There are few people in the Bible I find more intriguing—or more sobering—than Judas Iscariot.

Think about all the things he would have experienced.

For roughly three years, Judas walked with Jesus, heard Jesus teach, watched Jesus heal the sick, witnessed blind people receive sight and saw the deaf begin to hear again. He watched Jesus feed thousands of people. He sat at the table with Him. He traveled with Him. He watched the way Jesus treated people when nobody else was watching.

And Judas didn't merely see all these things...he participated in them!

Matthew tells us that Jesus called His twelve disciples together and “gave them authority over unclean spirits, to drive them out and to heal every disease and sickness” (Matthew 10:1). A few verses later, Matthew names the Twelve. And Judas is one of them.

And yet John tells us that Judas did not believe (John 6:64).

How is that possible? How could someone spend that much time with Jesus, experience all that he experienced, even participate in all of those things—and still not actually know Jesus as his Savior?

First, we should be careful with the question.

I've often heard the question asked this way: "Was Judas saved?" It's a legitimate question, but it can be complicated because Judas lived at a unique moment in salvation history.

He lived before the cross. Before the resurrection. Before Pentecost.

That doesn't mean people couldn't be saved before those events. Of course they could. Abraham is perhaps the clearest example. Genesis says Abraham “believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness” (Genesis 15:6) and also “...the Scripture saw in advance that God would justify the Gentiles by faith and proclaimed the gospel ahead of time to Abraham..." (Galatians 3:8). Paul later uses Abraham to explain justification by faith in Romans 4.

People have always been saved by God's grace through faith on the basis of shed blood- “Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” (Hebrews 9:22).

But Abraham didn't know everything we know. Neither did David. Neither did Isaiah. God progressively revealed His plan throughout history, and people were responsible to believe what God had revealed.

The disciples themselves are a fascinating example of this. Peter could look at Jesus and say, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16). That's real faith. And yet, just a few verses later, when Jesus explained that He was going to Jerusalem to suffer, be killed, and be raised, Peter rebuked Him.

Peter believed in Jesus while still having a great deal to learn about what Jesus had come to do. So Judas' problem wasn't simply that he couldn't have explained the death and resurrection of Jesus the way you or I can today.

Neither could Peter. That tells us that something deeper in Judas was wrong.

John tells us exactly what that was.

In John 6, some who had been following Jesus began to walk away because of His teaching. John explains: “For Jesus knew from the beginning those who did not believe and the one who would betray him.” (John 6:64).

Notice how John describes Judas. It's not just that Jesus knew he would betray Him. Judas' betrayal is placed within the context of "unbelief".

In that same passage, Peter makes one of his great confessions: “Lord, to whom will we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.” (John 6:68–69). And immediately Jesus responds with those words...“Didn't I choose you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil.” (John 6:70). John then tells us (v.71) that he was referring to Judas.

That contrast seems intentional. Peter certainly didn't understand everything. He was going to stumble in a bad way. Shortly, Peter would deny three times that he even knew Jesus.

But Peter believed unto salvation and Judas didn't. Whatever privileges Judas possessed as one of the Twelve, John presents him as a man who did not believe in Jesus which is the primary condition of possessing eternal life (John 3:16-17).

Judas really was a disciple though! He actually followed Jesus. 

This is where I think Judas forces us to make an important distinction. Judas wasn't pretending to be one of the Twelve in the sense that he had somehow snuck into the group.
He didn't manipulate his way in. Jesus chose him (See John 6:70 again)!

Judas really traveled with the Twelve. He really heard Jesus teach. He really participated in their ministry. He really held responsibility among them. John tells us that Judas kept the money bag (John 12:6).

So in a very real and historical sense, Judas was a disciple of Jesus. What he apparently was not was a believer in Jesus.

That's an important distinction because sometimes we use "disciple" and "believer" as though the words always mean exactly the same thing. To be sure, there's often overlap. But in the Gospels, “disciple” can simply describe someone who follows or learns from a teacher. John 6:66 even says, “From that moment many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.”

