Charisma Magazine

Christians in the town of Sulphur Springs, Texas, will spend next month living as if it was their last 30 days on Earth.

During the One Month to Live challenge, which kicks off Sunday, members of more than 35 churches from diverse denominations will aim to focus their actions around the things they value most. Based on the best-selling book One Month to Live by Houston pastors Kerry and Chris Shook, the challenge encourages participants to follow four principles Jesus modeled: live passionately, love completely, learn humbly, leave boldly.

"People are very excited about it," said Joel Tiemeyer, senior pastor of The Way Bible Church in Sulphur Springs and a coordinator of the campaign. "Because we're not presenting it as if you're going to die in 30 days ... we're presenting it in a fashion where it encourages them to begin to live their life like 30 days would be all we had left. So when it's done, it's not to go back to the old way of living but to live every day to its fullest potential."

Tiemeyer expects roughly 4,000 churchgoers-out of 30,000 in Sulphur Springs and the surrounding counties-to participate in the initiative. A crew from ABC News will film the kickoff event and follow three families throughout the challenge to document the change it makes in their lives.

"We just believe that if they live the next 30 days as if it's their last, at the end of the month they'll be more alive than ever before," said Kerry Shook, pastor of Woodlands Church in Houston and keynote speaker at the kickoff event. "People will be more unselfish. And they'll be making a difference that will last for eternity."

Shook said the One Month to Live initiative started as a personal challenge he and his wife made. Though they felt they had a good marriage and stable family, they believed they weren't being very intentional about how they lived their lives. As an experiment, they asked each other what they now call the "clarifying" question: What would I do if I knew I had one month to live?