May We Become a Movement That Is Moving Again

Reflections on Ministry Conference, EFCP, EFCNA, EFM, and a growing conviction that God is not finished with the Evangelical Friends Church.

As I reflect on those experiences, I find myself carrying something I have not felt this strongly in a long time:

Hope.

Not the kind of hope that ignores reality.

The reality is that many churches across America are struggling. Some are declining. Some are closing. In many places, the Church is asking difficult questions about its future.

But what I experienced over these past weeks was not fear about the future.

It was anticipation.

I met leaders who are praying boldly. Church planters who are dreaming courageously. Missionaries who are preparing to go to places where the gospel has not yet been proclaimed. Superintendents who are asking how we can better support and strengthen our local churches. Pastors who are faithfully serving their communities and believing God for renewal.

Everywhere I went, I sensed a growing conviction:

God is not finished with us.

In fact, I believe He may be preparing us for something new.

One of the great temptations in our current culture is comparison. Churches compare themselves to larger churches. Pastors compare themselves to more visible pastors. Leaders compare themselves to movements that appear more successful.

Comparison has a way of making us forget who we are.

The Evangelical Friends Church has never been at its best when trying to imitate someone else.

We have always been a little different.

Perhaps “renegade” is not quite the right word. Maybe the better word is peculiar.

The early Friends movement was born during a time when religious institutions held tremendous power. The Church of England had its systems, expectations, and structures. Many believed faith flowed primarily through those established channels.

Then God met a young man named George Fox.

Fox became convinced that Christ was alive, present, and still speaking through the power of the Holy Spirit. He believed ordinary people could encounter God personally. He believed men and women could be transformed by the presence of Jesus. He believed the Church was not merely an institution to attend but a people to become.

What emerged was a movement.

A movement that gathered in fields, homes, marketplaces, and public squares. A movement willing to challenge the assumptions of its day. A movement so captivated by the presence of God that critics mockingly called them “Quakers” because they trembled under the power of the Holy Spirit.

What was intended as an insult became an identity.

The Friends embraced being peculiar because they were more concerned with faithfulness than acceptance.

I wonder if we need a little more of that holy trembling today.

Not emotionalism.

Not hype.

But a renewed awe at what God might do if His people fully surrendered themselves to Him once again.

Isaiah 43:19 asks a question that still echoes across generations:

Do we perceive what God is doing?

Across our Evangelical Friends family, I believe something is stirring.

There is a growing desire to see new churches planted.

There is a renewed commitment to helping existing churches flourish.

There is fresh energy around global missions.

There is a deep longing to reach new people, new neighborhoods, new communities, and new nations with the good news of Jesus Christ.

I heard story after story of pastors pressing forward in difficult places. Church planters discerning where God may be opening doors. Missionaries preparing for new fields. Leaders asking not how to maintain what exists, but how to faithfully join God in what He is doing next.

This is not a time for retreat.

This is a time for engagement.

As we move into the summer months, my encouragement is simple:

Stay connected.

Stay engaged.

Stay expectant.

Hebrews 10:24–25 reminds us not to neglect gathering together. In a season when many people drift toward distraction and isolation, the Church must become even more committed to worship, community, prayer, encouragement, and mission.

Gather around tables.

Gather in homes.

Gather in churches.

Gather in Life Groups.

Gather in prayer circles.

Gather wherever the people of God can encourage one another and remind each other that Jesus is still building His Church.

And let us recommit ourselves to the work before us.

Serve faithfully.

Give generously.

Encourage constantly.

Pray fervently.

Invite boldly.

Trust deeply.

The harvest is still plentiful (Matthew 9:37–38).

That truth was repeated throughout nearly every gathering I attended over the past several weeks. Whether the conversation centered on church planting, revitalization, global missions, leadership development, or discipleship, the underlying conviction was the same:

God is still calling people to Himself.

The question is not whether the harvest exists.

The question is whether we are willing to join Him in it.

One of the practices many of our national leaders have adopted is setting a daily alarm for 9:28. When that alarm sounds, wherever we happen to be, we pause and pray. Sometimes it is a brief prayer between meetings. Sometimes it is while driving down the road. Sometimes it is during lunch or in the middle of the workday.

The alarm serves as a reminder of Jesus’ words in Matthew 9:37–38—to pray that the Lord of the harvest would send workers into His harvest field.

I have grown to love that simple practice.

Every day at 9:28, I am reminded that God is still at work.

He is calling pastors.

He is calling church planters.

He is calling missionaries.

He is calling young leaders.

He is calling ordinary people who are willing to say yes to His invitation.

What if hundreds of Friends across our churches joined in that same prayer?

What if every day at 9:28, we paused to ask God to raise up workers for the harvest?

What if we prayed for new churches to be planted?

What if we prayed for struggling churches to flourish?

What if we prayed for missionaries to be sent and new fields to be opened?

What if we prayed for our neighbors, our communities, and the next generation?

And what if we began expecting God to answer?

As I left these gatherings, I found myself carrying more than hope.

I carried anticipation.

I believe God is doing a new thing.

I believe He is stirring something within the Evangelical Friends Church.

I believe He is inviting us to move beyond maintenance and into mission.

The same Spirit that met George Fox on Pendle Hill is still moving today.

The same Spirit that launched a movement is still calling people.

The same Spirit that transformed lives then is still transforming lives now.

So before you close this article and move on with your day, I want to invite you to do one simple thing.

Set an alarm on your phone for 9:28.

Not because an alarm changes anything.

But because prayer does.

And perhaps each day, as that reminder sounds, it will help us remember that the fields are still ripe for harvest, that Jesus is still building His Church, and that God may be inviting each of us to play a part in what He is doing next.

May we see it.

May we perceive it.

May we join it.

And may we become a movement that is moving again.