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Then Jesus told his disciples, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” Matthew 16:24 

“Life is a struggle and the potential for failure is ever present, but those who live in fear of failure, orhardship, or embarrassment will never achieve their potential. Without pushing your limits, withoutoccasionally sliding down the rope headfirst, without daring greatly, you will never know what is truly possible in your life.”― Admiral William H. McRaven

We have dared greatly at Desert Cross in the past year, and we have discovered great possibilities of what we can do together yet apart. We have arrived at the one-year mark in the pandemic since we stopped meeting in-person. That’s a difficult milestone, but there is good news. The numbers are right where they need to be so we are making plans to worship in-person in March!

We have much to grieve and much to celebrate. We have lost and we have gained. Kind of like the first disciples who left everything and followed Jesus. Their lives changed completely when they jumped headfirst into living as disciples of Jesus. The pandemic changed our lives completely, and we jumped headfirst into online worship and the Zoom world of staff and congregational meetings!We have thrived by being innovative and not being afraid to try new things. Our limits have been pushed, and we have succeeded and failed, but we learned from our experiences and worked to improve! We called Pastor Thadd, adapted our mission opportunities, provided online giving and a new website, created Playlists, started new mission and continued to reach out beyond our walls.

We will continue to jump headfirst into the virtual world and find ways to make new community, new connections, and new mission. Our church will be a hybrid church between virtual and in-person – the future church has arrived! We have learned that nothing can stop us from following our call as disciples of Jesus in this world. We’ve been uncomfortable and stretched in unimaginable ways, yet our core of the cross of Jesus remains firmly planted in the center of all that we do as a community of faith.

The blessing is that we can now open up opportunities to connect in-person again. We have begun plans to resume in-person worship at both campuses on Palm Sunday, March 28th. Worship will be livestreamed for those who are worshiping at home. We will follow all social distancing and safety guidelines. Watch for details coming soon on all our upcoming in-person worship services!

Stay tuned, Pastor Andrea