Jesus spent His brief ministry on earth ministering to the crowds. So many followed Him wherever He went. Out of those crowds He chose twelve: Peter, Andrew, James, Philip, Thomas, Matthew, Bartholomew, Simon, Judas, Judas Iscariot, James, and John. Out of those twelve were three: Peter, James, and John. And then there was the disciple that Jesus loved: John. These twelve men received Jesus’ most personal teachings, and all but one took part in His suffering after His own death and resurrection. Filled with the gift of the Holy Spirit, nothing would stop them from fulfilling the Great Commission: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)
Jesus shook the world with twelve willing men. This is the foundation of our mission strategy: to teach and train small groups of believers to live a life that is victorious in Christ. It is our goal to see Christians empowered to walk out their salvation in such a way that the world looks at them, sees how different they are, and desires to know why. “Why do you handle adversity the way that you do?” “Why are you ‘happy’ every day when the world around you is falling apart?” “How are you able to handle a crisis and still live a joyous life?” Those are questions anyone should feel comfortable asking every believer who is walking closely with Christ!
