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¿En qué estación usted se encuentra?
por Gary Khan
Crecí en un lugar en el que había dos estaciones: la seca y la lluviosa.
Luego me mudé a California y donde solo había una estación: la seca. He oído que muchos estadounidenses disfrutan de las cuatro estaciones: primavera, verano, otoño e invierno. Debe de ser bonito. Pero, aunque experimentemos dos estaciones o las cuatro, las estaciones simbolizan distintos momentos de nuestra existencia humana, y forman parte integral de nuestra experiencia de la vida. Salomón, el sabio rey y filósofo, comparte ese sentimiento cuando dice que para todo hay una temporada, un tiempo para cada propósito bajo el cielo (Eclesiastés 3:1-8, NTV). Hace algún tiempo, mientras atravesaba una época de sequía, escuché al reverendo Gary Emery, ex superintendente regional de la Biblia Abierta del Pacífico, hablar sobre las estaciones. Sus palabras me llevaron a explorar más a fondo la idea de las estaciones o temporadas. Las siguientes observaciones son el resultado de ese sermón y del estudio posterior.
LAS ESTACIONES SON PROVIDENCIALES
Las estaciones son creadas y dirigidas por Dios. «¡Alabado sea por siempre el nombre de Dios! Suyos son la sabiduría y el poder. Él cambia los tiempos y las épocas, pone y depone reyes. A los sabios da sabiduría, y a los inteligentes, discernimiento» (Daniel 2: 20-21). Del mismo modo, Lucas escribe en los Hechos que Dios es la fuente de nuestra vida, de nuestro aliento y de todo lo que necesitamos. Él es quien determina dónde moramos, y por Él podemos vivir, hacer lo que hacemos y ser quienes somos (Hechos 17:25-28).
Dios es el que determina las estaciones en las que nos encontramos. Él nos puso en este mundo en estos tiempos y en esta estación. Puede que no estemos muy contentos con la elección del tiempo que Dios ha elegido, pero nada de esto es casualidad o error.
LAS ESTACIONES TIENEN UN PROPÓSITO
Desde antes de nuestro nacimiento hasta el momento de nuestra muerte Dios está cumpliendo sus propósitos divinos en nosotros. Cada acontecimiento de nuestra vida tiene una estación, un momento apropiado; no se produce en un orden aleatorio, sino de una manera acorde con el propósito divino (aunque no siempre lo comprendamos). El profeta Isaías declaró que Dios formó nuestra vida en el vientre de nuestra madre (Isaías 44:24), y el profeta Jeremías nos hace partícipes de la declaración que Dios le hizo que «aun antes de formarlo en el vientre de su madre, lo conoció y lo escogió para una obra especial» (Jeremías 1:5). Salomón nos informa de que, si cooperamos con los propósitos y el tiempo de Dios, la vida no carecerá de sentido. Todo, incluso las experiencias más difíciles de la vida, lo hizo «hermoso en su tiempo» (Eclesiastés 3:11-RVR-60).
«Y sabemos que a los que aman a Dios, todas las cosas les ayudan a bien, esto es, a los que conforme a su propósito son llamados» (Romanos 8:28, RVR-60).
Deténgase por un momento y reflexione sobre las cuatro estaciones que Dios ha establecido. Incluso sin pensarlo mucho podemos ver fácilmente algunos de sus propósitos. La primavera es el tiempo de los comienzos, de las oportunidades emocionantes y de la anticipación del futuro. Las semillas plantadas durante esta estación echarán raíces y germinarán durante el trabajo del verano, produciendo una cosecha en otoño, cuando cosechamos los frutos de nuestros esfuerzos. En invierno todo llega a su fin.
A menudo, pensamos que la primavera es la infancia y la juventud, mientras que el verano representa la flor de la vida. Con el otoño llegamos a la mediana edad, y todo se hace más lento y se desvanece en el invierno de la vejez.
Cuando aplicamos las estaciones a nuestro crecimiento, progreso o nuestro avance, podemos reconocer que cada estación es única y añade dimensiones importantes a la vida.
