Easter is the time of year when Christians get together and celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. However, as someone who might not believe, or are on the fence about believing in God, Jesus, or salvation, Easter can be a confusing time filled with plenty of questions: Who even was Jesus? What happened on Good Friday? Who’s Judas? What actually happened on Easter? These questions are absolutely okay to have! Almost everyone who follows Jesus has asked these questions at some point or another in their faith journey. 

It’s okay to have questions and not have all the answers. We all take different paths to get to know Jesus. For some of us, we’re born into Christian families, and for others of us, we might not find Jesus until later in life. Whatever your journey, it’s unique and God’s timing is perfect. In fact, we’ve created some resources that may answer some of the questions you might have around Easter. You can find those here.

This Easter season, if you don’t know Jesus, will you take a chance and listen to His words, maybe for the first time? He wants to know you in a way only He can, and He offers an invitation of love and grace. Especially in a world consumed by fear, what is it you put your faith in? For Mike, he puts his faith in Jesus.

Mike grew up in a Christian home in Buffalo Grove. His mom was Methodist and his dad was Catholic and he was in church every Sunday. He was baptized, did his first communion, and went through confirmation. But when Mike got to college, he took another look at his faith. For a lot of his life, he realized he was just going to church to make his family happy—it wasn’t something he felt a deep connection with. College life happened, he became busier, and all of a sudden his faith was taking a backseat to the rest of his life.

Although Mike continued to believe in God, spending time with God just wasn’t a priority; schoolwork, hanging out with friends, and eventually a job became more important. God was still there, but was somewhere in the background; that was until a friend invited Mike out to Alpha, a program Willow Creek offers where anyone can come and hear Biblical answers to some of life’s toughest questions. 

Mike described his first session of Alpha as a “spiritual renaissance,” where he walked away with a whole new excitement for his faith, in addition to a new passion to share his story with others.

For work, Mike is part of the rideshare industry, where he gets to drive around all types of people. By listening to the stories of others through his job, he understands questions people have. Mike said, “I can relate to them. I understand how it can be hard to believe at times. I understand when people ask, ‘How can someone resurrect from the dead?’” Through his job, Mike has had opportunities to share his story and Alpha with others, as well as being able to pray for some.

From being on the other end, being someone who had questions himself, Mike doesn’t judge others by their doubts and unbelief; as a church, wherever you’re at, we invite you to bring your doubts, unbelief, and questions, especially this Easter. To learn more about Easter, who Jesus was, and why His death and resurrection is so important, just click this link and navigate around the pages on your own.

Wherever you’re at on your faith journey, know we’re praying for you. Know we’d love to have you come to a service, whether Easter or after. You don’t have to be perfect, be a Christian, or have your life together; just come as you are. We can’t wait to meet you! 

Let this Easter season be a time of opening your heart, listening, and getting your questions answered. By doing so, this season in life can turn out to be your best one yet.