Why we're here

The good news.

Everything on this site comes from one story. It's the most important thing we could ever tell you, so we'll tell it plainly.

You were made by God, and for him.

You aren't an accident. God made you, in his own image, and that's why you have a worth no one can give you and no one can take away. He made you to know him, and to be loved by him.

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

Genesis 1:27

But we've all turned away.

Here's the hard part, and we won't skip it. Every one of us has gone our own way. We've lied, we've used people, we've used our bodies and let others use them, and we've put ourselves at the center of everything. The Bible calls this sin. The word means “missing the mark”: God's mark is his own perfect goodness, and every one of us has missed it. Sin isn't just a few bad choices. It's turning our backs on the God who made us.

Sin breaks everything it touches: our relationships, our bodies, our world. And because God is good and just, he won't pretend it doesn't matter. Sin earns death, and one day every one of us will stand before him. Trying harder, being nice or going to church can't pay that debt.

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

Romans 3:23

For the wages of sin is death…

Romans 6:23

So God came for us.

This is the good news. God sent his Son, Jesus, into the world. Jesus isn't just a good teacher or a prophet. He is God. There is one God, who has always existed as three persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. God the Son became a real human being, fully God and fully man.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. … And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.

John 1:1, 14

Jesus lived the life we haven't, without sin. Then he died on a cross, taking the punishment our sin deserves, in our place. Three days later he rose from the dead. His resurrection is God's proof that the payment for our sin was accepted in full. He beat sin and death, and he is alive today.

But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.

Isaiah 53:5

…who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.

Romans 4:25

…but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 6:23

A gift you can't earn.

You can't earn this, and you don't have to clean yourself up first. That means no one is too far gone: not the girl who has slept with men whose names she doesn't remember, not the woman who's had an abortion, not the man who pushed her to. Jesus came for sinners. That includes us, the people who wrote this.

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Ephesians 2:8–9

Turn, and trust him.

Jesus' message was simple: "repent and believe in the gospel" (Mark 1:15and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”Mark 1:15 (ESV) · Read it in context). To repent means to turn: to be sorry for your sin and stop running your own life, and turn to God. To believe means to trust Jesus: that he died for you and rose again, and that he is enough. Everyone who does is forgiven completely, becomes God's own child, and is given a new life.

You can tell him right now, in your own words. There are no magic words. He hears your heart.

What's next

• Read the Gospel of John

  It's short, and it's all about Jesus.

• Find a church that teaches the Bible

  Somewhere you can ask questions and be known. How to find a good church