- La primavera tiene que ver con el potencial, la promesa, la planificación y las posibilidades. Es una época de oportunidades y comienzos.
- El verano es tiempo de crecimiento y maduración. Las semillas que plantamos en primavera brotan y se convierten en plantas adultas. El verano es la estación del trabajo, en la que invertimos el tiempo y el esfuerzo necesarios para llegar a ser buenos en lo que hacemos.
- El otoño es la estación de la cosecha. Vemos la producción/recompensa de nuestro trabajo. Nuestro arduo trabajo empieza a dar sus frutos.
- El invierno es la estación del descanso, el recogimiento, el retiro y el cierre. Las actividades, las responsabilidades y las relaciones llegan a su fin. Es la época del final. También representa un periodo de descanso, restauración y reflexión.
Dios tiene un propósito para cada estación que atravesamos.
LAS ESTACIONES SON PASAJERAS
Las estaciones no son permanentes, y hasta que Dios detenga el proceso, el ciclo se repetirá. La estación en la que se encuentra ahora pasará pronto. Una vez que pase el invierno, otra primavera estará a las puertas.
«Olviden las cosas de antaño; ya no vivan en el pasado. ¡Voy a hacer algo nuevo! Ya está sucediendo, ¿no se dan cuenta? Estoy abriendo un camino en el desierto, y ríos en lugares desolados» (Isaías 43:18-19, NVI).
Las estaciones no son eternas; son pasajeras. Pasarán y otra estación vendrá después. Es de gran valor poder entender que nuestras estaciones son pasajeras, providenciales y con un propósito; sin embargo, lo más valioso es lo que hacemos en esas estaciones. ¿Cómo deberíamos responder a cada una de ellas?
«El llanto puede durar toda la noche, Pero a la mañana vendrá el grito de alegría» (Salmos 30:5, LBLA).
Acepte su estación.
A menudo, nuestra primera respuesta a una temporada difícil es quejarnos, lo que sin querer la prolonga o, en el peor de los casos, hace que parezca más larga de lo que es. Como resultado, desperdiciamos un ciclo y debemos esperar para repetir la estación.
Los israelitas son un buen ejemplo de ello. Tardaron cuarenta años en asimilar las lecciones necesarias de confianza y obediencia a Dios antes de poder entrar en la Tierra Prometida. En lugar de aprovechar la oportunidad inmediatamente, tuvieron que sufrir temporadas repetitivas durante cuatro décadas. Recuerda que las estaciones forman parte del plan providencial de Dios, que se desarrolla en un tiempo y una secuencia específicos con un propósito. Sea cual sea la estación en la que nos encontremos, es vital que nos comprometamos plenamente con ella y la aceptemos.
La gente quiere con demasiada frecuencia saltarse una estación. Queremos enseguida brincar de la fase idealista de la primavera a la temporada de cosecha del otoño sin invertir el esfuerzo y la diligencia necesarios que debemos poner durante el verano. Sin embargo, esta tendencia suele afectar todo el proceso. La forma en que afrontamos una estación influye profundamente en cómo vivimos las siguientes. Lo que sembramos en una estación repercute directamente en la cosecha que recogemos en otra. Abrazar cada estación en su secuencia correcta y cumplir fielmente las tareas y responsabilidades que conlleva es crucial para un viaje fructífero y satisfactorio.
«Así que no debemos cansarnos de hacer el bien; porque si no nos desanimamos, a su debido tiempo cosecharemos» (Galatians 6:9, TLB).
Por otra parte, aferrarse demasiado a una estación también puede tener efectos negativos. Imagínese llevar ropa de verano en pleno invierno simplemente porque se resiste a dejar atrás el verano y abrazar la realidad del invierno. Una elección así sería incómoda, improductiva y, a menudo, perjudicial. A veces nos aferramos a una estación determinada como una persona que se está ahogando se aferraría desesperadamente a un objeto flotante, reacia a soltarlo para pasar a una nueva fase. Esta conducta puede obstaculizar nuestro crecimiento e impedirnos aprovechar plenamente las oportunidades que nos brinda la siguiente estación.