It's clear. There were disciples who followed Jesus...until they didn't. Judas followed longer than almost all of them. But following alongside Jesus was not the same thing as trusting in Jesus for forgiveness and eternal life.

And apparently nobody knew that Judas wasn't a believer.

To me, this is one of the most astounding realities about Judas. He seemed to be totally normal to everybody else...everybody except Jesus, that is.

At the Last Supper, Jesus said “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me.” And NOT ONE of the disciples turned and stared at Judas! Instead, Matthew says they were “deeply distressed” and started asking Jesus, “Surely not I, Lord?” (Matthew 26:21–22). John tells us specifically, "The disciples started looking at one another--uncertain which one He was speaking about." (John 13:22).

Think about that! They had lived with Judas. Traveled with Judas. Eaten with Judas. Ministered along side Judas. Prayed with Judas. And evidently Judas' life didn't look so dramatically different that everybody immediately knew Jesus was talking about him.

That's a pretty sobering reality and there's a real spiritual truth to grasp here.

Spiritual activity isn't the same thing as saving faith.

Judas had even been sent out in ministry! Matthew 10 says Jesus gave the Twelve authority over unclean spirits and diseases and sent them out to proclaim that “the kingdom of heaven has come near” (Matthew 10:7). We shouldn't speculate beyond what Scripture tells us about exactly what Judas personally did during that mission. But he was undoubtedly among those Jesus commissioned and sent.

That should make us think about something Jesus says elsewhere:

“On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, didn't we prophesy in your name, drive out demons in your name, and do many miracles in your name?’ Then I will announce to them, ‘I never knew you.’” (Matthew 7:22–23).

That's an astonishing warning. Evidently there is an enormous (and eternally significant) difference between doing things associated with Jesus and actually knowing Jesus.

That's not just a Judas problem. It's a human problem. Humans are remarkably good at substituting external things for faith. 

The contrast between Peter and Judas is especially helpful because Peter prevents us from drawing the wrong conclusion.

The lesson for us isn't that a real believer never struggles. Peter definitely struggled. It isn't that a real believer understands everything correctly. Peter certainly didn't. It isn't even that a real believer will never fail Jesus terribly. Peter did!

So what separated them? Listen again to Peter: “Lord, to whom will we go?” I love that. Peter didn't have everything figured out. But he knew where life was found! He said, “You alone have the words of eternal life.” That's saving faith!

Imperfect faith. Growing faith. Faith that still had plenty of misunderstandings mixed into it. But real faith nonetheless.

Judas on the other hand, had extraordinary proximity to Jesus without that kind of faith in Jesus.

That's what makes the record of Judas so uncomfortable.

Most of us will never stand where Judas stood. We won't physically walk the roads of Galilee with Jesus. We won't sit in the upper room and watch Jesus wash our feet.

But we can become very familiar with Jesus. Especially those of us who have been around church for a long time. We can know the Bible stories. Sing the songs. Understand the language. Know when to stand. Know when to pray. Serve in ministry. Teach. Lead. Give.

And after enough years, all of that can begin to feel like evidence that we must know Jesus.

But Judas' story reminds us that being around Jesus is not the same thing as belonging to Jesus. And perhaps that's why his story is preserved for us in the Biblical record.

Not so that every Christian lives terrified that they might secretly be Judas. But so none of us substitutes familiarity with Jesus for faith in Jesus.

The most important question isn't how long you've been around Him. It's not how much you know about Him. It's not even how much you've done for Him.

The question is much simpler: Do you believe in Him? And by “believe,” the Bible means more than simply acknowledging that Jesus existed or agreeing with certain facts about Him. Saving faith means believing that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God (John 20:31), that He died for our sins and rose again (1 Corinthians 15:3–4), and entrusting ourselves to Him as our only hope of salvation. Jesus called people to “repent and believe the good news” (Mark 1:15), and Paul said simply, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31). It isn’t perfect understanding, perfect obedience, or perfect faith. It is turning from sin and self-reliance and resting the weight of our eternal hope on who Jesus is and what He has done. That’s the difference between merely knowing things about Jesus and actually believing in Him.

