum of its parts,” he explained. “There is an avenue here for people to get involved with the challenge and to get involved in churches they would not normally be involved in.”
The challenge has also proved to be a great motivator for jump-starting other goals that can take longer than a month, such as losing weight and exercising more or switching careers and starting a business. Instead of setting New Year’s resolutions, some people take the challenge.
“At the end of the challenge, we want to leave a legacy, a standard for generations to build on,” Tiemeyer said.
Sponsored by the Hopkins County Christian Alliance, the local churches and organizations that are participating include First Assembly of God of Sulphur Springs, First Baptist of Cumby, First Baptist of Sulphur Springs, Central Baptist, Church of the Nazarene, Color Blind Ministries, Fellowship Christian, Mount Olive Baptist, New Beginnings Fellowship, Peerless Baptist, Grace Fellowship, First Baptist of Dike, First Methodist of Sulphur Springs, Davis Street, Elm Ridge of Como, Good News Christian Center, Morning Chapel, Rockdale Baptist, Shannon Oaks, The Way Bible Church, Trinity Harvest Church of God, Wesley Methodist of Sulphur Springs, Ridgecrest Baptist, Christian Motorcycle Association, Prince of Peace Church, Primera Baptista of Como, Hispanic Mission, Posey Baptist and Primera Baptista of Sulphur Springs.
For more information, contact the participating churches or challenge organizers:
Tiemeyer at
The Way Bible Church
903-438-2363
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,
or
Welch of FBC-SS
903-885-0646
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.
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