Así que tenemos a los que quieren apurar la estación y a los que no quieren soltarla. Ninguna de las dos cosas es buena. La forma de vivir una vida lo más plena posible es reconocer cuándo es el momento de soltar, permitiéndonos avanzar y entrar con gracia en la nueva estación que nos espera. Es necesario ser «sensibles a las estaciones» en la forma de vivir, pero hay que tener en cuenta que ninguna estación es perfecta. Cada una tiene sus propios problemas.
La forma en que afrontamos una estación influye profundamente en cómo vivimos las siguientes.
Las suaves lluvias de primavera pueden convertirse en lluvias torrenciales que parecen inundarlo todo. O lo contrario. Nos quedamos esperando que llegue la lluvia y nunca llega. Otras veces (como este año), es como si el invierno se prolongara hasta la primavera. Queremos pasar a la siguiente estación, pero la actual persiste.
El verano puede llegar a ser abrasador y seco, y debemos trabajar bajo el pleno sol. Queremos huir del calor y buscar la sombra y el aire acondicionado.
En otoño, la escarcha temprana puede dañar la cosecha.
De nuevo, ninguna estación es perfecta, y no tenemos control sobre ellas. Pero antes de que se desespere, recuerde que sí podemos controlar nuestra reacción ante las estaciones. Las decisiones que tomamos hoy tienen el potencial de producir resultados graves en el futuro. El trabajo arduo que realizamos durante el verano determina las recompensas del otoño y la comodidad del invierno. No podemos disfrutar de una cosecha abundante en otoño si malgastamos el verano durmiendo la siesta. Así que aproveche su estación. Pasará, le guste o no.
Examine su estación.
Aprenda y observe lo que Dios está haciendo.
«Aprendan la lección de la higuera: Tan pronto como sus ramas se vuelven tiernas y sus hojas se abren, ustedes saben que se acerca el Verano» (Mateo 24:32, PDT).
Para aprovechar al máximo el momento en el que se encuentra, debe comprender las características de su estación. Cuando reconocemos la estación, debemos hacer los ajustes necesarios para sacarle el máximo provecho. Busque la ayuda de otros, especialmente de quienes hayan pasado por lo que usted está atravesando ahora, o de los que pueden animarle por estar en una estación diferente a la suya. Lo que no debemos hacer es alejarnos de los demás porque nos molesta que estén en primavera mientras nosotros estamos en el calor del verano.
Pregunte a Dios:
- ¿Qué lecciones me quiere enseñar?
- ¿Qué mediadas debo de tomar?
- ¿Cuál es el plan que debo seguir?
Valore su estación.
Reconozca que Dios tiene el control.
«Ahora bien, sabemos que Dios dispone todas las cosas para el bien de quienes lo aman, los que han sido llamados de acuerdo con su propósito» (Romans 8:28, NIV).
No olvide que las estaciones son ordenadas por Dios y tienen un propósito. Dios está obrando todas las cosas para su bien. Así que, disfrute de la temporada en la que se encuentra. No la desperdicie; no huya de ella; no tenga una mala actitud al respecto. En lugar de estar infelices o incluso temerosos acerca de donde nos encontramos, deberíamos estar orando:
Padre, usted me ha puesto aquí en este momento. ¿De qué manera quiere utilizarme? ¿Cómo puedo estar a Su disposición para que pueda llevar a cabo Sus propósitos en este lugar? ”
¿Está usted en primavera? Las estaciones de comienzos pueden ser vigorizantes, y la primavera ofrece nuevas oportunidades y posibilidades. En primavera puedes\ sentir que es invencible y no reconocer su dependencia de Dios. Puede que esté entusiasmado con las posibilidades, pero dedique tiempo a comprender cómo esas oportunidades se comparan con los propósitos de Dios. Las decisiones que tome en esta estación prometedora determinarán en gran medida las siguientes estaciones.