Peter didn't understand everything. But he did know enough to say: “Lord, to whom will we go?”

And I believe that's still one of the simplest descriptions of faith we have. I don't have to have everything figured out. I don't need to understand everything God is doing. I certainly haven't followed Him perfectly. "But where else would I go?"

Only Jesus has the words of eternal life!

What a church believes matters.

It shapes what gets preached on Sunday mornings. It shapes how we understand God, how we think about ourselves, how we raise our families, how we walk through suffering, and how we love and serve the people around us.

So, if you're new to The Bridge—or you're considering visiting—it's fair to ask: What do you actually believe?

At The Bridge, our beliefs aren't something we've invented, and they're not something we get to change every time the culture changes. We believe God has spoken through His Word, and we want what we believe and how we live to be shaped by what He has said.

So, if you’re new to The Bridge, here are some of the foundational truths that shape who we are.

We believe the Bible is God’s Word—and our ultimate and sufficient authority.

“All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” — 2 Timothy 3:16–17

We believe both the Old and New Testaments are inspired by God, inerrant in their original writings, and the ultimate and sufficient authority for what we believe and how we live.

The Bible wasn’t simply written by people thinking about God. Scripture says its authors “spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:21). So Scripture is God's spoken word to us. And because God has spoken, His Word has the final say.

That means no church, pastor, tradition, personal experience, cultural movement, or human authority stands above Scripture. All of them must ultimately be tested by what God has revealed in His Word (Acts 17:11).

It also means we believe Scripture is sufficient. God has given us in His Word what we need to know Him, to know the way of salvation, and to faithfully follow Jesus. We don’t need to improve upon His Word, supplement it with new revelation, or soften what it says when its teaching becomes uncomfortable.

There are certainly passages we have to wrestle with carefully. Faithful Christians sometimes disagree about how particular texts should be understood and applied. But our starting point and our final appeal remain the same: God has spoken. His Word is true. His Word is enough. And His Word has the final say.

We believe in one God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

“Hear, Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one” (Deuteronomy 6:4).

There is one God, the Creator of heaven and earth, who eternally exists as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Jesus commanded His disciples to baptize “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19).

We don’t believe in three gods, and we don’t believe that Father, Son, and Spirit are simply different ways God presents Himself. There is one God, eternally existing in three distinct Persons. And this God made us.

Christianity begins there—not with us trying to define God for ourselves, but with the God who created us making Himself known to us.

We believe Jesus Christ is fully God, fully man, and Lord of all.

John begins his Gospel with an extraordinary statement: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” — John 1:1 Then he tells us, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14).

Jesus isn't just a teacher, prophet, moral example, or spiritual guide. He is the eternal Son of God who became truly human. We believe He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary (Luke 1:34–35). He lived without sin (Hebrews 4:15). He died in the place of sinners, physically rose from the dead, ascended to the Father, and will personally return.

That’s why one of the earliest and simplest Christian confessions remains at the heart of what we believe: “Jesus is Lord” (Romans 10:9).

Following Jesus, then, is more than simply admiring His teachings or adding a little spirituality to our lives. We trust Him, worship Him, obey Him, and increasingly bring every part of our lives under His authority.

We believe every person is made in God’s image—and every person is a sinner who needs to be saved.

Every human being is made with tremendous dignity: “So God created man in his own image; he created him in the image of God.” — Genesis 1:27

Every human life has value because every human being is made by God and bears His image. But the Bible is equally clear about what has gone wrong. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).

Sin is more than making mistakes or failing to become the best version of ourselves. We have sinned against the holy God who made us, and the consequence of sin is death (Romans 6:23). And that's not a problem we can fix ourselves.

Titus 3:5 says that God “saved us—not by works of righteousness that we had done, but according to his mercy.” Christianity isn’t about basically good people becoming slightly better people. We are sinners who need to be saved.

We believe salvation is by grace alone, through faith in Jesus Christ.

