“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.”
LUKE 9:23 (NIV)
Take up your cross.
Helping Christians live a cross-shaped life that reflects God's love, mercy, and grace—on earth as it is in heaven.
What does it mean to take up my own cross?
Jesus calls us to take up our cross and follow Him. But what does that look like in the ordinary moments of our lives?
Taking up my own cross is not simply about carrying life's burdens or enduring difficult circumstances. It is choosing, again and again, to follow Jesus—to surrender the things that pull me away from Him so that my life might increasingly reflect His.
It means learning to love when loving is difficult. To show mercy when judgment comes more naturally. To offer grace when it has not been earned. To serve rather than seek recognition. To forgive. To listen. To put the needs of another ahead of my own.
We won't always get it right. Following Jesus is not a journey of perfection. It is a journey of returning—of saying yes again when we wander, stumble, doubt, or lose our way.
A cross-shaped life isn't something we achieve. It is a life we learn to live as we follow Jesus, one step and one choice at a time.
My Own Cross Ministries exists to walk that journey with you.
Come walk with us.
You won't find all the answers here.
What you will find is an invitation to ask honest questions, engage Scripture, look more closely at Jesus, and consider what following Him might mean for the way we actually live.
Some of us come carrying questions. Some carry wounds. Some have spent a lifetime in the church. Others have stepped away from it—or aren't sure they ever belonged there in the first place.
Wherever we begin, Jesus still invites us to follow.
My Own Cross Ministries is a place for fellow travelers—for people seeking to know Christ more deeply and learning, together, what it means to reflect Him more faithfully.
We don't know all the twists and turns the path may take, but we know where we are headed. Together, we can face whatever the journey may bring as we follow Christ homeward—into the presence of God.
Where would you like to begin?
Every journey begins somewhere. Whether you want to explore a question more deeply, spend a few moments reflecting, or find something to help you along the way, you're invited to begin wherever you are.
PUBLICATIONS
Explore more deeply.
Books, Bible studies, and devotionals created to help us engage Scripture, encounter Jesus, ask meaningful questions, and consider what following Him looks like in our everyday lives.
REFLECTIONS
Pause and reflect.
Thoughts from Scripture and everyday life that invite us to slow down, look again at Jesus, and consider how His love, mercy, and grace might shape the way we live.
RESOURCES
Take another step.
Practical resources for individuals, small groups, and churches seeking to grow in faith, explore Scripture, pray, reflect, and follow Christ more faithfully.
Come and See.
There is something wonderfully exciting and almost contagious about the way the first followers of Jesus invited others to meet Him.
Andrew encounters Jesus and goes to find his brother Simon: We have found the Messiah! Philip encounters Jesus and hurries to tell Nathanael. When Nathanael is skeptical, Philip doesn't argue with him or try to convince him. He simply says, “Come and see.”
Come discover more about the One who loves us, seeks us when we wander, reaches for us when we stumble, and invites us to follow.
There is something about encountering Jesus that makes us want to know Him better—and invite someone else along.
My Own Cross Ministries grew from that same desire.
It is a response to Jesus' invitation to follow Him—to deny myself, take up my own cross each day, and discover what it means to live more like Christ.
And now the invitation extends to you.
Come ask questions. Come open Scripture. Come discover Jesus with us. Not because we have all the answers, but because we have found Someone worth following.
Maybe somewhere along the way, the words “My Own Cross” will become more than the name of a ministry. Maybe they will become your words, too.
Come and see. Let's follow Jesus together.