¿Está usted en verano? Las semillas que plantamos durante la primavera han crecido hasta convertirse en plantas de gran tamaño. Algunos de ustedes están a punto de cosechar. No se rindan ahora. Tienen calor y están cansados y cerca del borde del agotamiento y quieren adelantarse al otoño, pero adelantarse sería provocar un cortocircuito en lo que Dios está haciendo en ustedes. Mantengan el rumbo. Sigan labrando, sigan regando, sigan cuidando la cosecha y no se den por vencidos.
¿Está usted en otoño? Su arduo trabajo está empezando a dar frutos. En esta época es fácil enorgullecerse y pensar que todo el éxito es obra suya. También es fácil devaluar el aporte de los demás. Pero la forma en que maneje esta temporada de cosecha lo preparará para el siguiente ciclo de temporadas.
¿Está usted en invierno? Maybe your activities, responsibilities, and relationships are winding down. This is the time of finishing well. It is a period of rest, restoration, and reflection.
Recuerde su llamado.
«Que prediques el mensaje, y que insistas cuando sea oportuno y aun cuando no lo sea»
(2 Timoteo 4:2, DHH).
En cada estación usted es un testigo del poder y la soberanía de Dios. La respuesta que usted tenga en las temporadas buenas y malas, en los tiempos de bendiciones y de desafíos, predica un mensaje a las personas que lo rodean. ¿Cómo responde usted a las estaciones de su vida? ¿qué comunica a los que le rodean acerca de Dios?
Sobre el Autor
Gary Khan fue pastor de la Iglesia de la Biblia Abierta Desert Streams en Santa Clarita, California, durante 32 años. Actualmente es director ejecutivo de operaciones de Marketplace Chaplains en el sur de California. También es director de distrito para el distrito sur de California/Arizona/Hawaii. Gary es autor de los devocionales Greater (Más grande) y Reset (Reinicio), así como de su libro titulado That Didn’t Go the Way I Thought: Navigating the Ups and Downs of Our Journey of Faith (Eso no salió como yo pensaba: Cómo navegar por los altibajos de nuestro viaje de fe). El mayor logro y gozo de Gary es el de ser esposo de DeLaine desde hace 32 años y padre de tres hijos increíbles (dos biológicos y uno «adoptado»).
I am proud to have been a credentialed minister with Open Bible Churches for over four decades. What a privilege to have served in a variety of contexts across our wonderful family of several hundred congregations in the US, along with several thousand globally. Over those decades, God has gradually expanded my understanding of what it means to belong to His Church.
I’ve enjoyed the enriching experience of embracing so many of the distinctives of what makes Open Bible, well, Open Bible: our unwavering commitment to Scripture as the inspired, authoritative Word of God; our resolve to plant and sustain healthy, vibrant local churches; our passion for the fullness and gifts of the Holy Spirit operating in our daily lives; and so much more.
And yet, with the beauty of these ecclesial distinctives so evident in our movement, I believe I have come to realize that what we share together as our core values and practices are not completely unique to us. As a matter of fact, when we take a step back and consider just who is a part of the Body of Christ, we can discover that we have much in common with our brothers and sisters across the US and around the world. It took one unexpected friendship to deepen my understanding of what it means to belong not only to Open Bible Churches, but to the Church.
A humbling experience for me has been to receive grace and love from others who are different than me even before I was prepared to offer the same to them. One example for me comes from my years as a participant in the International Catholic-Pentecostal Dialogue. This ongoing annual conversation was begun in the 1970s by David du Plessis, the Pentecostal known as “Mr. Pentecost,” and Father Kilian McDonnell, a Catholic theologian, and continues to this day. When I attended a session of this Dialogue for the first time in 1993, I was so focused on my disagreement with Catholic doctrines and practices that I was not in a place to show much hospitality. But over the next several decades I got to know the Catholic co-chair, Father Kilian, quite well. I was amazed at how well he knew Pentecostals like me, how much he wanted to learn more, and how much he cared for us. He was respectful, honest, and compassionate. We didn’t agree on everything, obviously. But he became a mentor to me, showing me how to treat others who were different than I was. And we became friends. He passed away last year at the age of 100, and I was honored to attend his memorial service. That experience changed how I think about the global Church.