“For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift—not from works, so that no one can boast.” — Ephesians 2:8–9

We cannot earn salvation through good works, religious rituals, church membership, baptism, communion, generosity, or simply trying to live a moral life.

Salvation is God’s gracious gift that we receive through faith in Jesus. Jesus “bore our sins in his body on the tree” (1 Peter 2:24). On the cross, Christ stood in the place of sinners and bore the penalty our sin deserved. He was buried, and on the third day He physically rose from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:3–4).

Because of what Jesus has done, forgiveness and eternal life are offered to sinners who repent and place their faith in Him.

We don’t believe a church saves you. We don’t believe a sacrament saves you. We don’t believe your goodness saves you.

“There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to people by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). 

We believe the Holy Spirit gives new life and changes those who belong to Christ.

Jesus promised His followers that the Father would give them the Holy Spirit, who would be with them and in them (John 14:16–17). The Holy Spirit isn’t an impersonal spiritual force. He is God.

He convicts us of sin (John 16:8), gives new life, indwells believers, teaches us through God’s Word, sets us apart for holy living, and empowers us to follow Jesus. And His presence changes us. Galatians 5:22–23 describes His fruit as “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”

We believe that God is at work in His people, increasingly shaping us into the likeness of Christ through the Holy Spirit.

We believe the church belongs to Jesus.

“He is also the head of the body, the church” (Colossians 1:18).

The church does not ultimately belong to a pastor, denomination, congregation, or tradition. It belongs to Jesus. We believe everyone who has been given new life through faith in Christ is part of His church. And we believe a local church is a gathering of believers who have come together to worship, learn God’s Word, pray, serve one another, and carry the gospel into the world.

Acts 2:42 says the first Christians “devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer.” That’s the kind of church we want to be.
A people shaped by God’s Word. A people worshiping Jesus. A people caring for one another. A people serving our neighbors. And a people taking the good news of Jesus beyond ourselves.

At The Bridge, we summarize that mission pretty simply: "Connecting Others to the Love of Jesus."

We believe baptism is for those who have personally trusted in Jesus Christ.

When people responded to the gospel in the New Testament, we repeatedly see the same pattern: they believed, and then they were baptized. “So those who accepted his message were baptized.” — Acts 2:41

That’s why we practice believer’s baptism by immersion.

Baptism doesn’t save us. It isn’t the means by which someone receives forgiveness or becomes a Christian. It is the public identification of someone who has already repented of sin and placed his or her faith in Jesus. Romans 6:3–4 connects baptism with Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection. Going beneath the water and coming back up beautifully pictures our identification with Jesus and the new life we have received in Him.

We aren’t baptized in order to be saved. We are baptized because Jesus has saved us.

We believe the Lord’s Supper helps us remember and proclaim what Jesus has done.

Along with baptism, Jesus gave His church the Lord’s Supper. On the night before His crucifixion, Jesus took bread and the cup and gave them to His disciples as reminders of His body and blood.

Paul explains: “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” — 1 Corinthians 11:26 We understand the bread and cup as symbols pointing us to Christ’s body and blood. They do not repeat Christ’s sacrifice or add anything to His finished work.

Hebrews says that Jesus offered Himself “once for all” (Hebrews 10:10). So when we gather around the Lord’s Table, we remember. We give thanks. We examine ourselves. And together we proclaim that our hope rests entirely in Jesus and what He has accomplished for us. At The Bridge, we celebrate communion together on the first Sunday of every month.

We believe every person will spend eternity somewhere.

Christianity makes claims not only about this life, but about what comes after it. Jesus spoke clearly of both eternal life and final judgment: “And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” — Matthew 25:46

We believe those who receive Christ as Lord and Savior will live forever in God’s presence, while those who reject Him will remain eternally separated from God under judgment. That’s a sobering truth. But it’s also part of what makes the gospel such incredibly good news.

“For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

We believe Jesus is coming again.

Our hope isn’t ultimately that humanity will eventually figure everything out or that the world will slowly become everything it ought to be. Our hope is Jesus.

