For Immediate Release
January 7, 2010
If you knew you only had one month to live, what would you do to make what's left of your life really matter?
That's what an estimated 4,000+ East Texas residents will be considering come January 31st when they start the "One Month to Live" challenge which encourages people to start living their lives as if they only have 30 days left on earth.
Over 35 area churches and organizations are participating in the challenge from Sulphur Springs and surrounding towns (located 80 miles east of Dallas) making it the largest and first regional challenge of its kind in the US since the program's launch.
The challenge, sponsored by the Hopkins County Christian Alliance, will run for about six weeks with individuals, couples and entire families participating.
The idea is the brainchild of Kerry and Chris Shook who founded Woodlands Church in 1993 in the Houston area.
In February 2008, the couple released the book, One Month to Live: Thirty Days To A No-Regrets Life, which hit the New York Times bestseller list. That subsequently spawned a church movement. 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.
Senior Pastor Kerry Shook will be in Sulphur Springs to kick off the event on Sunday, January 31st from 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm at the Hopkins County Civic Center/Rodeo Arena, 1200 Houston Street. Admission is free and the event is open to the community. After the kickoff, the "One Month to Live" study will continue for six weeks at Sunday school as well as in small groups, held for adults at participating churches. For details, participants should check with their local church. Pastors will also devote Sunday sermons to different aspects of the challenge.
Pastor Kerry notes that we are all eventually reduced to a date of birth, a dash, and then a date of death. The Shook's write, "You get to choose how you are going to spend that little dash of time between the two dates of your earthly existence. What are you spending yours on? Are you living the dash knowing fully who you are and why you're here? Or dashing to live, hurriedly spending precious time chasing things that really don't matter to you?"
The nation's financial woes 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. 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 Years resolutions, some people take the challenge.
Churches and organizations participating include: First Assembly of Sulphur Springs, First Baptist Church of Cumby, First Baptist Church of Sulphur Springs, Central Baptist Church, Church of the Nazarene, Color Blind Ministries, Fellowship Christian Church, Mt. Olive Baptist Church, New Beginnings Fellowship, Peerless Baptist Church, Grace Fellowship, First Baptist Church of Dike, First Methodist of Sulphur Springs, Davis Street Baptist, Elm Ridge Church of Como, Good News Christian Center, Morning Chapel, Rockdale Baptist Church, Shannon Oaks Church, The Way Bible Church, Trinity Harvest Church of God, Wesley Methodist of Sulphur Springs, Ridgecrest Baptist Church, Christian Motorcycle Association, Prince of Peace Church, Primera Baptista of Como, Hispanic Mission Posey Baptist Church and Primera Baptista of Sulphur Springs.
For more information, contact the participating church or Hopkins County Christian Alliance organizers: Senior Pastor Joel Tiemeyer of The Way Bible Church, 903-438-2363, joeltiemeyer@yahoo.com or Minister of Education Bruce Welch of First Baptist Church, 903-885-0646, brucewelch@ssfbc.org
One Month to Live: Thirty Days To A No-Regrets Life was first released in hardcover and audio CD in February, 2008 and is published by WaterBrook Press, a division of Random House. A daily devotional journal is also available for purchase. Daily encouragement can also be found at www.OneMonthToLive.com. A challenge curriculum customized for students is also available at the website as well as the "One Month to Celebrate" curriculum for children. For more information on how a church can join the challenge, visit the website or call toll free 866-977-OMTL (6685).
Married for nearly 25 years and with four children, Kerry and Chris Shook founded Woodlands Church (formerly known as the Fellowship of The Woodlands) in 1993 in the Houston area. Since then, the church has grown to an average attendance of more than 17,000 each weekend. Its main campus is in The Woodlands with two other satellite campuses in the Houston area. Kerry Shook Ministries is a worldwide television ministry broadcast on several cable networks and reaching millions of viewers in over 200 countries.