The following numbers paint a remarkable picture of the global family that shares our evangelical, Pentecostal, and charismatic faith. According to the 2026 Status of Global Christianity report, more than 1.1 billion Christians around the world identify as Evangelical, Pentecostal, or Charismatic. Of those, approximately 676 million are Pentecostal or Charismatic believers.
That global family is wonderfully diverse, including classical Pentecostal denominations like Open Bible Churches, independent charismatic networks, Catholic Charismatics, and charismatic believers within many Protestant traditions (Anglican, Methodist, etc.).
So why do these numbers matter? They remind us that we are part of something much larger than ourselves. We are not alone, and we are certainly not “small.” Along with our evangelical, Pentecostal, and charismatic brothers and sisters around the world, we are a fierce contingent in the Lord’s army. It’s both humbling and encouraging to remember that we belong to the CHURCH in all its vastness.
But that doesn’t mean we have to give up our wonderful heritage, culture, and beauty that make us Open Bible Churches. We have something to contribute to the rest of the Church. I’m reminded of the prophetic word delivered a few decades ago at one of our conventions: “Open Bible Churches is a vital organ in the Body of Christ!” That statement has never been more true.
“Open Bible Churches is not ‘the Church.’
Open Bible Churches is part of the Church
— a wonderful part,
but a part.”
And yet, we also do not want to be guilty of isolation or sectarianism. Open Bible Churches is not “the Church.” Open Bible Churches is part of the Church. A wonderful part, but a part. So, it is healthy for us to remember our brothers and sisters in other denominations and networks, to pray for them, and even to cooperate with them in community and regional initiatives so that together we may faithfully steward our callings and responsibilities to advance the Kingdom of God on the earth.
One of the most important ways we can grow in unity as believers is to start by acknowledging and valuing diversity in the Body of Christ. God didn’t make us all the same. Unity is not uniformity. The old adage still rings true: “in essentials, unity; in non-essentials, diversity; and in all things, charity.” May we agree to disagree with one another with clarity, respect, and most of all love. We can embrace grace and truth at the same time, and indeed we are called to it.
No doubt you know some followers of Jesus in your community (and probably in your own family) who do not belong to Open Bible Churches. The invitation for us all is to love them, to be grateful for all that we share with them, and to offer some space (and some grace) for our differences. This is not easy. In fact, it is hard work. Remember the words of the apostle Paul: “As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace” (Eph. 4:1-3 NIV). If maintaining unity was easy, Paul wouldn’t have needed to admonish us to “make every effort” to do so.
Jesus reminds us that unity isn’t just for our benefit: it’s one of the clearest testimonies to a watching world.
But if we are willing to pay the price of seeing God’s big Church, and loving it the way He does, we’ll be more Christlike, and we’ll participate in being an answer to one of the last prayers Jesus prayed before He went to the cross on our behalf: “…that they may be one as we are one— I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me” (John 17:22-23 NIV). Jesus reminds us that unity isn’t just for our benefit: it’s one of the clearest testimonies to a watching world.
Together, let’s allow the Lord to give us eyes to see the breadth and beauty of His Church, recognizing and loving our brothers and sisters in Christ in such an obvious way that we actually become answers to the prayer of Jesus in John 17. Amen?
Here are a few resources that explore some of these issues related to Christian Unity:
That They May Be One – Podcast
That They May Be One – Film
PCCNA Christian Unity Commission
Forum for Unity
International Charismatic Consultation
Global Christian Forum
About the Author
David Cole has been a credentialed minister with Open Bible Churches since 1984. He is currently Professor of Historical Theology at The King’s University in Southlake, Texas. He is also involved in a variety of initiatives related to his calling to encourage the pursuit of unity among believers in Jesus, and to that end currently serves as chair of the Christian Unity Commission with the Pentecostal/
Charismatic Churches of North America. He and his wife, Julie, are parents of four, grandparents of ten, and are currently located in Newberg, Oregon, where they attend College Street Church.