He told His disciples: “I will come again and take you to myself, so that where I am you may be also.” — John 14:3

The same Jesus who died, physically rose from the grave, and ascended to the Father will personally return. Sin will not have the final word. Death will not have the final word. Evil will not have the final word.

Jesus will come for His own and receive us unto Himself! And that future hope should shape the way we live right now.

Why Does All of This Matter?

Sometimes doctrine gets treated like something for theologians, pastors, or people who enjoy debating difficult questions. We don’t see it that way at The Bridge.

What we believe about God shapes how we worship Him. What we believe about Scripture determines whose voice has the final word in our lives. What we believe about sin shapes how we understand ourselves. What we believe about Jesus determines where we look for salvation. And what we believe about eternity shapes what we live for now.

So we believe that doctrine matters. At The Bridge, we believe that God has spoken. His Word is true and sufficient. Jesus is Lord. Every person needs to be saved. Christ died in the place of sinners and rose again. Salvation is God’s gift received through faith in Christ. The Holy Spirit gives new life and changes us. The church belongs to Jesus. And our King is coming again.

These are the foundational truths we want to know, believe, and build our lives on.

And if you’re still figuring out what you believe, we’d love to have you come open the Bible with us and see for yourself who Jesus is.

One of the things I hope you discover pretty quickly at The Bridge is that we don't want you to simply come to church. We want you to become part of the church. There really is a difference.

It's entirely possible to come on Sunday morning, find your seat, sing with us, listen to the message, and head home without ever really allowing anyone else into your life. In fact, that's probably easier than ever. Most of us have gotten pretty good at living independent lives.

But following Jesus was never intended to work that way.

When you read the New Testament, Christians are constantly being told to do things for “one another.” Encourage one another. Pray for one another. Bear one another's burdens. Forgive one another. Serve one another. Love one another.

You can't really do any of those things alone. And I think that's especially important when I think about where God has placed us.

The community around The Bridge is incredibly varied. Within a fifteen-minute drive of our building are people at just about every stage of life. There are young families and retirees, married couples and single adults, people raising children on their own, and a significant number of people living by themselves.

Of course, statistics can't tell you whether somebody is lonely. They can't tell you whether a marriage is struggling or whether somebody has anyone they can call when life falls apart. But they do remind us that there are a lot of different stories represented in the neighborhoods around us.

That's true inside The Bridge too.

On any given Sunday, you're sitting near people who have followed Jesus for decades and people who are still trying to figure out what they believe. There are people having a really good year and people barely holding things together. There are people raising kids, caring for aging parents, starting careers, nearing retirement, grieving somebody they love, looking for work, or trying to figure out what comes next. We need each other.

That's one reason we don't want The Bridge to become a church where people simply recognize one another's faces. We want to really know one another.

That doesn't mean everybody is going to be best friends. That's not realistic. It does mean that over time you should have people here who know your name, know something about your life, pray for you, notice when you're missing, and care about how you're doing.

And you should be that person for somebody else, too.

Sometimes that starts in surprisingly ordinary ways. You stay around and talk after church instead of heading straight for the parking lot. You come on a Wednesday night and participate in Bible study. You serve in our student ministries or DELTA kids clubs. You might find your place by helping at the food pantry. You pray with somebody. You learn the name of the person you've been sitting three rows behind for the last month.

It's not a magical formula...you just keep showing up. And when you do, special things begin to happen. Somewhere along the way, these people stop being the people who go to your church. They become your church.

I think that's much closer to the picture Jesus has given us.

Our mission at The Bridge is "Connecting Others to the Love of Jesus". We usually think about that in terms of the people outside our church—and we should. God has placed us here to love and serve our neighbors. But sometimes the person Jesus is calling you to love is already sitting across the room.

And sometimes one of the ways Jesus intends to show His love to you is through them.

"I, wisdom, share a home with shrewdness 
and have knowledge and discretion." -Proverbs 8:12

Let's start with a definition: Wisdom is seeing and living life from God's perspective.

Proverbs 8:12 really challenges the idea that wisdom is just knowing the right answers. Wisdom says, “I live with prudence.” In other words, wisdom isn’t something that stays up in our heads—it steps into real life with us. It helps us navigate the details.

