What does it mean to fully surrender to God? Learn how fear, church hurt, comfort, and isolation can hold you back from obedience and how to finally say yes to God.

Stop letting past church hurt and convenience limit your obedience. Discover why partial surrender keeps you hidden and how stepping into real community changes everything.

Looking for Bible study groups near you? Find a V1 Church Flight Crew in Long Island, Manhattan, Miami, Brooklyn, New Jersey, Indiana, or online. Finding a group where you can study the Bible is important, but Christian community is about much more than meeting once a week to read Scripture. It’s about finding people who will pray with you, encourage you, laugh with you, challenge you, and show up for you through every season of life.

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V1 Church prayer ministry leader Evelyn Roman emphasized that spiritual growth hinges on the condition of one’s heart, likening it to soil that must be free of toxins like bitterness and unforgiveness to bear fruit, as taught in Matthew 13. Sharing her journey of healing from spiritual abuse through serving at V1, she urged believers to let Jesus’ redemptive blood, shed in Gethsemane, purify their heart’s soil, transforming them into conduits of God’s love within a devoted church community, as modeled in Acts 2:42–45.

In a powerful sermon at V1 Church, Ivan Gualpa challenged believers to shift from consuming church like a buffet to contributing to it as a garden, asking, “What are you bringing to the table?” He contrasted the Hebrew concepts of Edah, an echo chamber of sameness, with Kehillah, a diverse community united in God, emphasizing that true nourishment comes from bearing fruit through proximity to God and serving others in love. Referencing Galatians 5:22-23, Ivan urged Christians to produce the fruits of the Spirit, ensuring their influence feeds others rather than leaving them spiritually starved.

In her sermon at V1 Church, Children’s Director Jasmine Falero likened spiritual rootedness to a forest of intertwined tree roots, emphasizing that believers must stay connected to Christ and His Church to withstand life’s storms. Drawing from the example of Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in Babylon, she urged Christians to remain rooted in kingdom thinking, practices, and community to thrive in modern-day pressures. By staying planted in a Bible-preaching church, believers can grow, bear fruit, and find restoration, as Falero’s own testimony of a healed marriage illustrates.

Pastor Jeremiah Johnson, in a stirring sermon at V1 Church, warned that comfort and routine can stifle spiritual growth, urging believers to break free from past encounters and seek “more” of God. Citing Acts 10, where Peter’s uncomfortable obedience to God’s vision led to a breakthrough with Cornelius, he challenged Christians to embrace divine disruptions as invitations to deeper callings. “God is looking for hunger, not hype,” he declared, calling for surrender to transform lives and impact society beyond the church walls.

Pastor Sandra declared in V1 Church’s "Rooted" Series, “Here I am, God. Cut me. Break me. Shape me. Prune me. Just don’t let me stay the same,” urging believers to be planted in a local church to grow spiritually. She warned against the “rogue spirit” of church-hopping and resisting correction, emphasizing that true transformation comes from submitting to godly authority and serving in community, as Psalm 92:13 promises flourishing for those rooted in God’s house. By embracing accountability and covenant, believers align their emotions with God’s Word and bear lasting fruit.