I woke up unable to speak. A breathing tube filled my throat. Machines surrounded my hospital bed. I was confused, intubated, and lying in an ICU room with no memory of how I got there. But strangely, I was not afraid. In the middle of the chaos, God gave me an unexplainable peace.
I motioned desperately for paper and pencil so I could ask two questions: What happened? And where is George?
My son’s father explained that I had been in a serious car accident. The car was completely destroyed. I had been found trapped beneath the steering wheel with severe facial injuries.
That morning — January 22, 2026 — had started like any other Thursday. I got ready for work, buckled my 18-month-old son George into his car seat, and pulled out of the driveway expecting an ordinary day.
It became anything but ordinary.
My neighbor, who had left home at the same time I did, later explained what happened. We were both driving around fifteen miles per hour when the car I was driving suddenly lost control. I still do not know why, and I have no memory of the moment itself.
By the grace of God, George was almost completely untouched.
The car hit a cement light pole, crossed into oncoming traffic, and was struck head-on by another vehicle. Both vehicles spun, and the car I was driving slammed into another cement light pole.
By the grace of God, George was almost completely untouched.
The back windshield shattered directly above him, yet the glass never harmed him because of the position his car seat landed in. The entire back left side of the car was crushed inward, but George had been seated on the back right side. Even now, I can only thank God for His protection.
I was taken by ambulance to the hospital and admitted into the Trauma ICU. Doctors told my family that I had suffered severe head trauma resulting in a brain bleed. I was also bleeding internally in my abdominal area, and they began preparing my family for the possible loss of my pregnancy.
… the doctors did not know the God my family and I serve — and how merciful He is.
But the doctors did not know the God my family and I serve — and how merciful He is.
My family immediately began to pray. Members of my church, Open Bible Church of Homestead, began arriving at the hospital, and soon an entire army of people was interceding for me.
During those first two days, I drifted in and out of consciousness and remember very little. But one moment remains clear in my mind: I heard the song “I Surrender” by Hillsong Worship playing in my hospital room. The lyrics, “Like a rushing wind, Jesus breathe within, Lord have Your way, Lord have Your way in me,” stayed with me and brought a deep sense of comfort in the middle of everything happening around me. In that moment, those words became my prayer as I quietly prayed, “I leave this in Your hands.”
After three days in the ICU, I was successfully extubated and began making remarkable progress. Ultrasounds showed a happy, active baby, and the bleeding had stopped.
On the fourth day, I was transferred out of the ICU into intermediate care before eventually moving to the medical-surgical floor. Doctors then began preparing me for maxillofacial surgery to reconstruct my face after multiple fractures.
On January 30, I underwent an eight-hour surgery. By God’s grace, the procedure was successful, and another ultrasound afterward showed my unborn baby remained active and healthy. On February 3, I was finally discharged and able to return home.
Since then, my recovery has gone smoothly. I am now twenty-eight weeks pregnant and waiting expectantly for the arrival of my baby. Through every frightening moment, God gave me strength and peace, and I never doubted His mercy.
Today, I am a living testimony of His grace.
About the Author
Thammy Castro is a behavior technician living in Miami and a soon-to-be mother of two. In her free time, she enjoys traveling with her family. She is a member of Open Bible Church of Homestead, where her parents, Jose and Maria Castro, serve as pastors.
There has been much discussion about the future of the Church. While I’m not a futurist or researcher, I’m grateful for voices that help us think wisely about pursuing the mission of the Church in an ever-changing culture. Researchers like Ed Stetzer and Carey Nieuwhof highlight some encouraging trends, such as revivals on college campuses, rising Bible sales, and Gen Z’s hunger for authentic faith.
I carry deep conviction and a faith-filled anticipation about what I see and am praying for. When I think about the Church and the days ahead, I don’t see a Church in retreat, but I do see a Church being refined – prepared for what God is getting ready to do. A victorious and glorious Church (Eph. 5:27).
When I think about the Church and the days ahead, I don’t see a Church in retreat, but I do see a Church being refined.
Jesus said, “I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matt. 16:18 ESV). That promise has no expiration date. Jesus is still building His Church today.