Prudence pays attention to timing, tone, and consequences. It asks, “What does obedience actually look like right here—in this conversation, in this decision, with these people?” So it's possible to know a lot of Bible and still not be wise if we don’t know how to apply what we know carefully. Wisdom isn’t proven by what we know—it shows up in how we live when things get complicated.

And then, wisdom “finds out knowledge and discretion.” That means it’s active. It thinks, it weighs, it looks ahead. It doesn’t just react in the moment—it asks where a decision is going to lead before we make it.

A lot of times we stop with the question, “Is this right or wrong?” And sometimes that question settles it. But wisdom is supposed to push us further: “Where is this going to take me? What’s this going to produce in my life?”

That’s the difference between just living in the moment and actually thinking ahead. It's the difference between living...and living wisely.

When God grows wisdom in us, He’s not just helping us believe the right things. He’s teaching us to see life from His perspective—and then to live that way, especially when it’s not obvious what to do next.

One of the things I really appreciated about "God Shines Forth" by Daniel Hames and Michael Reeves is that it starts the conversation about mission and personal evangelism at a place where we probably don't start often enough: with God Himself.

When we talk about missions, evangelism, or sharing our faith, we usually begin with the command. Jesus told us to go. People need to hear the gospel. The church has a responsibility to reach the world. And obviously, all of that is true. But Hames and Reeves back up much further. Before mission is something God tells us to do, it flows out of who God is!

God shines forth!! That's the picture from the book that has stuck with me the most.

Think about the sun. It doesn't have to be convinced to shine. Light radiates from it because that's what it does. In a far greater way, God's goodness isn't something He keeps to Himself. He gives. He reveals Himself. He makes Himself known.

And ultimately, He has made Himself known to us in Jesus.

I think that changes the way we think about evangelism. We're not trying to convince people to become interested in a distant God. We're just telling people about God who has already moved toward us in Christ.

I think Christians can sometimes make evangelism feel like an obligation we'd rather avoid. We know we're supposed to tell people about Jesus, so we feel guilty when we don't. We try harder for a while. Maybe we have a few awkward conversations. Eventually, the whole thing starts to feel like another Christian responsibility we're not doing very well.

"God Shines Forth" gives us a much better place to begin. What if one of our biggest problems with evangelism isn't that we don't know enough techniques? What if we just don't see clearly enough how good God actually is?

Because when you really begin to see and experience God's goodness, His beauty, His generosity, His grace—it makes sense that you would want other people to know Him too.

We do this all the time. We tell people about a restaurant we loved. I'm doing it right now by recommending this book. We tell somebody about a place we've visited because we want them to experience it too. When something is genuinely good, sharing it with someone else doesn't feel forced...it feels...RIGHT.

Why would knowing Jesus be any different? It shouldn't!

That's one of the challenges I took away from this book. What the church needs isn't simply more pressure to evangelize. Maybe we just need a clearer vision of the God we're telling people about.

That's really the heart of Christian mission. God has revealed Himself to us in Jesus, and now we have the privilege of helping others see what we have seen. Not because we're trying to win an argument or grow an organization. We simply believe we have encountered Someone worth knowing.

That's what I appreciated so much about "God Shines Forth". It reminded me that sharing Jesus doesn't have to begin with guilt or pressure. It can begin with simply seeing God for who He is—and then realizing He's too good to keep to ourselves.

Interested in reading it? Here's the link to it on amazon: God Shines Forth: How the Nature of God Shapes and Drives the Mission of the Church by Daniel Hames and Michael Reeves

“Follow me.”

Those are two of the simplest words Jesus ever spoke. They’re also two words that completely changed the lives of the people who heard them.

When Jesus called His first disciples, He wasn’t simply inviting them to believe a few things about Him. He was inviting them to build their lives around Him.

And He still is.

Following Jesus begins with trusting Jesus.
Christianity isn't primarily about becoming a better person or trying harder to live a good life. It begins with recognizing that we need something that we cannot provide for ourselves.

