Making 2016 Your Best Year Ever

by Erin Bird

Happy New Year! (One day early!) 😉

For many people, the New Year is seen as an opportunity to make a change... to improve... to do something that will make a difference in their life.

But what if your greatest year can't be found in making a difference in your own life, but rather by making a difference in the lives of others?

Don't get me wrong - I want you to be healthy (so go ahead and start exercising 3x per week) and happy (so go ahead and read those 12 books this year). But if you only focus only on yourself, I don't think you will see 2016 be your greatest year ever. Rather, I think 2016 will be your best year when you make improvements in your life that will enable you to make a difference in other people's lives.

But how do you make this difference?

I recently watched a video where the speaker said, “To be a difference maker means we have to be disciple makers.”

I agree. I personally believe the greatest difference is made when people find and follow Jesus (in other words, become disciples of Christ.)

This is why I am excited for this new year. I believe this coming year could be your greatest year ever. And I think it will be because you are going to grow as a follower of Jesus. And as you grow as a disciple (a Jesus-follower), I believe you will then "go and be a blessing," or to put it another way - make a difference.

That’s the purpose of our next teaching series, entitled New You. Throughout January, we are going to look at:

• the importance of leadership in your own life,
• putting the right habits in your life to help you succeed,
• how your outlook affects your present and your future,
• and the critical importance of perseverance.

So let me strongly encourage you to do everything you can to keep your calendar clear and make it every Sunday morning in January to our weekly Worship Gatherings. These first few weeks of 2016 have the potential to set you up for an amazing year of making a difference in your own life that will ultimately make a difference in the lives of others.

Here’s to what God can do in 2016!