As the church advances, it will not stand on programs, buildings, or production. . . it will be built on the authority of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit.
Across the body of Christ, there is a growing recognition that the future of the Church will not be built by addition alone, but by multiplication. Disciples will make disciples, leaders will develop and release leaders, and churches will plant churches. There are many voices helping to bring clarity to this, and we are seeing that same conviction take shape within Open Bible through our Mission to Multiply and the Power of We.
So, when I think about the Church and what is ahead of us, what do I see?
I SEE A MULTIPLYING CHURCH
We often measure success by attendance, budgets, and programs. While salvations and baptisms remain central, we must expand the scorecard. As Larry Walkemeyer describes in The River Church, we must move from “lake churches” that gather to “river churches” that send – becoming disciple makers who multiply.
The book of Acts shows us a model of a church that did not just meet but multiplied. The future will not belong to churches that simply gather a crowd, but it will belong to churches that make and send disciple makers. Jesus did not commission us to build an audience. He commanded us to go and make disciples (Matt. 28:19). Multiplication begins there – in intentional, relational, Spirit-led disciple making.
Multiplication is not just a strategy or a motto we adopt. It is the culture of Spirit-empowered, disciple-making churches. The Church I see measures health not only by attendance, but by how many are discipled, equipped, and sent to reproduce what’s been invested in them. This is our Mission to Multiply.
I SEE A SPIRIT-EMPOWERED CHURCH
We live in a time of rapid change. Technology, AI, and social media shape how we communicate and connect. These tools can be helpful, but they don’t transform lives. The Holy Spirit does.
These tools can be helpful, but they don’t transform lives. The Holy Spirit does.
Pentecost was Heaven’s defining moment for the birth of the Church and the fulfillment of what Jesus said in Acts 1:8. The early followers of Jesus did not have the influence, resources, or tools we have today. What they had was the power of God. That has not changed!
In the days ahead, more than ever, the Church will move forward not through innovation alone but through consecration. The church I see is unapologetically dependent on the Spirit of God.
I SEE A COURAGEOUS CHURCH
In the book of Acts, every step forward required courage – Peter and John before the Sanhedrin, Stephen in the face of death, Peter going to Cornelius’s home, the sending out of Paul and Barnabas. These were not small steps; they were courageous steps across cultural and spiritual boundaries. The early Church moved from gathering to going, from addition to multiplication. The expansion of the early Church was not accidental. It followed obedience and courage.
The Church I see will walk in that same Spirit.
Courage to preach the truth in love.
Courage to plant in hard places.
Courage to raise and release the next generation.
Courage to choose multiplication over comfort.
Courage to link arms with others for the sake of the greater mission.
Courage to build the Kingdom over our own castles.
We can stand on His promise and by His Spirit knowing “God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (2 Tim. 1:7 NKJV).
I SEE THE POWER OF WE
As we look forward, one of the strongest convictions I carry is this: our future will be stronger through the Power of We.
Individualism limits impact; partnership multiplies it. When we share vision, develop leaders, and align around mission, we step into something far greater than any one church could accomplish alone. I believe the future Church will not thrive through isolation but will flourish through collaboration. The church I see understands that “we” is stronger than “me.”
When we share vision, develop leaders, and align around mission, we step into something far greater than any one church could accomplish alone.
I am confident in what God has called us to:
The church that makes disciple makers will multiply.
The church that depends on the Holy Spirit will endure.
The church that walks in courage will advance. This is the church I see, and I believe we are being invited to build it together.
About the Author
Michael Nortune serves as president of Open Bible Churches. He has ministered in the local church faithfully for thirty-five years. From his start as a janitor and groundskeeper to church planter and lead pastor of Life Church in Concord, California, Michael has had the opportunity to gain experience in every capacity within the church throughout his ministry. Not only does he have hands-on experience on the local level, but Michael has also led at the district, regional, and national levels within Open Bible Churches. Michael and his wife, Julie, currently reside in Colorado and love living near five of their six children and their spouses. They also treasure the time they spend with their other daughter who lives in Alabama with their first (but not the last) grandson!