We need forgiveness. We need grace. We need new life.

The good news of the gospel is that Jesus has provided all of that through His death and resurrection. He died for our sins, rose from the dead, and offers eternal life to anyone who trusts in Him.

That's where following Jesus starts—not with what we do for Him, but with what He has done for us.

Following Jesus means learning from Jesus.
The word "disciple" simply means "learner". A disciple of Jesus is someone who is learning from Him how to live. That's why we spend so much time in the Bible at The Bridge. We want to know Jesus. We want to understand what He taught. And then we want His words to actually shape the way we live.

Following Jesus reaches into our marriages, our parenting, our friendships, our work, our finances, our priorities, and even the way we treat people who are difficult to love. It impacts how we view the world and interact with the cultural issues of our time.

None of us gets it all right all the time. That's part of following Him too. We keep learning.

Following Jesus means becoming more like Jesus.
Jesus isn't merely interested in changing where we spend eternity. He wants to change who we're becoming right now too! The longer we follow Him by faith, the more our lives should begin to take His shape.

We learn to love people because He loves people. We forgive because He has forgiven us. We serve because He served. We become generous because He has been generous toward us.

That kind of change doesn't happen overnight. Following Jesus is a lifelong process. But we believe Jesus meets us where we are and loves us too much to leave us there.

Following Jesus was never meant to be done alone.
Jesus called individual people, but He called them into a community. We need each other.

We need people who will encourage us when we're struggling, pray with us when life hurts, remind us of what's true when we've forgotten, and sometimes challenge us when we're headed in the wrong direction.

That's one of the reasons the local church matters. We open His Word together. Ask questions. Spend time together. Worship and celebrate what God is doing together!

So if you're just beginning your journey of following Jesus start with some of that: Open His Word! Start with the Jesus and the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke & John. Discover how Jesus lived. Learn what Jesus taught. Trust Him enough to do what He says.

If you’re looking for a church, you probably have more questions than simply, “What time does the service start?”

You might wonder what kind of people you’ll meet, what the church believes, or whether you’ll fit in. Maybe you’ve been part of a church your entire life. Maybe it’s been years since you’ve walked through the doors of one. Or maybe church is completely new to you.

So, what kind of church is The Bridge?

One of the simplest ways we describe ourselves is this: **We’re a neighborhood church.**

We’re a church for our neighbors.
The Bridge is located in Linwood, Pennsylvania, and we really care about the community God has placed around us.

We don't want to be a church that simply gathers for a service once a week and then disappears until the following Sunday. We believe God has placed us here for a reason, and we want our community to be better because a church that loves Jesus is here.

Sometimes that means helping people learn what it means to follow Jesus. Sometimes it means providing food for a family going through a difficult season, caring for children, praying with someone who is hurting, or simply being present when life gets hard.

Jesus taught us to love God and love our neighbor. We want both to be visible in the life of our church.

We’re a church made up of ordinary people.
You don't need to have your life figured out before coming to The Bridge.

Our church is filled with people from different backgrounds, generations, and places in their spiritual journeys. Some have followed Jesus for decades. Others are just beginning to understand what Christianity is about. Some came after wonderful experiences in other churches. Others arrived carrying significant wounds.

There is room to ask questions here. There is room to learn and grow.

We don't expect you to pretend to be somewhere spiritually that you aren't. We simply want to help people take their next step toward Jesus.

We’re a church that takes the Bible seriously.
If you spend much time at The Bridge, you'll notice that we open the Bible a lot!
And that's intentional. We believe the Bible is God's Word and that it speaks with authority into our lives. When we gather on Sundays, the preaching is centered on Scripture. When we study together, we open Scripture. When we're trying to navigate life, relationships, suffering, decisions, or questions about God, Scripture is where we continually return.

That doesn't mean we pretend every passage is easy or every question has a simple answer. It means we believe God has spoken, and we want to listen.

We don't want to build a church around the personality of a pastor or whatever happens to be popular at the moment. We want Jesus to shape what we believe and how we live.

