Dear Friend,

I want you to know something before you read another word: you matter to God, and you matter to us. Whether you’ve just walked through our doors for the first time, or you’ve been visiting a few weeks and something keeps drawing you back — I believe that tug you feel isn’t an accident. God is at work in your life.

I came to faith as a young Navy sailor back in August of 1976. I hadn’t grown up in a lively, vibrant church. I’d gone to church as a boy, I knew the stories, but I had never truly given my life to Jesus Christ. Then a Gideon showed up on our Navy base one day, handing out little Bibles. I put one in my pocket and didn’t think much of it. Five days later, I signed my name in the back of that Bible — I believe in Jesus Christ, and I want to follow Him. That moment changed everything.

What I wish someone had handed me on that day was a simple, clear guide: Now that you’ve said yes to Jesus, here’s what comes next. That’s exactly why I wrote this book for you.

Over more than forty years of pastoral ministry, our team at Church on the Rock has asked ourselves one question over and over again: What experiences should a growing Christian have? What spiritual disciplines should be in their lives? The answer became what we call The Big 10 — ten foundational pillars that we believe will put you on the path to spiritual maturity and a genuinely productive life with God.

This isn’t just a church program. These are the things I’ve seen — again and again, across decades of ministry — make a real difference in the lives of real people. The people who pursue them tend to live more consistent, more joyful, more fruitful lives for Christ. The people who don’t... well, they tend to drift.

I don’t want you to drift. I want you to thrive.

One of my father-in-law’s favorite sayings was something to the effect of: live your life so that when it’s over, you don’t stand at the finish line saying, “I wish I would have.” He went to Africa at twenty-two years old with almost no money and no contacts. He preached the gospel for seventy years. He never gave up on Jesus. And when he went to be with the Lord, we could all say: he was glad he did.

That’s the kind of life I want for you. And that’s the heart behind every page of this book.

Read it slowly. Let it speak to you. And please — don’t just read it. Do it. We’re here every step of the way.

Welcome to the family.