We’re a church centered on Jesus.
Our mission at The Bridge is simple: Connecting Others to the Love of Jesus.

That's more than something we put on a sign. It's why we exist. And it encompasses Christ's commission to every believer to go and make disciples and His command to love God and love our neighbors as we love ourselves.

Ultimately, we aren't trying to connect people to a religious institution. We want people to know and follow Jesus. We believe His grace is greater than our failures. We believe His death and resurrection provide forgiveness and new life. And we believe following Him changes the way we love, work, serve, forgive, raise our families, and treat our neighbors.

We’re a church where questions are welcome.
You don't have to understand everything about Christianity before you walk through our doors. You don't have to know the Bible, know all the songs, or have every question settled.

We believe there is room in the church for honest questions and real conversations. At the same time, we aren't uncertain about what we're inviting people toward. We believe Jesus is Lord, His Word is true, and following Him means allowing Him to shape what we believe and how we live.

So bring your questions. Come listen. Open the Bible with us. Get to know us. Most importantly, get to know Jesus! We believe He is worth following.

We're still becoming the church we want to be.
The Bridge isn't a perfect church. We're definitely made up of many imperfect people learning together what it means to follow a perfect Savior.

But we do know the kind of church we want to keep becoming: a church that loves Jesus more than anything, takes His Word seriously, cares about people genuinely, serves our neighbors freely, and helps one another become more like Christ.

So if you're new to The Bridge—or you're simply wondering whether you could ever feel comfortable walking into a church again—we'd love to meet you!

Have you really welcomed Jesus into your life?
The Gospel of Mark begins with an electrifying announcement: “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” (Mark 1:1)

With those words, Mark isn’t just introducing a story—he’s declaring a new era. Harkening back to the Genesis account, Mark declares the beginning of something just as momentous--a new creation, a new era, a new work of God breaking into history.

But before Jesus officially begins His ministry, preparation is required. And that preparation begins with John the Baptist. "Behold, I send my messenger...who will prepare Your way before you. The voice of one crying in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord; Make His paths straight!'" (Mark 1:2-3)

Every great arrival requires preparation. When a king visits a city, roads are cleared, banners are raised, and people get ready to welcome him. In the same way, God sent John the Baptist ahead of Jesus to prepare the people—not by organizing parades, but by calling them to repentance.

John’s message was clear:

• Turn from sin—Don’t just regret wrongdoing; change direction.
• Open your heart—True preparation happens inside, not just through outward rituals.
• Recognize the greatness of Jesus—John himself said, “One who is more powerful than I am is coming… I am not worthy to untie His sandals.” (Mark 1:7)

John’s mission wasn’t to draw attention to himself. His entire life pointed forward—to Jesus, the One who would baptize not with water but with the Holy Spirit. His job was to simply prepare people's hearts to welcome the King of Kings.

What Does This Mean for Us?
John’s call to prepare wasn’t just for the people of his day—it’s for us too. Meeting Jesus isn’t just about knowing His name or believing He exists. It’s about making room for Him in our lives.

Many of us want Jesus to be part of our lives, but not necessarily in charge of them. We want His blessings, His peace, and His strength—but we hesitate to fully surrender control.

Preparation means asking tough questions:

• What areas of my life need to change to truly welcome Jesus as King?
• Are there sins or habits I need to turn from?
• Am I holding onto control instead of submitting to Him?

Jesus didn’t come just to inspire us. He came to reign! And if He is truly King, then our role is not to invite Him into our plans—but to surrender to His.

A Challenge for This Week
Preparation takes intentional steps. This week, take a moment to reflect:

• Identify one area of your life where you’ve been trying to maintain control rather than surrendering to Jesus.
• Pray specifically about that area and ask God to help you let go and trust Him.
• Take a practical step—whether that’s confessing a struggle, changing a habit, or choosing obedience in something God has been prompting you to do.

The King has arrived. The question is—have you really welcomed Him into your life? Is He in charge? May we all recognize as John did how worthy Jesus is of our surrender--"There comes One after me who is mightier than me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to stoop down and loose." (Mark 1:7)